From a styling perspective, the front end looks pretty good, it was a Premium though without the LED daytime lights, so not quite as cool as normal. I still like the B8.5 lights a lot more though, these are very angular, I like the curves in the B8.5. The grill is pretty nice though and from the side I think it looks pretty similar to the B8.5. The back is probably the most different, and I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's not bad, but I don't love it. I'll probably get used to it though as I see more on the road. On the interior I really don't like the nav screen. It's too big and it's just plopped up there on the dash like Mercedes. It's just very unAudi-like. It looks like an afterthought to me. I did not have the virtual cockpit but I will say the standard instrument layout is still pretty cool, better than the B8.5, so I'd be happy even with that. The long row of vents is not attractive. Sorry Audi, you tried something different but why would anyone want to see that many vents? The trim was the aluminum and it looked fine, but carbon fiber would really look great instead. I'm really hoping for that as an option on the S4s and hopefully the A4 S-line. The steering wheel was nice, nice grade leather on it, good thickness, looked good too. The LED lighting in doors and around the cup holders was a nice touch too. The seats were decent, the leather was ok, and the rest of the materials were typical Audi quality. I think the hvac set up is good looking and works well too. I did really enjoy the Audi rings puddle lights, that's a pretty cool feature.
As far as driving impressions, the 2.0T is definitely quicker than the outgoing model. There is some turbo lag, which I'm really not used to in the S4, but I had a previous GTI and I would say it's on par with that. The engine stop/start feature is annoying but at least you can turn it off. The steering, never an Audi strength, I think is a bit better than the previous generation. Still not great, but there's not as much play in the wheel and a little more feedback. The handling was decent, probably a step up from last generation too. The ride is good on the standard wheels, a little floaty, but decent. There is hardly any noise, even in dynamic mode, it's a very quiet car. I'd love more of an exhaust note, but given that this is an A4 I can understand why they made it quiet.
Overall though it's a nice vehicle. I would have liked to see an S-line variant with a bit more style to it, but it drove well, looked and worked pretty good. I can't wait to see the B9 S4's in person whenever they arrive, but I do think the B9 generation is at least headed in the right direction. Overall well done by Audi. Some pics below.
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Originally Posted by smonska
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