That loud sobbing and collective forehead slap you heard in late 2008 was the reaction of thousands of Audi fans and car nuts in general upon learning that the all-wheel-drive Audi S4 performance sedan would be losing its meaty V8 in favor of a supercharged V6. Several automotive scribes are known to have belted out a Homeresque "D'oh!" After all, V8 engines are the stuff of automotive legend, their guttural sound recorded and replayed as lullabies to the children of gearheads. What was Audi thinking?
Well, it turns out they knew what they were doing. The 2010 Audi S4 indeed tosses away its V8 for a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 that produces 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque; to save you the effort of looking it up, that's 7 fewer horses than the old 4.2-liter eight-cylinder but 23 more lb-ft of torque. The result is a car that's actually quicker than the one that disappeared two years ago when the A4 sedan upon which it was based was completely redesigned. But this stellar new engine is about more than just the numbers. The immediacy of the S4's throttle response is nothing short of amazing -- save for the moderate supercharger whine under hard acceleration, the blown V6 acts just like a naturally aspirated motor, albeit one with a boatload of low-end torque. Those who questioned Audi's cylinder-reduction strategy will be very pleasantly surprised.
The new S4 not only adds speed, but gets substantially better fuel economy as well. The 2010 S4 achieves a whopping 6 mpg (combined) more than the car it succeeds, including a surprising 27-28 mpg on the freeway. That's also better than the similarly swift BMW 335i, even though the rear-wheel-drive Bimmer weighs less and has a taller top gear. If this is the environmentally friendly future of performance driving, color us excited.
There's a lot more to the 2010 S4 than simply its engine, however, as the entire car is now better positioned to compete against other sport-tuned sedans. Like last year's fully redesigned A4, the S4 boasts fresh styling and electronics interfaces along with myriad mechanical improvements. Exclusive to the S4 is a new seven-speed dual-clutch automated manual for those who want the ease of an automatic but without the performance drop-off and lack of involvement that usually goes along with it. An optional sports rear differential is also new, helping to bring the S4's handling more in line with its RWD-platform rivals.
It's important to note that the S4 competes more against the BMW 335i than the razor's-edge M3 in terms of both price and performance. For maximum thrills, albeit at a higher cost, we'd suggest looking at the M3 as well as the Cadillac CTS-V and Mercedes C63 AMG. Also, if a coupe or convertible is more your thing, the Audi S5 is essentially a two-door S4 -- plus, the coupe still comes with the V8. Still, the 2010 Audi S4 is an undeniable winner. Those depressed car nuts should relax; the new S4 still has plenty of verve.
Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2010 Audi S4 is a high-performance sedan available with one of two packages: Premium Plus or Prestige. Standard equipment for the Premium Plus includes 18-inch wheels with summer tires, a sunroof, automatic xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights, foglights, automatic wipers, tri-zone automatic climate control, eight-way power sport seats, leather and faux-suede upholstery, heated front seats, a 60/40-split-folding rear seat, Bluetooth, a dash-mounted Multi Media Interface (MMI) electronics controller and a 10-speaker stereo with single-CD player, satellite radio and an auxiliary audio jack.
The S4 Prestige adds 19-inch wheels, auto-dimming interior and exterior mirrors, driver memory functions, keyless ignition/entry, voice controls, a 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo, a next-generation MMI controller mounted on the center console and a hard-drive-based navigation system with real-time traffic.
No comments:
Post a Comment