Engine. Cabin interior. Looks. Quality of build.

Cramped back seat. She doesn't exactly sip the petrol.

Fantastic car. I'm very glad I upgraded from the A4. The car has great handling, power and looks.

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Audi A4 1.8T, Audi A4 3.2, BMW 325is, Volkswagen R32

Performance, Quality, looks.

Sound, stupid incar phone set attached to side of dashboard as standard (what were audi thinking) which has now been removed but now need a new centre consol to hide the two huge hole :-(

Love it, its just so classy, unfortunatly since buying it every other car seems to be a black A4 convertable... had some pretty fast motors but this is a great alrounder.. thinking of adding a Milltek Exhaust to slightly improve the music from that V8 burble.

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348 Spider
M3
Scubby ST4
RX8

Staggering poise in the wet. Supremely capable on backroads. 6speed box cruises very well, too Very fast mith mild manners around town. So much torque. Subtle and understated and cool Highest quality build Wonderful lights. Great seats. Nice big boot with full-size aloy spare and split seats that go forward. You see one of these for ever 100 M3s! :) Nothing quicker on horrible lakeland roads! Excellent dealer

Gearchange has been critiscised and reasonably so. The shift into second is awkward and slow and notchy. I replaced all the transmission and gearbox oils and this helped a great deal but the gearbox is the weakest link in this car. Main beams are awful when compared to the superlative Xenon dippeds, but easily upgraded. Sub 20mpg. Not necessarily a weakness but somthing you have to consider when buyng a car like this, as is group20 insurance.

This is for the UK spec S4, with the 265 bhp. I live in the Lake District in the UK and here cars that are especially capable in very wet weather are the way forward! The quattros are very popular here for this reason and I had been intenting to buy an S3 until I saw and test drove this 4y/o S4 saloon. On seeing it, I was immediately impressed by its subtle yet purposeful stance and on driving it I was pleased to discover a truly rapid car mated to a drivetrain that is quite remarkable. As I have got to know the car, which I shod with Eagle F1s, it has not ceased to amaze me in the wet. The grip is amazing and the handling is versatile; its manners vary according to how your present it to the corner. It can turn in like a FWD car or you can drive in on the power and have it drift around in classic 4WD fashion, even tweaking it with a little lift-off oversteer should you need to. The engine is really special. It is so torquey that you can drive it like a lazy turbo-diesel and roll about at 1500rpm and it won't complain a bit but press on and it lifts its skirts and surges on and on, right up to 7000rpm in every gear. It really is very quick. Brakes are good, powerful and well-modulated, due, in part, to OEM Pagid pads. You can fade them if you do 100-10mph dives four or five times in a row but other than that they're OK. Upgrade for heavy track use but otherwise don't bother. I run a K&N element in mine and it minimised turbo-lag and added a delicious induction roar. Turbo lag is almost nonexistent, which is a big bonus. On that note, this car sounds great. As you open it up it really howls and you can always hear the turbos whining away. Exhaust is on the muted side but does growl when pushed hard and burbles gently at the lights. Damping is fairly civilised, which lends itself well to eating up potholes and backroad bumps; it would certainly need work for trackdays but on the road it is very well balanced and tracks well on bad roads, further aiding poise in the wet. Quality is premier-league, no doubt about it. My car is nearly five years old and it has had precisely zero problems of any sort. Great seats and lights, as well. Great value for money now that new S4 is out :D

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S3, new S4, various GTIs etc

Sports car power and grip with luxury car comfort.

Suspension/handling very good, but not quite up to the level of the rest of the car

A really fast and fun car that is also smooth, comfortable, and blessed with a nice, handsome, understated style. As many of the other reviewers have discussed, it is probably one of the most tune-able cars available today. It starts out with an impressive 2.7 liter bi-turbo motor generating 250 hp. Add a new ecu chip and a few other gadgets and you'll be well over 300 hp in no time. However, I am not going to spend money on power upgrades yet. I'm going to focus primarily on handling. Although the S4 handles better than 90% of the other cars on the road, I feel like the suspension set-up is just not up to the level of the rest of the car. There is just a bit too much squat and dive, a bit too much body roll and a bit of understeer - all of which can be addressed with new shocks and sway bars. The car already has tremendous power and grip but not the 'seat of the pants' driving feel that will let you approach the limit with confidence. Some handling upgrades should get me there. Extra power can come later. Other comments: - Mine has been totally reliable for the first 20k miles. Flawless. - Interior could be out of a $100,000 car - exquisite. But back seat is small for adults. - High performance tires mean that you'll need to purchase a separate set of winter tires for the snow season. - 6-sp manual shifter linkage is not great. It's ok, but not up to porsche or bmw standards. - Steering is great. Far improved over standard A4 steering rack. - Breaks are a great for street use, but if you're going to race the car, you'll need to upgrade the brakes to overcome fade. - Audi purchase/lease plan includes all scheduled maintenance for 40k miles. No hassles. All I pay for is gas. - Santorin blue paint is knock-deak gorgeous.

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Porsche Boxster, Taurus SHO, Nissan Maxima SE, Audi A4

Torque. Build quality. Quattro. Tunability.

Stock brakes.

Awesome car. Tons of torque. Tons of fun. Interior is of exceptional quality. The S4 feel rock solid on both the road and the track. It's ability to inhale interstate miles quickly, solidly, and effortlessly has few peers.

-it is well finished in almost every aspect -Most tunable european car today -Price tag

Some very minor things like it could uses some minor exhaust, brake(this one is actully not that cheap), ecu upgrades to beat 98% stock car under 70k (03 Cobra and Z06 are still faster, but honestly where isn't quality?)

Just want to remind everyone what a great car this is. Here is a list of most of the tuners www.achtuning.com (new but not bad prices) www.awe-tuning.com (alot of their own stuff) www.avalonmotorsports.com/ (some group-buys with good prices) www.goapr.com (audi performance racing, the 2nd best) www.ecstuning.com/ (cheap prices on alot of stuff) www.ep importers.com (rs4 parts) www.hoppenmotorsport.com (overall best tuner, most expensive and usually not worth it) www.stratmosphere.com/ (best By pass valve, stoptech brakes) www.tmtuning.com/ (lighting) www.uucmotorwerks.com (true dual exhaust, short shifter) Email if you have questions, be happy to answer, hope you find above helpful

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zo6, e36/46 m3, 996 C2

Luxury; speed; tunability; character; understated nature; cool gadgets like one-touch down (and up if you reprogram them) windows, rear-view window antenna, etc.;

No seat memory, 4 inch speakers up front, soft paint, no adjustable pedals

What can I say - I absolutely love the car. I've owned it since it was 12 miles old, and I have not had any problems with it. I think a lot depends on how you treat the car - if you're hard on it, it will require more attention. I use mine as a daily driver with the occassional spirited run with friends on the weekends. Around town, the low-end torque is great for merging and passing. On the highway, this thing is insane - truly a German touring sedan. I have a GIAC X chip and a Milltek catback exhaust, and it easily out hauls all but the most exclusive (or worked) cars out there. 6th gear passing is something that must be experienced to appreciate. Accelerating to well over 100 mph uphill is a breeze. The car's weight adds to its stability and firm feel on the highway. The interior is timeless and very intuitive, although I would have preferred adjustable pedals. The bottom line is that this car is not for everyone. If you want instant response, get a non-turbo car. If you want tunability, get this car. If you want to let the car's performance speak for itself, get this car. If you want to make an impression at the country club, get something else. Audi is not about image - it's about showing up and performing. The S4 is the perfect car, IMO.

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none

large trunk, solid handling, rock-solid performance in even the lousiest weather conditions, luxury options

reliability

I do love this car--its fit, performance, handling and all around fun. I have noticed more body roll than I expected, and I find that I can sometimes get lost in the gears--reaching for fifth when I mean to go to third. I have to say that this car has spent more than 15 weeks at the dealer getting serviced. This includes replacing the top half of the engine (!). Frankly, the reliability is not what I expected, although I chalk that up to new technology. Which is why I am considering the 2004 model, which will use a naturally asperated V8.

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none (although my BMW M3 showed me that the S4 does, indeed, have some turbo lag)

power, quality

The steering does feel a bit numb. There is also more body roll than I would expect.

Great car. Lots of torque. Beatiful fit and finish.

Torque (no turbo lag), interior quality, ride comfort.

I replaced the shifter with a UUC short shifter (40%) to get a shorter/quicker throw.

Fast, comfortable car with a luxury interior. Great fit and finish. I cannot believe how much I am enjoying the car. It is a lot of fun to drive, especially on long stretches of empty interstate.

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None.