Article Comments - 2009 Audi S4 First Drive

13 messages, Last post on Sep 26, 2009 at 12:22 AM

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What is this discussion about? Audi S4, Coupe, Convertible, Sedan

2009 Audi S4 First Drive - First Impressions: The right motor and fresh technology make the S4 the best-performing Audi that's not an R8.(more)

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#12 of 13 test drive by rayainsw Aug 22, 2009 (3:31 pm)
I was quite intrigued by the several instances [ in promotional material & ‘first drive’ reviews ] of reference to Audi addressing the fundamental front end weight bias & typical resulting understeer tendencies. And by the new Audi S tronic 7 speed trans. So – I drove the only one currently available to test here north of Atlanta. Executive summary: Engine – very OK. Suspension – ride was fine on the well surfaced roads I covered \ handling definitely not stressed in my drive, but felt OK. Transmission behavior in ‘manual mode’ – VERY not OK. The new S4 has dropped off my “Short List”. Details. Car: 2010 S4 S tronic trans. Nearly loaded: Driver select, silk napa, driver assist MSRP: 60,075.00 I have great respect for Audi – I had an Audi Fox & and a 5000. And I drove a couple of S4s when the time came for a change when I had a Passat - and VW \ Audi shared a dealership building. More recently I have tended toward well balanced high performance sports cars [ 2007 Corvette ] and a string of RWD sport sedans. I appreciate both acceleration and well-balanced handling. But again, the 2010 Audi S4 has dropped off my short list, primarily due to Audi’s implementation of the Manual Mode in the [ otherwise excellent ] S tronic 7 speed automanual trans. In my [ not so humble ] opinion - having driven transmissions with both an automatic & a manual override function for almost 10 years now, the Audi programming model does not represent what I expect. And it certainly does not fit my requirements. [ Neither does any current BMW, for the record. ] In my view “Manual Mode”, means execute the commands I manually input – unless the execution would result in catastrophe [ over-revving the engine on a downshift, obviously ], or an engine RPM that would be too low to allow comfortable cruising or acceleration in the next higher selected gear – when upshifting. In all other conditions, do what I tell you. The biggest flaw of Audi’s programming \ “Manual Mode” algorithm, in my view, is that the trans. ignores upshift requests when it pleases. When at [ or even near ] WOT, a command to upshift is simply ‘declined’. I tried this several times – commanding an upshift at moderate to full throttle & at 2,500 to 4,000 RPM. No dice. For me, brisk & entertaining acceleration does not [ necessarily ] mean I want to run the engine all the way to Red Line. I often accelerate at wide throttle openings but “short shift” – upshifting well before the Red Line. The S4 simply will not do this. Surprising, to me. The manually commanded downshifts were very quick & seamless. Based on the first couple of miles, testing the trans. [mis-]behavior, I drove straight back to the dealership – I did not spend any time trying to develop a feel for the perception of understeer, for ride quality under more challenging conditions, etc. This one dynamic flaw is so fundamental to how I often drive [ briskly, but not usually pushing anywhere near maximum revs ] that I knew very quickly that this S4 would be unacceptable. As I stated above, all current BMWs I have driven display exactly the same fatal flaw – for me. The Caddy V6 CTS does as well. Though the CTS-v’s trans. works as I require. My Corvette did fine – and my current Sport Sedan does this perfectly well. Briefly back in automatic mode, all seemed fine with the trans. The upshifts & downshifts were very quick and the TQ management seemed well executed. I expect that many will have no issues with this drivetrain. If your expectations of “Manual Mode” are different than mine – or you always drive in fully automatic - this may be The Car For You. I found the finish & materials used in the interior to be uniformly excellent and the interior styling very attractive. The seats fit me perfectly – both for comfort & support. The supercharged V6 provides excellent response. An excellent car. Just not for me . . . - Ray Somewhat disappointed . . . Replies to this message: bani (Sep 26, 2009 12:22 am)
#13 of 13 Re: test drive [rayainsw] by bani Sep 26, 2009 (12:22 am)
Replying to: rayainsw (Aug 22, 2009 3:31 pm) infiniti g37 trans will do what you want. get one of those.