Audi RS4 vs Chery Tiggo 4

What's the difference?

What a way to send off this generation of Audi RS4 and RS5. The extra focus courtesy of those trick coil overs and drama from the exhaust plus the sharper gear changes deliver the best Audi has done with these RS products. 

There are some compromises, with the suspension favouring outright control over low-speed comfort. It’s also true that the current BMW’s M3 and M4 are more impressive, but when the products are nearly seven years fresher than Audi’s, what do you expect? 

Plus, those looking for a more restrained and polite fast executive sedan (or wagon) will gel with the Audi’s sophistication. There aren’t many of these Competition Plus RS4 and RS5s coming to Australia and they are impressive visually and from behind the wheel. It’s a fitting way to send off the current generations.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

If you’re just looking for an affordable hybrid which will save you money at the pump, the Tiggo 4 will do the trick, but there are so many little things which could be better here, it’s evident you’re getting what you’re paying for.

This makes the Tiggo 4 hybrid a bit of a let down, because the other Cherys I’ve driven recently have been pleasantly surprising given their price-points, not to mention the price-gap between the Tiggo 4 and many of its rivals is nowhere near as large.

The RS4 Avant’s 'Progressive Red' metallic helps the black milled 20-inch alloy wheels pop. Its stance is hugely purposeful with wheels tucked right up in the blistered arches courtesy of the lowered ride height — it's how the Avant would have looked in a design sketch.

The visual bulk of the long-roofed RS4 gives it the sort of proportions motoring journalists love to wax lyrical about, even if plenty of buyers still prefer coupes or lifted SUVs. 

The RS5's more flowing, elegant lines match well with the Navarra Blue paint work, silver-accented wheels and conventional leather-appointed seats within. 

Both cars have effectively identical front cabins reflecting Audi’s classy and sleek design language. The integration of technology is pretty good and the RS4’s additional red styling pack really makes it feel sporty within.

On the outside, I think the Tiggo 4 Hybrid is pretty generic and inoffensive. It shares its 'box-on-wheels' aesthetic with cars like the outgoing Mitsubishi ASX and Hyundai Venue, which, to be fair, have been strong sellers.

It might not be an eye catcher, then, but there’s something to be said for not trying anything controversial, and this is pretty consistent across Chery’s range. In fact, compared to some brands in the market, Chery is doing a solid job of design consistency for its mainline SUVs.

Highlights on the outside include the enormous grille and contemporary LED light strip across the rear.

On the inside things also look pretty swish for this compact SUV category. The seats immediately jump out as a highlight, big and lavishly trimmed in comparatively soft synthetic stuff. The glitzy steering wheel and dual-screen layout continues from other Chery products and the dash design is tidy, if a little generic.

The RS4's cabin is excellent, with a good mix of physical buttons and responsive touchscreens for control. There’s enough storage space for this kind of vehicle, with good door bins and well-sized cupholders in the centre as well as USB-C and -A charge points. 

Audi’s multimedia system is friendly though the large touch targets and dark background aren’t as crisp as those fitted to the latest rivals. The screen isn't as big, either, measuring 10.1 inches for the multimedia item. The RS4 supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

That said, Audi’s 12.3-inch digital driver’s display with bright and poppy mapping software and generous customisation remains right at the head of the pack. 

There is a panel of switches below the touchscreen for climate control, physical selection of the five-or-so drive modes and a collection of helpful buttons on the perfectly-shaped and sized leather-appointed steering wheel.

It lacks F1 or DTM wow-factor compared to the C63 and M3 with their easy-access driver mode buttons and toggles on the steering wheel but the RS4's restrained looks will resonate with those that prefer a bit more elegance inside. 

Neither the RS4 nor RS5's back seats are designed for those over about 175cm. The RS4’s roof is a little higher so it is good enough for most adults but the RS5’s sloping profile compromises things. It has two individual buckets compared to the RS4’s three-wide bench. 

Rear seat passengers get air vents, an individual climate zone, bottle holders in the doors, USB charge points and ISOFIX attachments for the outboard seats, with matching top tethers in the seat backs.

The Audi RS4’s boot is a generous 505L with under floor storage and a netted area on the driver’s side. Folding the 40/20/40 split-fold bench increases space to 1495L. That said, the RS5’s 465L is still very good, though it is not quite as practical in the real world. 

Being fitted with roof rails makes for sleek integration of roof racks for the RS4 to slip roof pods, bike racks or whatever else you might choose to take on a trip away.

I can see this car having a lot of wow factor on a dealer forecourt but up close things are less good. The software on the screens is pretty ordinary; hardly the sharpest, fastest or most logically laid-out. There’s a selection of clumsy-looking themes, and while the multimedia portion has a logical smartphone-style main menu, beneath lies an array of confusing and inconsistently-labelled sub-menus.

The digital dash could be smoother and better looking and it’s a bit confusing to use with the poorly labelled buttons on the steering wheel.

The centre console area is finished in a gloss finish, which is easy to scratch or smear with fingerprints. Up front underneath the main screen is an entirely separate dot-matrix style climate control panel with actual physical buttons. It looks a bit clunky compared to some other solutions on the market, but at least it’s clearly labelled and straightforward to use.

Somewhat infuriatingly, though, interacting with this climate panel brings up a menu on the touchscreen which you don’t need and it takes several seconds to go away. Why?

The cabin is reasonably practical from there, though. There are decent bottle holders in each front door and a further two atop the console. There’s a pass-through beneath, good for handbags and the like. There are some strange additions, like an upright holster with rubberised sides which seems to be for a phone, and behind the shifter there’s a key fob-sized cut-out, but it’s gloss finished, so it will scratch if you actually use it.

The wireless phone charger is tucked away underneath, which makes your phone hard to get at in a pinch, and easy to forget when you exit.

Ergonomically, this car is a bit strange. The seat base is very high, so for me (at 182cm tall) even with the driver’s seat set to its lowest position, my head feels close to the roof. Plus, I’m peering down on the instruments, rather than have them at a comfortable height.

However, there are soft-touch surfaces adorning the doors, which can’t be said for every car in this segment and the rear seat hasn’t been forgotten, either.

I fit pretty comfortably behind my own driving position in terms of knee and headroom and the plush seat trim continues.

There’s a nearly flat floor, so while it’s a reasonably narrow vehicle, at least someone in the centre position will have somewhere to put their feet.

On the amenity front for rear passengers, there’s a small bottle holder in each door, pockets on the backs of the front seats, a weird storage tray and USB port on the back of the centre console and a drop-down armrest with two shallow cupholders. There’s just a single adjustable air vent for rear passengers, so they’ll have to fight over who gets the airflow.

The boot surprised me. It looks tiny, but the brand claims it weighs in at 470 litres. On top of this, the floor is a strange shape because the 12-volt battery is under the floor and doesn’t quite fit level.

However, when I went to load the full three-piece CarsGuide test luggage set, I was surprised to find it fit snugly, with the tailgate able to shut without a problem. I was also impressed to find a space-saver spare wheel and not just a repair kit under the floor.

The Tiggo 4 Hybrid we’ve been driving for this review is the top-spec Ultimate, which wears a price-tag of $34,990, drive-away.

The surprising thing about this is how close it is to rivals. Yes, the Tiggo 4 Hybrid is still more affordable than most of its contemporaries, but it’s not by the same massive margin as its larger models like the Tiggo 7 PHEV ($39,990), which undercut the outgoing Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV by almost $20,000.

Instead, the Tiggo 4 Hybrid only just slips under a Toyota Yaris Cross GX hybrid ($34,790) although the margin increases considering Chery’s offer is drive-away. It also continues to look impressive compared to popular hybrid alternatives from more traditional automakers, like the exxy Honda HR-V (from $39,900) and the sightly larger Hyundai Kona (from $36,950).

The Tiggo 4’s value proposition is also complicated by how much competition there is in this small SUV space. A Haval Jolion hybrid, for example, can be had at $35,990, drive-away and is a slightly larger vehicle with a similar warranty offering, while MG’s ZS Hybrid+ can be had from $33,990, also drive-away, giving you plenty of things to think twice about.

Still, compared to those base prices for rivals, Chery is offering a top-spec and the Tiggo 4 Hybrid is pretty well equipped in this Ultimate form.

On the outside there are some expected things like 17-inch alloys and LED lighting, while on the inside the Tiggo 4 punches above its weight with things like dual 10.25-inch scregens for the multimedia and digital dash, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, synthetic leather seat trim with power adjust for the driver and heatin in the front two positions, dual-zone climate, a sunroof, ambient interior lighting, a wireless phone charger and a six-speaker stereo system.

There’s also a pretty good 360-degree view parking camera, walk away locking and auto-folding wing mirrors.

At this price, and in this segment, you generally have to spend a lot more to get this level of kit.

Audi’s 2.9-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 has seen plenty of use across performance products from Audi and Porsche, including the Macan S and Audi S6. 

In the RS4 and RS5 Competition Plus, it develops the same 331kW (at 5700-6700rpm) and 600Nm (at 1900-5000rpm) as the regular car. This makes it an extremely flexible engine that delivers predictable punch anywhere in the power band.

That said, it lacks the explosive character of BMW’s twin-turbo inline six — the figures are only 15kW and 50Nm higher on paper yet the M3’s response is that much more ferocious. 

Audi’s RS division has tried to capture a bit more emotion, retuning the eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission for crisper shifts. This also benefits the RS4’s 0-100km/h sprint time, which falls two tenths to 3.9 seconds in Competition Plus guise. 

The V6 breathes a little easier, too, with a different exhaust. Audi says the extra sound is down to 8.0kg less sound deadening in the car.

There’s more resonance at idle that does feel tiring sitting in traffic idling but the trade-off is a brawny mid-range baritone that develops into a shrill bark approaching the redline.

The Tiggo 4 hybrid variants pair a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a relatively large electric motor housed in a transaxle-style unit driving the front wheels. In effect, it's continuously variable without being a much-derided CVT auto.

Weirdly, Chery doesn’t state combined power figures, just separate ones for each power source, with the engine producing 72kW/120Nm and the electric motor producing 150kW/310Nm.

You’ll note the electric motor is much more powerful than the engine, which has an effect on the way this car drives.

The Audi RS4 wagon is rated to use 9.5L/100km in ADR combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) consumption testing while the slipperier RS5 returns 9.4L/100km in the same test. 

We weren’t able to run accurate or particularly relevant fuel figures on the event but the trip computers showed around 12L/100km in both RS4 and RS5. 

While these numbers are high compared to your average passenger car, the Audi is more efficient than BMW's rivals, and gets remarkably close to the hybrid C63 in the real world.

The fuel tank is quite small for this kind of vehicle at 58 litres. That limits the RS4’s theoretical driving range to 611km. 

Unsurprisingly, the Audi RS4 and RS5 require 98 RON premium unleaded petrol. 

The whole point of this plugless hybrid set-up is fuel efficiency and on paper it’s not as good as some rivals.

The official combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) economy number is 5.4L/100km, but we easily beat that claim on test with a figure of 4.5L/100km. Worth noting that average came primarily from urban and expressway driving. It seems the hybrid transmission might require significantly more combustion input in freeway scenarios, hence the higher official claim.

A 51-litre fuel tank translates to a 944km range using the official economy figure and around 1100km based on our on-test average.

The time allocated to driving the RS4 Avant Competition Plus was fairly limited and we were sadly unable to sample how the highly adjustable coil over suspension performed where it makes most sense — on the racetrack. 

Still, winding country roads between Sydney and the Southern Highlands served up some challenges, demonstrating how the Competition Plus pack changes the character of the RS4 and RS5. 

The only real negative is comfort, specifically over those horrible plastic speed bumps that litter shopping centre car parks. With adaptive dampers, carmakers can set programs for these kinds of obstacles to soften and stiffen the clever shocks at just the right time. Not so the Competition Plus pack cars, which ride these bumps harshly.

That about does it, though, and everything thing else is a net benefit. The steering system addresses some criticism of the earlier RS4s. Further than a retune, the Competition Plus gets a new rack, that is non-progressive with a fixed ratio of 15:1 (instead of 13.3:1) and 2.4 turns lock-to-lock. The reactions to each input feel a hint more faithful. 

When above 40km/h the coil overs come into their own. Even though the RS4 rides firmly it doesn’t constantly jiggle over small bumps. Over sharp-edged hits, the suspension rounds the hits off so, while you feel them, there’s a sense of control and sophistication. 

Having speed limits to contend with means it is essentially impossible to find the limits of grip of the 275/30R20 Continental SportContact 6 tyres on the road and there isn’t much body roll, either.

The RS4 is still rewarding, though, getting up on its toes just enough through a series of bends to feel engaging. It gives an impression of being quite light and at 1820kg it is now considered featherweight next to rivals.

The RS4's Quattro all-wheel drive system favours the rear wheels when driving normally (60 per cent rear) and can send up to 85 per cent of the drive to the back axle. 

The tweaked electronically-controlled rear limited-slip differential amplifies the throttle steer-ability of the RS4, giving you the confidence to squeeze the gas on exit. 

It helps that the Competition Plus bucket seats are a little thinner and set closer to the floor giving you more feedback. This is the key differentiator between the RS4 and RS5 we drove — the buckets make the car feel alive. 

Strong brakes are made up of 375mm front rotors clamped by six-piston calipers. Optional carbon ceramic brakes with larger 400mm front rotors help save 6.5kg and, if you plan to use the RS4 on track, are a smart buy along with a set of Pirelli P Zero Corsa semi slick tyres ($850). 

Really, though, neither the RS4 nor RS5 are the perfect car for the track. They are plenty capable and fast on the road with just enough fun, reward and character thrown in to keep you coming back for more.

The Tiggo 4 is a strange one. This hybrid one in particular has me in two minds.

My initial impression was not a good one. The high seating position makes you feel as though you’re sitting on the car rather than in it, and the overly electrically-assisted steering removes you from feeling what’s going on at the front wheels.

Even the pedal feel is wooden, with the car having to modulate the electric and combustion drive components and blended regenerative braking at arms length, leaving the driver with little in the way of feedback.

The ride isn’t one of the worst I’ve had in recent years, with an overall soft enough edge to it, but it also doesn’t feel very sophisticated, and harsher over the rear than it is in the front, giving it an unbalanced character. On top of this, our test car had a couple of intermittent rattling noises in the B-pillar (around where the belt retainer is) as well as somewhere in the rear.

Acceleration is pretty impressive at speeds under 80km/h, however, with plenty of power instantly available from the electric motor, although this has the side-effect of being able to easily overwhelm the Sailun tyres this top-spec Tiggo 4 ships on.

One thing I quite like about the Tiggo 4, however, is how smooth it is. The seemingly primarily electric drive is excellent, particularly at lower speeds where this car is at its best, surging forward largely in silence with no annoyances from a fiddly transmission.

Even the way it blends the combustion power in is seamless, even compared to a Toyota, for example, with the engine distantly buzzing away only when required.

It's impressive that unlike the MG3 and MG ZS which have similarly powerful electric motors but run out of juice and lose a bit of punch when the hybrid battery is low, the Tiggo 4 does a better job of managing its battery reserve level, making sure the strong electric power is always available. This might mean the engine idles higher and longer, but with decent sound deadening, it’s not something you notice much.

Overall the Tiggo 4 is okay to drive. The hybrid components impressed me enough, but these are tarnished by sub-par driver feedback and inputs, handling, tyres and some ergonomic issues.

The Tiggo 4 has a lot of safety kit for this segment and for such an affordable price, so much so that combustion versions have a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating (although this hybrid variant didn’t exist when it was tested).

Active equipment includes all the key stuff like auto emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise and auto high beams.

The 360-degree parking camera is a nice touch and there are seven airbags (dual front, side, curtain and centre).

Is the active stuff annoying? Yes, but you can most of it off and the car remembers your choice next time you start it, so you can turn the most egregious offenders, like lane departure warning, and speed limit assist off. 

Even when they’re on they are okay, but I found the driver monitoring to be the most annoying of the usual crop, pinging at you constantly, sometimes for reasons beyond my comprehension.

The one you can’t seem to permanently turn off is driver attention alert, which is annoying because it is this car’s most egregious offender, chiming at me for even daring to peer down at the digital dash to see how fast I’m going.

Audi covers the RS4 and RS5 with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty which is now the expected norm across the premium part of the market. 

A five-year service plan can be pre-purchased, costing $3630 for both models with maintenance due annually or every 15,000km. 

After the five-year warranty period, owners can choose to extend the service packaging and warranty for two extra years at a cost of $4260. This can be done twice, extending the warranty up to nine years.

The Tiggo 4 Hybrid is offered with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, seven years of roadside assist and seven years of capped price servicing with an eight year and unlimited kilometre warranty for the high-voltage battery.

The servicing is required once a year or 15,000km, with each service costing $299 for the first five years. It jumps from there, with a particularly expensive service at $736.62, dragging the yearly average for the warranty period up to $360 a year.

It’s a little pricier than Toyota, for example, but very reasonably priced compared to most.