The RS4 sits at the heart of
Audi's performance car range. It is its core performance
vehicle, which is strange because it's a small
estate car. But that's the reputation on
which Audi's built itself. This is the new 2012, 450
horsepower S Tronic RS4. But I suppose to understand
what this car is, what it stands for, and what it wants to
be, we ought to take a look at where it came from. So this is the story
of the RS4. And so this is where
it all began-- the B5 RS4 from 2000. This car makes me feel
old because I went on the original launch. And I remember that day
very, very well. Because we all landed at Munich
airport, saw the estate car and thought, 381
horsepower-- that's quite a lot. And it didn't weigh too much. It was about 1,600 kilograms. The Germans then said, go out
for a drive on the Autobahn. Go down some country roads,
see what you think. And we all came back going,
how fast did you go? And everyone said, about 175
miles an hour, and then the limiter cut in. This was explained in
terms of tolerances. Because they said the tolerances
were a bit weak on the limiter. The fact is, it was a genuine
180 mile an hour car. But apart from going really,
really fast, it didn't have that much to offer. It was a bit loose to drive. It understeered. It appeared to have very
little body control. It would smack into its bump
slots at the merest hint of a bump at 55 miles an hour
on some roads. And the brakes were
pretty terrible. The break pedal was
a typical Audi. The steering wasn't very good. You get the story. It was one of those
classic Audis. It was a really fast car,
but that was about it. And I've come back to it 10
years later, and I really, really like it. It's got so much character. And you know what? The turbo motor has got
enormous torque. They only claim 325
foot-pounds. That was actually more than
the car that replaced it. But it feels just so pokey. You leave it in fourth gear,
pull out of a village, and it just surges away from you. But it was a classic Audi. And you know what? It still feels like it. This is a very fresh color. It must be some special
run-out model. I can't remember whether
they did one. It's yellow. It's got some Porsche-style
Recaro Pole Position leather-covered bucket seats. It's got an Alcantara wheel. It's lovely. It's a really, really
nice thing to be in. It just struggles with
its suspension. I'm sure you can
sort that out. I did some research on these
the other night, because I might be tempted to get one
as a kind of family car. And maybe if Neil wants to wreck
it as well, we can use it for shooting. But it seems there's so much
you can do with this car. MTM and other tuners have
got them well above 550 horsepower, and they're still
absolutely bulletproof. This motor, remember
2.7 Biturbo V6, was tuned by Cosworth. In fact, it was completely
redesigned by Cosworth. And it's so strong. Really nice car. And do you like the
way it looks? I like the way it looks. I think it's really,
really cool. It just looks punchy, and big
shoulders, and angry. And of course for the UK, where
I live, this is the perfect estate car. You can get four people in. You can get a load of luggage. You can get your dogs. And of course, it's
all wheel drive. So when it lashes with rain-- not like it's doing today,
although it did earlier for a little bit-- this remains a very fast
car, as M3s just spiral off and hit trees. The B5 RS4 was actually
a cult car from the moment it arrived. But the car that replaced it is
arguably the definitive RS model from Audi. And this is the car that
kind of defined what Audi RS could be-- the B7 RS4. 420 horsepower from a naturally
aspirated, 4.2 V8, 317 foot-pounds of torque,
so less torque than the car it replaced. But a set of dynamics that
were best described as completely un-Audi. That's how I wrote about
this car when I first drove it back in 2005. I remember thinking, the biggest
compliment I can pay this car is to say, it doesn't
in any way feel like an Audi. It steered properly. It rode pretty well. It had a brake pedal that, if
your shoe leather was within three millimeters of touching
it, didn't force your head through the windscreen. It was just a really
nice car to drive. And it left us all thinking,
why would you have an M3 again? It was a datum point
for Audi RS. But do you know what? They've been so hit and miss
since, that I think this B7 RS4 presents perhaps
the biggest challenge to the new car. Because the new car's engine
is very closely related to this one. It has a DSG gearbox. Now that's going to make it
faster and more efficient. But this car's six-speed
manual, is an utter, utter enjoy. It's so much nicer than
the shift in the B5. In fact, as a package, the RS4
Avant, to me, still looks like one of the most attractive
small cars on sale. It's beautifully proportioned. And BMW, to this day, must be
thinking, why didn't we build a small estate car, because
Audi's running away with the marketplace. The shift from B5 to B7 brought
a completely different character as well. Whereas the turbocharged B5 is
all about torque and surging performance, this is a V8
you've got to rev out. It wants to get beyond 7,000
RPM whenever you can. This is the first time I've ever
driven them back to back. And I have to say, it's quite
eye-opening because the B5 is a more effortless car
and gives its performance more easily. This thing, you've got
to be right up. And you do enjoy it
when you're up it. But then it uses so much fuel. And it is just quite busy. What does the new RS4 have to do
to be better than this car? It has to be very,
very talented. It really does. I can't see it being an awful
lot faster, because it's going to weigh a bit more, even though
it's got a bit more power and torque. That should even out the
power to weight ratio. I'm sure the DSG gearbox will
do some good things for it. But do you know what? As an all-around package, I
think it's going to struggle to be better than this car. It doesn't seem like
five years since the B7 RS4 left us. Maybe that's because it still
looks and feels so fresh. The new car is supposedly
faster, more efficient, and better handling. But I also want to know if Audi
has returned to the old car's character. It just felt so right. Will the new one? Oh, we're in Austria,
by the way. Now as ever with these press
drives, they are a less than perfect affair. We haven't got much time. The roads are a bit wet. That kind of helps
the four-wheel drive RS4, I suppose. But it'd be nice to spend a bit
more time with the car to get to know it. But in the time I spent with
it, there are two things I want to talk about. First of all, choice-- choice of electronics, chassis
configuration. I think the RS4 probably
has too many. I get in it and I can choose
how the throttle responds. I can choose how the
steering responds. I can choose how the dampers
respond, how the differential responds. And do you know what? I've been playing with it for
three hours and on a mixture of roads, and I've not found a
single setting that kind of does it all for me. I'm constantly having
to fiddle and play. And I don't necessarily
like that. The other thing is torque. I want to talk about torque. Because I think this car is in
some ways defined by it. It doesn't have much. And 317 foot-pounds is about
the same as the last car. And it weighs a little
bit more. It still revs. It'll rev to beyond 8,000. And it's utterly glorious
when you do that. The question is, how often
do you actually do that on the road? Torque is such a useful
commodity for getting around and living. And the RS4 is actually a
wonderful car for just living. First off, in the RS4 you avoid all the dynamic settings. Dynamic chassis gives you
damping that basically wants to throw you off the road. It's so stiff. Avoid the dynamic steering. To me, it adds a load of weight
that I don't want. It's electromechanical
in this car. So yeah, we're back in the
realms of not quite knowing where we are on the road. There's not much feel. I mean, Audi has traditionally
struggled to give steering feel with a hydraulic pump. The combination of Audi and
electromechanical steering slightly fills me with
the fear of God. This is the optional dynamic
steering, which is a variable ratio. So it's quick at low speed
and slow on the motorway. I didn't find it intuitive and
would just have the normal rack myself. On these damp roads, though,
it's a really fast, capable, competent car. But it's one that feels big. Does it feel better than an RS5,
which is a car I didn't actually get on with? I think it does feel a
little bit better. I think there is some of
the suppleness there was in the B7 RS4. But I still-- you know what? I don't think it's a return to
their absolute glory days of that last B7 RS4. I'd want to spend a bit
more time in it to really get to know it. But you know what? If it was just exceptional,
wouldn't it be leaping out at me straight away? Wouldn't I be thinking now,
I want one of these? And I'm kind of not. OK, torque. 317 foot-pounds is
quite a lot. But you have to work this car
to get around the place. Just leave it in drive,
and then use it as an automatic gearbox. And I reckon, unless you
absolutely pin this thing, you're at the mercy
of fast diesels. And that should not be the case
in a car that's got an RS badge on it. As a package though, this
remains a really nice car. I've always found the
RS4 a bit confusing. Because though it's never been
quite as good to drive as the equivalent M3-- although
the last one did run it very, very close-- but as something to live with,
as a package to live and use every single day, the
practicality of throwing the dog in the back, have the
children fight behind you, and have your lady wife next to you,
it's been a lovely car. It's just been so usable. And when you wanted to go
fast, it would go fast. And it had the all-wheel
drive traction as well. That hasn't really changed. It still is a compelling
package, because it has all those things. It has space, all-wheel drive. And for me as UK buyer, road
user, traction is everything. Much as I like doing skiddy
stuff, well, I don't live my life like that. I'd like to go sideways about
every single roundabout on the way to Tesco, but sadly, it's
just not practical. I also think this
car looks great. They've got the bubbled
arches just right. The interior's high quality. Audis are just items,
aren't they? They're beautiful items. And we know that. Gearbox? Well, it's so effective
and efficient. The shifts are really fast. In automatic mode,
it's predicting what you want so well. Do I miss the manual? I kind of do. But I have to say, in this
kind of car, this gearbox does work. It's not that bad. And because it's so intuitive
and sharp, I'm not going to kill it with the gearbox. As I said, I think the torque
is a bit more of an issue. Some stats on that chassis. The crown-gear center
differential controls [INAUDIBLE] 40, 60 in normal driving. But up to 70% can go
forwards and 85% backwards in extreme cases. There's torque vectoring too. Those wavy break discs shave
three kilograms. 0 to 60 takes 4.7 seconds. Top speed is 155 or 174, if you
pay some crazy sum to have the limiter lifted. When you drive it like this,
and you get all that noise, it's pretty magnificent. And I wonder whether Audi did
make the right decision to not have a turbocharged engine. Because that's the
crux of this. If this car had one or two
turbocharges, it would have a lot more role on performance. It would be a faster car
in everyday driving. I suppose there is a slight
mismatch going on here. The powertrain in this
car is really at you. It wants you to get up. And it wants you to get your
foot down, to get all the performance, to get
beyond 8,000. Below six, it's just
not that quick. The chassis, though,
isn't quite as willing to play the game. Because in the harsh chassis
settings, it doesn't perform that well. It's just too stiff. And in the softer ones, well,
it's just a little bit softer. But on damp roads like this,
there's no denying. It's a clever thing. Maybe Audi organized the rain so
that it would just show off this car to the best
of its abilities. But what's this car
up against? To me, the RS4 has become a
car that anyone that wants compact performance that doesn't
look too punchy from the outside, but has subtle
strength and is kind of visible to those who know what
they're looking for, to me, the RS4 is that car. It kind of defines
the marketplace. But there is one other car that
kind of does it as well. It might even be a bit
more exuberant. And do you know what? Even though we're in Austria,
we just happen to have one with us. Now, in the world of the mental,
small estate car, this C63 AMG does kind of reign
supreme, doesn't it? 457 horsepower-- and this is
a key figure in this little competition here-- 442 foot-pounds of torque. That's over 120 foot-pounds
more than the Audi RS4. And on the road, it absolutely
dominates the way the cars behave, or the differences
between them anyway. Because the Merc-- you really
can leave it in a lower gear and haul. In the Audi, you've really
got to row the gearbox. It's a very different engine. The Audi feels very motorsport,
very rev-hungry. It makes that quite distinctive,
almost DTM-style noise that they've engineered
into it. This car is just a muscle car. It really is just mopar
out of Stuttgart. It's absolutely sensational. It's rear-wheel drive so today,
on slippery roads, it's interesting. And the traction difference
between the two isn't actually as massive as I thought
it would be. And the Mercedes, of course,
is just massive fun when it does start to move
around a bit. You enjoy yourself. But let's come back to these
being everyday cars. Which one would you choose? Come back for that
in a minute. Let's do a bit more driving. In the Mercedes, you don't
configure anything. You get in, put a key in a
hole, turn it, and go. It has the MCT gearbox, which
means that you can put it in a manual mode that will
shift quickly. But it's still nothing like
as fast as the DSG. As an automatic, it's
very, very nice. You can just leave
it in drive. And it seems to just shift when
you want it to shift. It's amazing. It's like it's sort of linked
into your head. Steering, again hydraulic-- it's just simpler
than the Audi. It's a theme that runs
through this car. It's not as complex on paper. But when you get in it,
it just kind of works. It doesn't have a load of
chassis settings, and throttle settings, and what have you. It just has a massive 6.2
liter V8, nice hydraulic steering, nice damping, and
it just gets on with it. And I find that recipe
quite compelling. I think it's a lesson for
perhaps where we might go in the future. Just because electronics give
us a load of choice doesn't mean we need the choice. The C63, then, is probably
a better one-stop option, than the RS4. That doesn't mean I think it's
the overall better car. But I need to do a
bit more driving. So we'll come back to
that in a second. There's no doubt that
the Mercedes is the faster car as well. It just picks up from zero revs,
and it goes at any point in the rev range below about
8,000, because the Mercedes won't rev to 8,000, that is. This car just feels
punchier to me. And this doesn't even have the
optional performance pack. And it doesn't have the
optional differential. If it had both of those, I think
it would be a foregone conclusion. But then the price gets
quite punchy. The Audi is actually a bit of
a bargain for the money. But I'd like to know what
the options are. Because you know what it's like
with these German cars-- tick a few boxes, and before
you know it, you've got an expensive machine. OK, these are the facts. The RS4 looks great, goes fast,
and is especially good in the wet. The trouble is, it
lacks torque. The optional dynamic
steering is pants. The optional Dynamic Ride
Control with MMI plus makes the car too bloody complicated
to drive and to do voiceovers about. In the B7, you just got
in and it felt right. In the B8, you have to fiddle. From the apex to the exit of the
corner, the new car is a real improvement. But the rest of it is just
lacking a touch of magic, which is harsh, because the C63
is dripping with magic.
That's an excellent video. And I'd have to agree, the B7 RS4 was, and quite possibly will always be, the best one.
I do wish he would start off with the RS2, where Audi and Porsche got together and made a monster wagon. This car combined the Audi quattro and power plant with Porsche suspensions and handling techniques. That started the DNA strand for the RS4 that made it so different from cars we've ever seen before. Audi ran away with the compact power wagon market.
The C63 may be more of a driver's car, but for the rest of us who don't want to throw our valuables and loved ones into a tree but still want to go fast through the corners, nothing beats the quattro stability. It's really the most usable power you can have, torque aside.
Chris Harris - the best motoring journalist in the world? I think so
Love the B5
I find it weird that he didn't like the dynamic settings or using the dsg in the manual mode. That's where all the fun is.