Articles by James Stanford

The beautiful Brera coupe, which has just gone on sale, is the most expensive Alfa ever.The base four-cylinder Brera costs $69,950 and the all-wheel-drive V6 range-topper is $94,950.Add the hefty $1750 for metallic paint and the V6 Brera will set you back $96,700.To put that in perspective, you could buy a Nissan 350Z coupe and a Mitsubishi 380 and have more than $5000 left in your pocket.The V6 Brera's price matches it against the Mercedes-Benz 3.0-litre CLK ($95,100) and two potent models that will arrive soon — the Audi TT V6 and turbo-boosted BMW 3-Series.That is some pretty esteemed company, but Alfa Romeo Australia marketing manager Ross Meyer says the brand is ready."We don't see the price as a problem," Meyer says."The early demand for Brera V6 is very strong. It does very well against some excellent opponents with its high level of standard equipment and performance."Then there is the style.The Brera first appeared at the Geneva Motor Show in 2002 as a design concept by Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.At that stage, Alfa Romeo had no plans to build the car, but the overwhelming response to the concept car meant the Italian carmaker just had to make it.Alfa decided to produce the Brera as a replacement for the GTV coupe, built off the same base as the new 159 sedan.It did some fiddling, reducing the length by 5 per cent to 4413mm and lowering the body height by 3 per cent to 1372mm.The Brera is a 2+2, that is, a two-seater with two rear seats for children or grown ups prepared to squeeze in for short trips.Two models are offered: a four-cylinder and a V6. Both are available with a six-speed manual only, but a six-speed automatic will be added to the options list early next year.The base Brera is front-wheel-drive and runs a 2.2-litre four-cylinder that generates a modest 136kW and 230Nm of torque.Standard equipment includes leather seats, dual-zone climate control, CD sound system with 10-disc stacker, glass roof section, rear parking sensor, cruise control and 18-inch alloy wheels.Standard safety gear includes seven airbags, anti-skid brakes and electronic stability control.The Brera four weighs 1470kg and is able to go from 0-100km/h in 8.6 seconds. Fuel use is 9.4 litres/100km of combined city and highway driving.The AWD V6 Brera uses a General Motors-based 3.2-litre V6, the block made in Melbourne by GM Holden, though Alfa says much of the engine is its own design. The result is a six-cylinder that pumps out 191kW and 322Nm of torque.The V6 Brera comes with all the gear of the four-cylinder model, but adds "clover leaf" alloy wheels, premium leather seats, electric heated seats, Bose premium sound, Bluetooth connection system and xenon headlights.The extra weight of the bigger engine and AWD system pushes up the mass of the V6 Brera to 1630kg. Even so, the extra poke means it can dash from 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds.Fuel consumption for the more powerful Brera is 11.5 litres/100km of combined city-highway driving.ON THE ROADAnyone who has flicked through Vogue can tell you fashion is expensive, but people are prepared to pay a lot just to look good.The Alfa Brera is a case in point. If it looked plain, or just plain ugly, only the daft would hand over $70,000 for a 136kW four-cylinder.But the Brera is beautiful. It looks simply stunning with its lovely coupe rear, wedge tail-light cluster and gorgeous lines, all of which make it stand out in traffic.The Brera looks good on these pages, but just wait until you see it in the metal.Looks will be enough for some people, but others will expect that an Alfa that can cost as much as $95,000 also needs to deliver the driving thrills to match.The Alfa is competent, but the car doesn't drive as well as it looks.It's a lot better than the GTV it replaces, which looked lovely but had a terribly loose body that affected everything from ride comfort to handling.Alfa has stiffened the 159 and Brera bodies and the improvement is noticeable.The Brera is a solid car that is comfortable, sits well on the road and hangs on to the tarmac through the turns.It just isn't that exciting.The AWD V6 is the most disappointing, because it promises so much.It's great for Lygon St cruising, because it looks great and emits a thick and creamy six-cylinder exhaust note through its rear quad exhaust outlets at low revs.But on winding roads such as those in NSW's Hunter Valley, where Alfa launched the car last week, the V6 Alfa just doesn't shine.A run in some of its rivals along the same stretch of road would leave the driver beaming for hours afterwards.The Brera's V6 engine is torquey enough, with enough muscle down low, but it is not strong up the top end of the rev range. There is also very little exhaust or induction noise to be heard when you are wringing the engine.One of the best things about a six-cylinder is the note it belts out up the top of the rev range — just listen to the BMW in-line engines or even the 350Z Nissan V6.It is also hard to get involved in the drive because the seats have very little support and you have to concentrate on leaning against the force of the turn, rather than just driving.The steering doesn't give the driver much feel either.The traction level of the Brera V6 is excellent and the car can punch out of the turns with confidence that only an AWD system can deliver.You do feel the extra weight, though, and the car is definitely not as nimble as the four-cylinder.The four-cylinder engine does well enough — if you are not that interested in a really sporty drive.The Brera is a competent car that looks stunningly beautiful — just don't expect it to be a red-hot sports car.

IF YOU thought the Golf GTi was the king of hot hatches, you haven't met its big brother -- the R32.The R32 is the ultimate example of what happens when you take a small car and cram in a big six-cylinder engine.It runs a 3.2-litre V6 that pumps out a hefty 182kW and 320Nm of torque linked to an all-wheel-drive system for the best possible traction. The bigger engine and extra weight of the AWD system push the Golf's weight up to 1541kg, but also give it the ammunition to blast from 0-100km/h in only 6.2 seconds.This is the second time the VW team has given its Golf the R32 treatment.The first R32 was released at the end of the life of the previous Golf, 200 coming to Australia in 2003, and it was disappointing.This time, Volkswagen decided to introduce the R32 much earlier in the model life of the new Golf, Volkswagen managing director Jutta Dierks says."We learnt the hard way that we were too late with the previous R32," Dierks says."We started working on this R32 as soon as we released the last one."Volkswagen engineers set out to make the new R32 a much more comfortable car to drive, but didn't want to dull its performance edge."The last R32 was nice, it is already a collector's item, but it was a sporty race car and if you had to drive 500km in it, it was not so easy," Dierks says."So we said we wanted to have a sporty car, a car that you could race at a track if you wanted, but you could also drive it every single day to work."Volkswagen is releasing two versions of the R32, a three-door hatch for $54,990 and a five-door hatch for $56,490.Those prices are for cars fitted with a six-speed manual. The excellent six-speed automated twin-clutch DSG automatic adds another $2300.Standard gear for the R32 includes leather sports seats, sports leather steering wheel, bi-xenon headlights, cruise control, alloy-look pedals, climate-control airconditioning and premium sound system with 10 speakers.Standard safety gear includes anti-skid brakes, electronic stability control that can be switched off, six airbags and tyre pressure monitors.The R32's firmer suspension drops the ride height 20mm lower than the GTi and it sits on 18-inch alloy wheels.It runs a muscular body kit, with deep front and rear bumpers and centre twin pipes that protrude from the rear bumper.Under the bonnet is a narrow-angle 3.2-litre V6 with four valves a cylinder that pumps out 184kW at 6300 revs and 320Nm at 2500 revs.The AWD system uses a Haldex centre differential that shifts power between all four wheels.The R32 can run as a front-wheel drive or shift up to 85 per cent to the rear wheels on demand.If you think it all sounds similar to the Audi A3 Sportback V6, you are right.The Audi and Volkswagen are essentially the same under the skin because both companies are part of the same family.Volkswagen also says R32 rivals include the Subaru WRX STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, but that is a bit cheeky given that each of those cars hase more power and more advanced AWD systems than the hot Golf.

EUROPEAN magazine readers have named Volkswagen's new all-wheel-drive the Tiguan.More than 350,000 readers of car magazines owned by the Autobild group across 10 countries picked the odd-sounding name from a list of equally strange candidates including Nanuk, Namib, Rockton and Samun.Volkswagen gave the magazines the five potential names and waited for readers to choose.The Tiguan is a medium-sized AWD wagon that sits under the bigger off-roader with an equally unusual name, the Touareg.Touareg is named after a North African tribe. Tiguan shares its name with a small town in the Zamboanga del Sur region of the Philippines.Volkswagen management board chairman Dr Wolfgang Bernhard says having readers choose the Tiguan name has been a good move."This unique event is demonstrative of how Volkswagen is opening up. We made a clear appeal to the market -- potential buyers could help choose the name Tiguan. The positive reaction shows that this is the right approach."The Tiguan will be built off the same base as the Golf. VW will start producing it in 2008 at its Wolfsburg plant in Germany.VW released a concept sketch of the new model, which was first shown as the Concept A at the Geneva Motor Show this February.That concept car ran a boosted 1.4-litre petrol engine, though larger petrol and diesel engines are expected to be offered.Volkswagen Australia is looking at whether it will import the Tiguan here."We look at every single car," VW Australia managing director Jutta Dierks says."We see a lot of shifts in the market. One is from petrol to diesel. Another shift is from big SUVs (all-terrain wagons) to small SUVs and from large cars to small cars."If that is happening in the market-place, then you definitely want to be there with a car like this."

THE residents of Wycliffe Well are used to seeing strange things from far, far away. After all, it is the self-proclaimed UFO centre of Australia, complete with a fluoro-green family of alien statues in front of the petrol station.But even the locals look twice when they see a fleet of unidentified vehicles travelling fast, 380km north of Alice Springs on the Stuart Highway in searing March heat.The cars are actually Toyota Camry prototypes, still five months from being launched, with tape covering badges and the edges of the lights to try to hide the branding.A Camry this far inland, pounding sticky tarmac and baked red dirt more than 2000km from Melbourne, is a rare sight.But the Toyota engineers are here on a 10,000km mission to make sure the car is as close to perfect as can be when it hits the road.By the time the car rolls out of the factory, Toyota Australia engineers will have clocked up 650,000km to make sure the Camry can stand up to the meanest Australian conditions.The basic Camry has been tested extensively in Japan and around the world, but the Australian Camrys have been adapted for local duty.Much of the local testing was done at the punishing Anglesea Proving Ground, but Toyota knows there is nothing like the real world for testing its cars.The long evaluation loops, like the one on which I tagged along, are valuable because the cars are driven over so many different surfaces, from flat-top highways to the rutted dirt of outback tracks.Then there is the temperature.Toyota engineers have already tested the Camrys in extreme cold. Now it's time to test them in the 35C-plus of the Outback.Most of the hard testing has already been carried out. This trip is more of a final evaluation, making sure everything works; checking the quality of the plastics, the fittings and dust sealing; listening for rattles; keeping an eye out for problems.It beats working in the office, but this is no driving holiday.Every few hundred kilometres, the Toyota team pulls over to the side of the road and goes through the same routine with each car.They get out, open the boot and shut it, open the boot and shut it, open the boot and shut it . . .They do the same with the bonnet, then the doors, to make sure they continue to work properly.We drive the cars in convoy along long flat roads -- most of which have no speed limits -- at highway speeds and slightly above for hours and hours, looking out at the red dirt horizon.A run on a twisting dirt road offers an example of how well this car handles on slippery surfaces. It sits happily around nasty off-camber corners, and feels nice and solid.We hit some nasty washouts hard and the suspension bottoms out with a bang.At the end of the dirt run we find the plastic mud spats, which sit behind the wheels, have come loose. That goes on to Toyota's list of things to fix.After a hamburger at Wycliffe Well, it is time for an interesting comparison.The Toyota team has brought along the current Camry model and we take it for a run to compare it with the new car being tested.You notice how much they have improved the car as soon as you sit inside.The new Camry's dashboard will win no fashion awards, but it does have some nice lines and shapes. The old model's dashboard is dead flat, devoid of style.On the road, the old model reveals how much the Toyota team has improved the handling of the new Camry.Lane changes at high speed are the most dramatic way to measure this. The new Camry stays quite flat and feels stable as it shifts lanes; the old model lurches with a lot more body roll and feels less sure-footed.Then there is the level of refinement. I sit in the back of each Camry at highway speed and again the contrast is stark.The new Camry is so much quieter as it barrels over the hot tarmac of the highway, and it is easy to chat to the driver from the back.Try that in the old Camry, travelling at the same speed, and you really will need to raise your voice to out-do the tyre roar and wind noise that penetrates the cockpit.That is the sort of thing that really affects comfort levels, especially at highway speed.As the aliens who cross galaxies to visit the folk at Wycliffe Well are aware: comfort is important when you're covering a lot of kilometres.

THE condemned Smart Forfour is going out with a bang. Smart has announced it will kill off the four-seater hatch that stands out in a crowd with its plastic panels and unique style. But the decision to end the production of the Forfour came after German tuning house Brabus had its way with the car. Only 50 of the Forfour Brabus cars have come to Australia, with a hefty $39,990 price. Smart is better known for tiny city cars that are both light on petrol and driving thrills. But the Brabus uses a turbocharger with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to smash any pre-conceptions. The super Smart is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder that pumps out 130kW when the turbo is spinning and 230Nm of torque. That's enough herb and spice to sling the 1090kg Forfour from 0-100km/h in only 6.9 seconds. Though most new turbo engines have a smooth powerband spread through the rev range, the Brabus Smart is decidedly sluggish down low, but goes on to unleash a brutal rush of power when the tacho spins past 2500 revs. It might go against the new turbo trend, but the Smart's power delivery is a lot of fun, accentuating how much poke the car really has. The turbo fun also comes at a reasonably low cost, because the official fuel economy figure for 100km of mixed highway and city driving is only 6.8 litres. The boosted front-wheel drive is fitted with traction control to try to tame the engine. The traction system tries hard to react quickly enough, but you still have to be careful feeding on the power in slippery conditions. The Brabus could do with a limited-slip differential, which quickly switches power across the front axle for the best possible traction, because it tends to lift the inside wheel and spin coming out of tight turns. The Brabus ride height has been lowered by 30mm, the suspension is much stiffer and it runs on big 17-inch alloy wheels that look great. The harder suspension is designed to help the Brabus car sit flat in turns and Smart says ride comfort has not been sacrificed. "The car's agile and very sporty handling does not mean you are in for a rough ride," reads a Smart statement. Sorry, Smart. That simply isn't true. Few cars have a ride as harsh as the Brabus Forfour's. It's fine on smooth roads, but crashes and thumps over bumps and potholes with such severity that you soon tire of it. The interior has plenty of standard equipment, including a big sunroof. Heated seats, trimmed in nice leather, are also appreciated on freezing Melbourne mornings. There are extra dashboard gauges, an aluminium gearknob, new instrument cluster and a thick leather sports steering wheel. The Brabus Forfour is available with a five-speed manual gearbox only. It is quite a slick shifter, but an extra gear would be nice to stop the engine buzzing at highway speeds. The Brabus also misses out on cruise control, which should be standard on a $40,000 car. Exterior details including the six-spoke alloy wheels, twin-pipe exhaust, body kit and Brabus-branded engine rocker cover also help the special Smart stand out from standard models. The Forfour has a reasonable amount of interior room, given its size, and has some intelligent features, including a rear seat bench that can slide back and forth.

It chews some grass, then heads for some old machinery at the side of the road, which it leans on to rub its rump.The luxurious Lexus is more interesting than the wombat gives it credit for.It is a great technical achievement. The Lexus team has managed to combine a powerful V6 engine and an electric motor for masses of power and to limit fuel consumption.Whether or not it will revolutionise the automotive landscape, as Lexus claims, is another question.It's impressive, but also flawed.The GS450h is tested on a 1870km trip to Sydney, on to the Blue Mountains and back.I even venture 47km from Lithgow to a bush cabin at the ghost town of Newnes, once an oil shale production site.After driving the new Lexus, you wonder whether petrol-electric hybrids really are the answer or whether it will it be a forgotten technology in a few years.It is expensive for Lexus (Toyota) to develop and produce — it certainly isn't making money from hybrids.At $121,990, the GS450h slips into the Lexus GS range between the $112,300 V6 GS300 Sports Luxury and the $137,200 V8 GS430.It gets a range of top-shelf gizmos including adaptive headlights, radar cruise control, keyless start, rear parking camera and the latest-generation satellite navigation.But the big difference is the hybrid drivetrain.The special GS combines a Toyota-based 3.5-litre V6 with an electric motor, using a battery that is topped-up through friction from the brakes and engine.At low speeds the GS450h can run purely off the electric motor, which is eerily silent.When you give it a push, the GS fires up its V6 petrol engine as well.Sometimes the car runs purely on the petrol engine.The combination of both powerplants adds up to an impressive 254kW.There is 275Nm available on demand thanks to the electric motor and a total 368Nm from the V6 at 4800 revs.The car uses a continuously variable transmission that constantly changes the gear ratio and feels like it has just one gear.Lexus says all this provides guilt-free performance.The GS450h is fast. Lexus says it can do 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds, faster than its V8 big brother.Lexus also claims it produces combined fuel consumption figures of 7.9 litres/100km — that, and the 0-100km time, seems optimistic.Highways, where petrol and diesel engines shine, aren't friendly to hybrids.The test car achieved an average fuel consumption figure of 8.3 litres on the trip — about what you would expect from a regular Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore using petrol combustion engines and regular unleaded (the GS demands premium).A sporty and refined diesel, such as the one found in the BMW 530d or Peugeot 407 Coupe, should do significantly better.Other testers have returned figures of eight to nine 9 litres/100km driving the GS in the city, which is good but is not going to save the planet.One of the biggest problems is the size of the battery, which takes up a huge chunk of the boot, which now has room for only one large suitcase. The overflow has to travel on the back seat — making it close to useless for family travel.The boot space would be even more cramped if Lexus hadn't replaced the full-size spare wheel with a space saver, which is not good on a long trip in the bush.The extra hybrid components also add weight — about 250kg, turning it into a 1865kg car.The extra grunt of the powerplants overcomes this in a straight line, but the extra weight takes its toll when cornering.The steering in the Lexus has a dead feel and the nanny electronic stability control is overly protective — discouraging sporty handling.Its CVT gearbox is the same. It feels strange to not have any gear changes and decidedly non-sporty. The "manual" shift mode is even less convincing.Still, you can't overlook the car's stunning torque.Plant the right foot while passing a truck and it will storm forwards with the go of a supercharged V8. It's a pity it sounds like an over-muffled V6.The only other niggle is the suspension tuning, which is harsher than it should be.This Lexus is at home in stop-start city traffic, where it runs quietly and efficiently in comfort, but is not perfect.The 450h is an interesting technological showpiece that owners will enjoy showing to their friends, but it certainly doesn't revolutionise the automotive landscape.

Now Nissan has introduced a mid-life Maxima facelift and jiggled the line-up.The exterior upgrades are hard to pick. The cars have new bumpers, a revised grille, fog lights, new LED tail-lights and slightly different alloy wheels.On the inside, the changes are a bit more visible. Nissan has added new leather trim and replaced faux woodgrain bits with dark plastic.The engine, a cracker 3.5-litre V6 with four valves a cylinder is unchanged. It doesn't quite match the 350Z's output, being tuned for refinement over performance, but still puts out 170kW and 333Nm.The new gearbox is the most important addition. It is a continuously variable transmission (CVT), which uses a chain and two pulleys to constantly change gear ratios. The idea is that the engine delivers optimum power and improves fuel economy. For the driver, it feels as if the car has one gear, with no step changes.Two problems prevented CVT technology from sweeping across the car world: the unpleasant sound and reliability concerns.The Maxima range now includes the upgraded base ST-L and Ti. The range-topping Ti-L is gone. Prices start at $39,990 for the ST-L and hit $44,990 for the Ti.It is a good car, but it could have been great. A marshmallow-soft suspension set-up might put bums on Maxima seats in the US, but in Australia it just spoils a nice car.The mid-corner body roll of the big Nissan is extreme to the extent that it lurches through turns. Its floating suspension movement was so bad on a pot-holed, undulating, twisty country road I almost became sea-sick.Some work on the steering would also be welcome. The present system offers little feedback through the wheel.All this means you are not tempted to push the Maxima hard, despite the engine's terrific punch. The car, however, does deliver excellent ride comfort on smooth highways. The sumptous leather seats feel like soft lounges. The best feature of the revised Maxima is the CVT automatic. It works a treat with the 3.5-litre V6. Thanks to the steady flow of torque on tap, it doesn't sound like the clutch is slipping because you can hardly hear the engine working away.There is no juddering as it pops up into the next gear. Nissan has added a self-shift mode, so you can shift between six pre-set ratios.Nissan says the CVT delivers fuel economy benefits. Official fuel-use figures are reduced from 11.2 litres/100km to 10.8/100km. We found the Maxima ran at 10.4 litres/100km doing a fair chunk of highway driving, which is reasonable but not great considering it drinks only pricier premium fuel.It is a nice big car with a luggage-swallowing boot and good legroom.The interior looks good; several people who saw the Ti test car thought it cost a lot more than it does. It is not perfect though. The steering wheel, for instance, doesn't have buttons to control the sound system; a feature expected these days.As for the sound system, the speakers are powerful enough but the in-glass antenna struggles out of town.The keyless entry key-fob might impress some, but feels like an afterthought.Most cars with similar systems have an engine start-stop button. The Maxima doesn't. You can get into the car without having to take the key out of your pocket, but you still have to turn a plastic dial covering the ignition barrel on the steering column.Overall, the car is excellent value when you consider all the metal and equipment you get.

Until late last year, the German brand offered diesel models only in its all-wheel-drive wagons, the X3 and the X5.It now offers a diesel in the 1-Series and 5-Series and plans to introduce a diesel 3-Series this month.The new 120d is not cheap. At $47,800 it is the second most expensive model in the range behind the potent 130i.Even so, BMW predicts the oil-burner 120d will make up 20 per cent of 1-Series sales.The 120d runs a four-cylinder turbo diesel with 115kW at 4000 revs and an impressive 330Nm of torque at 2000 revs.For those unfamiliar with torque figures, 330Nm is a lot. In fact, it is 10Nm more than Holden's 3.6-litre base Commodore V6 petrol engine.The BMW diesel uses a high-pressure common-rail fuel-injection system and a turbo with a variable turbine, which means you don't have to wait long for it to spin up.BMW says the 120d uses 6.6 litres of diesel for 100km of mixed city and highway driving. It can move from 0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds.A six-speed automatic transmission, with self-shift mode is standard. No manual is available.Standard gear includes 17-inch alloys, sports seats, cruise control, fog lights, climate control airconditioning and on-board computer with outside temperature reading.Safety gear includes stability and traction control, anti-skid brakes, and a full suite of airbags.Just like its 1-Series relatives, the 120d is a rear-wheel-drive hatch that can seat five people.BMW says the small car benefits from an excellent weight distribution for sporty handling. The engine is behind the front axle. It also says the 1-Series benefits from being the only car in its class that is rear-wheel-drive rather than front-wheel-drive.From the outside, the 120d looks the same as other 1-Series models.The 120d has plenty of punch, but is too noisy and very expensive. Sure, it runs nicely off the line, but it comes at the expense of refinement.The 120d is much noisier than the ($29,990) Citroen C4 diesel we tested last month, it's much more expensive and it uses more fuel.The BMW's high-pitched diesel rattle, which is loud at idle and even louder when the engine is spinning faster, is not what you expect from a BMW passenger car.It might be enough at cruising speed, but passengers instantly pick the 120d as a diesel.We didn't expect it to be as smooth as the lovely 5-Series diesel, a $114,500 car, but we didn't think it would be so loud.The 120d test car used about six litres of diesel/100km, almost all on the highway. That would be impressive for a petrol engine, but isn't so great for a small diesel model when you consider the C4 used only 4.3-4.5 litres/100km in similar conditions.Factor in that diesel costs more than petrol and that the 120d costs more than equivalent petrol models, and it is hard to see the economic benefit.That leaves performance. If you like the low-down urge of a meaty diesel then the 120d should please you. It rushes off the line and moves along much faster than you'd expect. For the record, it would easily outpace the C4 diesel.The 1-Series handles very well and if you could get used to the diesel power delivery, it would be a bit of fun on tight and twisty roads.The top equipment in the 120d is welcome, but you are paying $47,800 for a small car.

It may not be as big as the Ford and Holden V8s, but it has more than enough poke — 309kW and 430Nm.Then again, you would want a fair share of herbs and spices given that the RS4 costs $164,500.It has incredible performance, but the RS4 can also be used as an everyday driver, with four doors, a sizeable boot, and room for five people.The 4.2-litre engine is a worked version of the five-valve a cylinder V8 used in the S4.The RS4 engine has four-valves a cylinder, with an injector that takes the place of the fifth valve at the top of each cylinder. It runs direct fuel injection, Audi calls it FSI, for more efficient combustion.The high-revving engine uses new forged pistons, modified conrods and a revised crank and cylinder heads.All this mechanical goodness means the RS4 can charge from 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds.Figures you don't want to dwell on deal with fuel consumption — the official city/highway cycle figure is 13.7 litres/100km, but the engine really starts to slurp when you push.Don't even bother looking at the RS4 if you can't use a manual because no automatic is available.Audi says the RS4 is such a hands-on sportscar, drivers won't mind changing gears themselves.The manual is a six-speed, hooked-up to a sporty version of Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system.Previous RS4 models had a 50/50 power split between the front and rear wheels, but many customers want their cars to be a bit more tail happy under power.So the new RS4 feeds 60 per cent of the grunt to the rear wheels and 40 per cent to the front wheels.The car also uses the second generation of Audi's Dynamic Ride Control adaptive suspension system.This hydraulic system is designed to limit body roll and also stop the nose diving or lifting too much under braking and acceleration.Using this system, the RS4's shock absorbers are linked diagonally with a central valve.When cornering or diving forces are encountered, the system sends more fluid to the shock absorbers under load to make the car sit as flat as possible.Handling and stability are improved because the wheels have been pushed out further. The distance between the wheels from side to side (track) has been increased 37mm at the front and 47mm at the rear.The RS4 runs lightweight 19-inch alloy wheels and sits 30mm lower — adding to its menacing look.It features traction control and electronic stability control that can be switched off in two stages when the driver is feeling sporty.Audi has also fitted the RS4 with potent anchors — the front brake calipers have the same number of pistons as the engine.It has 365mm diameter discs at the front and 324mm discs at the rear, pulled up with single piston swing calipers.Audi has used a lot of aluminium to keep the RS4's weight down to a respectable 1650kg.The lightweight metal is used for several suspension components, seat frames, the front quarter panels and the bonnet.Almost all the RS4's body panels body are unique except for the roof and front doors.The RS4 runs pumped-out wheel arches, to allow for the wider track and make the car look muscular.The boot lid is also different, and has a large integrated rear spoiler.The interior is a mix of leather, carbon-fibre and aluminium.The RS4 has a flat-bottomed steering wheel with an S button — press it for a sharper throttle response and louder exhaust.Flaps partially blocking the exhaust lift up and cause this effect.The button also causes the side bolsters of the special bucket seats to expand, hugging you in the seat.ON THE ROADI stop watching the speedo after it passes 220km/h. I need to look at other things — such as the corner looming at an alarming speed.I wait as long as possible, then jump on the brake pedal. The eight-pot calipers squeeze the large pizza-size front brake discs and the RS4 squirms as it washes off some of the speed.It's still not clear if they have slowed this rocket-ship enough for it to enter turn one at Calder Park Raceway with any chance of staying on the tarmac.The brake pads must be hurting as they pull up 1730kg of car and driver in a hurry.After changing down to second gear, it's time to throw the super Audi into the turn.If I could, I would cross my fingers, but both hands are busy on the steering wheel.The RS4 turns in, all four wheels scrabbling for grip, desperately clinging to the road.Halfway through the turn it's time to start feeding on the tremendous power on tap to sling the car out of the bend.The braking and cornering abilities of the RS4 are impressive, but let's not forget what this car is all about — the engine.The pumped-out guards, meaty 19-inch wheels, wicked seats and spoiler are only window-dressing.The power and torque figures will impress your mates at the pub, but it's the 8250 rev limit that is the true wonder.Most V8s would quickly turn into a steaming pile of molten alloy if you tried to push them past 8000 revs, but the bent-eight Audi engine loves it. Not that you have to work it hard.The 4.2-litre unit has a meaty torque band — 90 per cent of it is on tap from 2250 revs all the way to 7600 revs. This means you can leave it in a higher gear and let the engine pull the car along easily.Most customers will appreciate the low-down torque of the engine more than its blissful top-end, which you can really only explore on a race track.There you can use the extra traction of the AWD system to get a good run out of the turn and watch as the tacho flicks up quickly towards the red line.The trick here is to change up just before the computer steps in to cut the engine's power and prevent its components from parting company in an ugly manner.Run through a few gears and you will soon be close to warp speed.The manual gearbox is crisp: not too heavy, not too light.Its clutch pedal is not as heavy as you would expect for a car with such a stunning reserve of torque.That means you don't get a sore left ankle if you have to spend much time in stop-start traffic like the rest of Melbourne.The seats are comfortable and supportive as long as you fit between the scalloped wrap-around edges.Larger customers can always order the flatter regular S4 seats.Though the RS4 has been set up to be even sportier than the S4, it is much more comfortable to ride in.That's not difficult. The S4 has an extremely firm and harsh ride.The RS4 really can be driven every day in reasonable comfort, but owners would be mad not to hit the track and see what it is designed to do.

The Italian brand is known in Australia for style, spicy engines and in the past rust and the occasional breakdown.