 2013 Audi S4. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Jonathan Yarkony
Odometer at pick-up: 2,368 km
Odometer: 6,722 km (4,354 km by Autos.ca)
Observed Fuel Consumption: 11.5 L/100 km
Costs: $708.95 (Gas)
In our last update, we signed off mentioning a short road trip we had planned, but the S4 was even busier than expected in its final weeks with Autos.ca.
That road trip turned out to be a different sort of test than was expected. First of all, we left the kids at home for the weekend since it was an adults-only wedding we were attending, so cargo space wasn’t challenged even as much as a short trip to the mall with the kids. Additionally, my plan to tour some of the Muskoka region’s fine driving roads turned into a suspension test of the highest order.
    2013 Audi S4. Click image to enlarge |
We chose to stay at the Port Cunnington Lodge, not just for its idyllic and near perfect representation of the Muskoka style cottages and docks and beautiful view overlooking the Lake of Bays. On a previous launch event (Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, if you must know), the road leading to the Lodge was the highlight scenic road to enjoy that vehicle’s newfound driving dynamics. Well, that was in 2012. In 2013, that same road is a gravel road, perhaps in preparation for repaving, or perhaps just a regression and attempt to save money. No matter the reason, the twisting driver’s road I remembered turned out to be a rather brutal length of washboard ruts, loose surface and harsh ride.
Did the S4 soak it up like a luxury car? Um, no. Here the S4 revealed its sports car leanings, and pounded us into slow, creeping speeds. However, despite the severe ride, I was impressed by the chassis’ solidity, with little flex or stress, and the suspension doing its utmost but ultimately being pushed beyond its limits to cope. The firm ride is in no way intolerable on paved roads, managing rough impacts with a polite thud and complete control – just the way I like it. But for gravel roads like this, the rally-bred long suspension travel of the Subaru WRX or STI is king, at almost any price point. But for showing up at the club for a wedding or just plain travelling in style (or driver engagement), I’ll stick with the S4.
 2013 Audi S4. Click image to enlarge |
Amongst its more natural competitors, the S4 proved itself against the familiar rivals as well as the latest effort from Lexus, in which we found the S4’s quality of materials, power, handling and reserved, classic good looks inside and out superior to the upstart IS 350’s aggressive styling and more comfortable ride that still delivered precise handling. The S4’s interior in particular drew rave reviews for its “high-tech sportiness,” as per Michael Bettencourt. Jacob Black, in addition to his love of the steering wheel, had this to say about the S4 interior: “Luxury car interiors need to make you feel welcome. Your car should say, ‘Hey, how you doing? I’m pretty damn awesome. Come, sit here. Then you’ll be awesome too.’”
Oh, and the S4’s manual transmission and steering wheel won over anyone who came in contact with these sublime pieces, both works of art in their design, and rewarding in their interaction. The Audi’s steering is light, but always feels crisp and I found it relays information from the front wheels as well as anything in the class.
Meanwhile, the manual transmission is a gem. The clutch is light enough that it is never tiring and the gears are tightly packed but the gates evenly spread so I never missed a shift. Slotting each gear change home was its own reward, the gates perfectly spaced for the shifter, a touch of resistance along the way reinforcing the mechanical nature of the beast.
  2013 Audi S4. Click image to enlarge |
The heart of this dignified beast is the supercharged 3.0L V6. 333 hp. 325 lb-ft of torque. At 1,785 kg (3,935 lb), much of that power is necessary to move this heavy car, but the torque comes on low (2,900 rpm) to get you rolling and peak horsepower is in play at up to 6,500 rpm, meaning it doesn’t seem to fall off just as you’re about to shift. Michael Bettencourt added: “Power delivery is more refined than beastly at anything less than full redline romps – it’s a remarkably smooth engine, even when driving aggressively.” While I’m not alone in missing the brilliance of Audi’s 4.2L V8, saving it for RS applications and larger cars seems like a fair use of that engine.
Some owners I’ve heard from don’t mind at all that it also delivers reasonable fuel efficiency. Others don’t care – it’s that good. Owners might not buy it for its efficiency, but I don’t know anyone that enjoys giving the oil companies and government more money for gasoline. Over the life of our test, it averaged 11.5 L/100 km using premium, within reasonable proximity of the EPA’s 13.8/9.0/11.8 city/highway/combined estimates (17/26/20 US mpg) for the six-speed manual S4. The S tronic improves on that and offers potentially quicker acceleration and performance, unless you’re an ace with clutch and stick. But don’t do it. The manual is brilliant. Okay, the S tronic is brilliant, too, but the manual is a divine light from heaven. Yes, we really like it.
   2013 Audi S4. Click image to enlarge |
Of course, over the two months we had the S4, we did have time to discover a couple of flaws, aside from the firmness of the ride baked into its purpose. Audi seats, which have in the past, carried me over endless hours and halfway across the continent free of fatigue and in complete comfort, but these were a tad disappointing – after just a couple of hours on our short road trip, my lower back flared up despite trying every variation of the power lumbar support. Or maybe I’m just getting old. While the seats may have left something to be desired, we loved the memory settings, which store the mirror positions along with the seat, and can even be switched off to avoid accidental readjustment.
 2013 Audi S4. Click image to enlarge |
Another issue that we found was the lack of a conventional USB port. Audi offers only an MDI connector, for which you have to buy a custom connector – seems they’ve learned something from Apple in this regard. Speaking of techy initials, Audi’s MMI drew some compliments and some criticism. Some found “the MMI console between front occupants feels refined and admirably advanced,” but others complained about its counterintuitive knob rotation for menu scrolling. Audi should just suck it up and follow Mercedes-Benz and BMW with clockwise rotation to scroll down lists.
Lastly, we were occasionally confused by the electronic parking brake, which will release automatically if you are belted in, but must be deactivated manually if you have yet to put on your seatbelt. I get the safety reasoning (do up your seatbelt, stupid), but still found it annoying. Jacob found it annoying that the rear-view camera image continued to be displayed for a while after shifting into forward gears.
Despite these minor nuisances, we would gladly lay down our own money if we were shopping in this snack bracket. The S4 demonstrates a range of capabilities, from sophisticated and subtle luxury sedan to hardcore sporting machine with a firm ride and impeccable AWD traction that provided an excellent hold on the road beneath us. The steering, handling and driving engagement are the driver’s choice, but it is still sufficiently spacious for a family of up to four. It’s a brilliant car that should make you rethink your beeline to BMW dealers for the ultimate driving machine.
Convinced yet?
We are.
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Pricing: 2013 Audi S4 Premium
Base Price: $53,000
Base Price (Premium): $57,800
Options: $4,800 (Audi quattro sport differential – $1,500; Monsoon Grey paint job – $750; Carbon Atlas interior trim – $500; 19-inch 5-arm rotor titanium colour wheels – $500; tire pressure monitoring system – $350; rear comfort package – $1,200)
Freight & PDI: $1,995
A/C Tax: $100
Total: $64,795
Competitors:
Acura TL SH-AWD
BMW 335i xDrive
Lexus IS 350 AWD
Infiniti G37x S
Mercedes-Benz C 350 4Matic
Volvo S60 T6 AWD R-Design
Crash test results
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
