Audi S4 vs Audi RS4

What's the difference?

The S4 and S5 range continues to represent a great formula for performance you can live with every day. They're arguably the sweetest balance Audi produces, actually. All come fantastically equipped, with cabins that feel truly special, and we’re lucky they can be had in a choice of five bodystyles.  

Practicality, performance and polish, all in one very handsome wagon shape. The Audi RS4 Avant is welcome reminder of the days before SUVs ruled the world, and it leaves you wondering how we ever allowed that take-over to happen at all.

The S4 sedan and Avant have scored the bulk of design updates, with all new and recontoured side panels including the sedan’s C-pillar matching what was applied to the A4 earlier this year. 

This is paired with new front and rear facias and lighting for a subtle but extensive rework of the fifth-generation S4’s conservative look. 

The S5 Sportback, Coupe and Cabriolet get S5-specific new lighting and facias, but no sheetmetal changes. As before, the Coupe and Cabriolet ride on a 60mm shorter wheelbase than the Sportback, sedan and Avant.

The S5s also get Matrix LED headlights as standard which do a neat animated sequence when you unlock the car. 

Other visual hallmarks include new S4-specific 19-inch wheels, with S5 stepping up to its own unique 20-inch wheel. The six-piston front brake calipers are appropriately painted red, and there’s S-specific adaptive dampers under there too. All variants aside from the Cabriolet get a lip spoiler on the rear.

On the inside, there’s a new centre console and bigger 10.1-inch multimedia screen, while the Audi Virtual Cockpit driver instrument display now offers a hockey stick-style rev counter in additional to traditional dial layouts.

I think it looks fantastic; a tough, low-slung performance wagon that makes you long for the days when SUVs were only for people who wanted to climb mountains, not driveways. 

Looking at it straight-on, the Audi RS4 Avant looks wide and mean, with its blacked-out mesh grille that's kind of folded in the middle, giving it a sharp ridge that juts out in front of it. Interestingly, Audi's Single Frame Grille treatment is now a kind of no-frame grille, with the body colour extending all the way to beginning of the meshing.

Those 20-inch alloys perfectly fill the swollen wheel arches, with the red of the massive brake calipers peeking out from behind the spokes, while at the rear, two massive exhaust exits frame the rear end. 

Inside, it's a blacked-out, leather-wrapped space that feels both tech-savvy and well constructed. There's ridged leather on the seats, and a satisfying chunkiness to both the flat-bottomed steering wheel and the sizeable gear shifter. 

I've heard people complain about the positioning of the 10.1-inch centre screen, perched as it is above the dash a little like an afterthought, but I really don't mind it. Its big, clear, and positioned where it is, easy to both read and reach.

The biggest practicality change among the five S4 and S5 variants is their upgrade to the latest version of Audi’s MMI multimedia system, which steps up to a 10.1-inch touchscreen and drops the scroll wheel from the centre console.

It also boasts ten times the computing power of the version it replaces and uses this and an on-board sim card to access Google Earth maps for navigation and Audi Connect Plus that offers driver information such as fuel prices and parking information as well as point of interest search and weather information, plus the ability to make emergency calls and seek roadside assistance.

There’s also a wireless phone charger, but using Apple CarPlay will still require a cord as per Android Auto.

I only drove the S4 Avant and S5 Sportback at their media launch, which are clearly the most practical of the five, but from our experience with the previous versions, each looks after its occupants well in terms of space and storage. Back seat accommodation is clearly not a priority in the Coupe and Cabriolet, but there’s three other variants if that’s what you’re looking for. 

The Cabriolet can open its automatic folding soft top within 15 seconds, at speeds of up to 50 km/h.

Ah, the practicality of a wagon, remember that? Honestly, I'm sometimes surprised that SUVs have managed such a hostile takeover, especially when I climb out of a well-sorted estate, like the RS4 Avant.

It measures 4782mm in length, 1866mm in width, and 1438mm in height, making it slightly longer - but much lower - than the Audi Q5.

But while Audi's SUV manages a commendable 463L of luggage space with the rear seats in place, the RS4 Avant delivers 495L, with the that number swelling to 1495L with the second row folded flat.

The point is, it delivers the perks of a sizeable SUV, without ever feeling so big. 

Up front, riders will share cupholders, bottle holders in the doors, and multiple USB and power connection point, along with storage cubbies of various sizes and shapes. 

In the back, rear seat riders get the same premium interior treatment as the driver, and get their own air vents with digital climate controls, bottle holders in their doors, USB connection points, and ISOFIX attachment points at each of the window seats in the back. 

Right, so it isn't particularly cheap, the RS4 Avant, which arrives wearing a $147,900 price tag before you start ticking option boxes. Our test vehicle, for example, had gloss-black alloys, carbon inserts and a blacked-out version of Audi's rings and badges, which lifted the asking price to $150,400.

That's if you want to trouble the option list, of course, because actually, the RS4 Avant arrives with just about everything you could need.

Outside, you'll find 20-inch alloys, red brake calipers, heated mirrors, privacy glass and a sunroof, while inside you'll find Nappa leather seats that are heated in the front, ambient interior lighting, and a Bang and Olufsen sound system.

Tech is now handled by a bigger 10.1-inch touchscreen that gets Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there's wireless charging for your smartphone, too. You also get standard navigation, as well as Audi's Virtual Cockpit - which replaces the dials in the driver's binnacle with a digital screen - that's been updated with new RS functionality.

Audi has taken an ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach with the mechanicals, with all S4 and S5 models unchanged with this update. So the centrepiece continues to be the single-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 that produces 260kW and 500Nm, with the latter available from a broad 1370-4500rpm.

The rest of the drivetrain is also unchanged, with the venerable but excellent ZF eight-speed torque converter auto paired with the Quattro all-wheel drive system that can send up to 85 per cent of drive to the rear wheels. 

It's a beast of a power plant - a twin-turbo 2.9-litre six-cylinder TFSI that will deliver 331kW at 5700rpm and 600Nm at 1900rpm, sending it thundering to all four wheels (because quattro) via an eight-speed tiptronic automatic.

That's enough, says Audi, to deliver a 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.1 seconds, which is plenty quick. 

Official combined fuel figures range from 8.6L1/00km for the S4 sedan to 8.8L/100km for the Avant, Coupe and Sportback, while the heavier Cabriolet steps up to 9.1L/100km. 

All are pretty good considering their performance potential and the size of these cars, plus the fact that they only require 95 RON Premium Unleaded fuel.

All have a 58-litre fuel tank, which should enable a range of at least 637km between fills based on the Cabriolet’s figure.

Audi says you'll get 9.5L/100km on the combined cycle, and emit 218g/km of CO2. But not if you drive it like you'll want to drive it. Get a little too familiar with the accelerator and you can expect that number to climb.

The RS4 Avant is fitted with a 58-litre fuel tank.

The S4 and S5 range were already an excellent balance between everyday comfort and a genuine sporting edge, and nothing has changed with this update.

I spent time behind the wheel of the S4 Avant and S5 Sportback at their media launch, and both managed to deliver the proper Audi luxury experience over some pretty rough rural roads, while always feeling a bit more sporting than a regular A4 or A5. That’s with the Drive Select left in the default mode, but you can shift that sporting personality up a few notches (while scaling back the comfort), by selecting Dynamic mode. 

My preferred means of adjusting their personality is by simply tugging the transmission selector back to activate S mode, which livens up the engine and transmission without stiffening up the suspension. 

Across the five S4 and S5 bodystyles, there is some variance in performance potential, with the S4 sedan and S5 Coupe topping the performance chart with 0-100km/h boasts of 4.7s, with the S5 Sportback trailing them by 0.1s, the S4 Avant by a further 0.1s and the Cabriolet managing a still-fast 5.1s claim.

Another area I consider the S4 and S5s to get just right is their exhaust note. It is adaptive, but there’s nothing synthetic about it, and the generally muted and distinctly V6 burble is always there to remind you that you’re aboard a proper performance model, but not in such a way that it will annoy you, or your neighbours. Polite performance, if you will.

It's a thundercat, the RS4 Avant, and might well be among the world's most undercover sleepers, given its ability to deliver near-supercar pace from its fairly understated station wagon body shape. 

Sink into the driver's seat, grip the chunky, leather-wrapped steering wheel and kick over the engine, and the low rumble of then exhaust immediately informs you that you're in something with some serious performance potential.

The acceleration is properly addictive, with the RS4 piling on speed on the exit of corners, shrinking the gap between bends so much that you're hurriedly standing on the brakes again as you barrel into the next turn before you know it.

It feels properly, properly sporty, and you can't help but feel a little smug about the fact you can effectively pour an entire Bunnings into the massive boot, where people in true supercars are lucky if they can fit even fit themselves in them. 

And I think that's the magic of a car like this, that straddles that line between practical and potent with such aplomb, it feels like it you're not making much in the way of sacrifices, and you can knock off the school run or a hill sprint with equal ability.

Downsides? Well, even in its angriest settings, the gearbox felt a little fidgety at pace, shifting up or down at strange moments on the way into or out of corners. You can take control via the paddle shifters, of course, but it wasn't the most intuitive gearbox I've experienced. The steering, too, felt a little - and I  mean a little - disconnected, even in its sportiest settings.

The safety story begins with eight airbags, and the usual suite of braking and traction aids, but then climbs into the tech-savvy stuff from there.

You get a 360-degree camera, adaptive cruise with stop and go, active lane assist, front and rear parking sensors, AEB with pedestrian detection, rear cross-traffic alert, an exit warning system, blind-spot monitoring and turn assist, which monitors oncoming traffic when making a turn.

It's a lot of gear, and it all contributes to Audi's five-star ANCAP safety rating, awarded in 2015 to the A4 range.

Audi continues to offer a three year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is in line with BMW but lags behind the five years offered by Mercedes-Benz these days. This also contrasts with the five year norm among mainstream brands, which is punctuated by the seven year warranties of Kia and SsangYong.  

Service intervals are a convenient 12 months/15,000km though, and the same five year ‘Audi Genuine Care Service Plan’ offers capped price servicing for the same $2950 total over five years applies to all S4 and S5 variants. This is only marginally more than the plans offered for regular petrol A4 and A5 variants, so you’re not being stung for the thoroughbred versions.

Audi vehicles are covered by a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which is feeling more than a little underdone when compared to some competitors.

Services are due every 12 months or 15,000kms, and Audi allows you to pre-pay your service costs for the first five years, at a cost of $3,050.