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jebjeb · Mar 19, 2007, 05:48 PM

Well, after many weeks of looking for the right car to come up, plus agonising over what type to go for, I have finally found the right balance (for the moment at least

).

Just bought (at least paid the deposit for) a 2004 Audi S4 Avant. 4.2 litres of V8 goodness. 6 speed auto.

Never would have thought I would get an Audi but after Evo ran one as a long termer and raved about it, I thought it was worth a test drive. As you can guess, I was impressed.

I was deciding how much I wanted to pay for this model of car and decided to forgo some options to get a less expensive car. The one I have found is black half leather/half alcantara instead of full leather and doesn't have sat nav. Have been looking at heaps of forums and have found all the kit I need to install the OEM DVD satnav for around £500 and it is a plug and play install. It is a £1800 option from new!

Got the car for a lot cheaper than the equivalent models out there with all the options standard. Bought from an Audi dealer so have a good warranty which is needed on a car like this.

Haven't got any photos of the actual vehicle yet as I don't pick it up until the 31st but here are some stock ones. Mine is black.

Mmmmm, V8. Sounds fantastic. Much better than my old C32.

Should be great!

I took a Mercedes E55 for a drive the other day but it is just a bit much at the moment. Bit too much money, too high running costs and a bit too much power! Who would have thought I would say that. As a lot of our driving is just in the city, a 340 bhp 4.2L V8 will just have to do instead of a 476 bhp 5.5L supercharged V8! Couple of years in this car and then maybe an E55 or E63 when I move further out of the city. Bloody hell, I haven't even got this car yet and I am already planning the next.

Glad we are stepping up our recycling plus we may have to plant a few trees to make up for it!

Doofy · Mar 19, 2007, 05:54 PM

Nice. I love the smell of V8 in the morning.

imitchellg5 · 09:55 AM

Looks nice. The auto is a bit of a letdown. I like how on the last gen S4s how Audi made it basically look like a normal 1.8T A4 except with bigger wheels. Kinda sleeper. Neighbor's got one.

jebjeb · Mar 19, 2007, 06:01 PM

Should be great. I love it when a fairly unassuming car rolls past with that nice baritone rumble of a big cube V8. So cool and deceptive.

jebjeb · Mar 19, 2007, 06:04 PM

I was just trying to be realistic with the auto. I was a manual man through and through and then I got the C32 which had a very nice auto box. For the city they are just so much more practical. Also, now we have a little boy, one less thing to worry about can only be good when he is screaming his head off on the back seat!

The 6 speed auto in the S4 is very nice. Paddle shift is very smooth and quick although it will still auto kickdown if you boot the accelerator which is a little disappointing. All that torque and it still thinks it needs to kick down.

earthlings · Mar 19, 2007, 06:46 PM

nice Audi

Sage · Mar 19, 2007, 06:57 PM

Very nice – my favorite generation of Audis (the current ones look like bullpuckey).

centerchannel68 · Mar 19, 2007, 07:12 PM

Nice, but similar feelings about the slushbox. Cool wagon though, I love fast wagons. Way cooler than an SUV, and much much more fun.

Going to do any mods, or keep it all stock?

mdc · Mar 19, 2007, 07:18 PM

I was in traffic today and one of those was in front of me. Very nice car.

Post some photos of the interior if you could please.

earthlings · Mar 19, 2007, 07:22 PM

I look at photos of cars from ebay motors.

jebjeb · Mar 19, 2007, 07:34 PM

Rob - only mods will be electrical for time being. New OEM DVD satnav and maybe bluetooth phone module.

There are some great tuning upgrades out there but will wait until I look into those.

MDC - again, this is not my car (I will post those once I get it) but here is the interior of the S4.

Mine has black alcantara instead of the beige leather parts of this one.

This is of the newer model but the seats are the same. Nice shaply Recaros.

Nav unit can take two SD cards for mp3s

earthlings · Mar 19, 2007, 07:39 PM

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imitchellg5 · Mar 19, 2007, 07:50 PM

The SD card slots are thoughtful. Never heard of that in a car.

earthlings · Mar 19, 2007, 07:55 PM

Maybe its made specifically for the UK or the other countries.

centerchannel68 · Mar 19, 2007, 07:59 PM

Originally Posted by imitchellg5

The SD card slots are thoughtful. Never heard of that in a car.

Most SatNav systems have them, or a DVD player. They need to be able to update the maps and stuff.

Doofy · Mar 19, 2007, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by jebjeb

The 6 speed auto in the S4 is very nice. Paddle shift is very smooth and quick although it will still auto kickdown if you boot the accelerator which is a little disappointing. All that torque and it still thinks it needs to kick down.

It's got an adaptive shift, no? So you prolly just need to drive it for a bit to re-educate it.

IceEnclosure · Mar 19, 2007, 10:07 PM

jebjeb, great choice! auto with paddles is a lot of fun, almost as much as a true manual.

there's one of those around here, he's got aftermarket exhaust, it sound positively wicked.

centerchannel68 · Mar 19, 2007, 11:44 PM

Originally Posted by Doofy

It's got an adaptive shift, no? So you prolly just need to drive it for a bit to re-educate it.

My SVX has one of those fancy 'learning transmissions, and I still hate it. It doesn't do what I want, when I want, and it does what I want, when I don't want it to.

IceEnclosure · Mar 20, 2007, 02:30 AM

jebjeb, you could surely get some chip/ecu controller deal to help with the transmission.

I have a feeling it's a little more advanced than Rob's SVX slushbox.

jebjeb · Mar 20, 2007, 03:28 AM

The SD slots are only for music as far as I can see. Updates are done through the DVD drive. They take up to definitely 4GB cards but have a file limit of 512 files per card.

It probably is a learning box and I may nee to reset it. I guess I will wait until I drive it to see. That's right, I haven't even drove it or even seen a photo of it yet! I have driven a number of examples so know what they are like so it was just a matter of finding the right spec for the right price. As it is a dealer car and doesn't have many miles on it, I don't expect and surprises but if there is, I can deal with those before I hand the rest of the money over.

One thing I may be interested in the future is a tune and a new exhaust. The standard one sounds great but I guess it could get even better. Take a look at this for an idea of what it sounds like.
Audi S4 4.2L V8 Exhaust

I may look into getting VAG-COM which allows one to program most aspects of the car. I will need it (or access to it by a third party or dealer) to reprogram the car when I fit the sat nav.

IceEnclosure · Mar 20, 2007, 03:40 AM

btw those seats are serially retarded! bad news bears right thurr. love me some audi S.

jebjeb · Mar 20, 2007, 03:49 AM

Retarded in a good way? I'm not up with the hip lingo

They are very comfortable. Shame mine aren't memory seats as we have been used to those in our last two cars and they are very handy when there are two different people driving regularly.

cenutrio · Mar 20, 2007, 04:00 AM

I love Audi wagons, great choice. My brother has the 3.2 diesel, not a V8, but still great car. Enjoy!

Doofy · Mar 20, 2007, 04:15 AM

Originally Posted by jebjeb

It probably is a learning box and I may nee to reset it. I guess I will wait until I drive it to see.

Yep, it's a learning box. 200 different shift patterns, according to my sources.

Don't drive it like the Doof has been hoofing new Jeepie around, otherwise it'll cog down three gears if you even think of blowing on the accelerator.

jebjeb · Mar 20, 2007, 09:01 AM

I have driven two examples with the auto box and it is very smooth with the down changes. Even does a nice little blip of the throttle. I changed down from third to first coming up to a round-about and it was very smooth with the shifts and then as I powered around and a slight drift coming out of it. That scared the salesman

It is quite similar to my C32 in the fact that the throttle is very sensitive in the first few mm's of travel so I am used to that.

imitchellg5 · Mar 20, 2007, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by jebjeb

One thing I may be interested in the future is a tune and a new exhaust. The standard one sounds great but I guess it could get even better. Take a look at this for an idea of what it sounds like.
Audi S4 4.2L V8 Exhaust

I hear that sound almost every morning. My neighbor has a 2003 S4 wagon. It's bright a bright silver 6 speed.

Goldfinger · Mar 20, 2007, 10:00 AM

yuck, An Audi. Ah well, it'll probably be fun

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 10:11 AM

Audi's are cool.

jebjeb · Mar 20, 2007, 10:13 AM

Originally Posted by Goldfinger

yuck, An Audi. Ah well, it'll probably be fun

Too be honest, I used to be with you on that one. However, I then drove the S4 and for the current prices and spec, they are very good.

BMW had nothing comparable - closest would be a 335i wagon but they are 10-15 k more

Merc has the C32 which is older and not as well built but with plenty of character (used to own one) and the C55 or E55 which is currently 10-15k more as well.

I am a little concerned as to how I will find the ride to live with but we will see.

Goldfinger · Mar 20, 2007, 10:20 AM

Yup, I'm sure they're great bang for the buck. I for one would't consider the Audi just because the incredibly hard suspension (any audi, not just the S models). And I don't really like the Audi styling but that's subjective.

jebjeb · Mar 20, 2007, 10:25 AM

Yeah, the suspension is what I am worried about a little. On my test drives I tried to hit every bump I could

and although it rides firmly, it appears to be dampened very well.

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 11:16 AM

When are you getting the Audi?

jebjeb · Mar 20, 2007, 11:30 AM

Picking it up on the 31st. They are getting the alloys refurbished plus I am getting them to install some front parking sensors (a wifely requirement

).

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 11:32 AM

The parking sensors are amazing!!!! Good choice on her part.

imitchellg5 · Mar 20, 2007, 12:16 PM

Parking sensors are nice. We drove a Titan with parking sensors. They are great for crowded parking lots.

jebjeb · Mar 20, 2007, 01:14 PM

I might imply that the sensors are just for my wife but I love them too. We had front and back sensors on the C32 and rear sensors on our current car.

The fronts are particularly useful for pulling into and out of parking spaces. I just find they take a lot of the hassle out of parking. Parking spots are certainly a lot smaller here in the UK compared to the US!

imitchellg5 · Mar 20, 2007, 01:35 PM

Don't worry though, they are getting smaller here too.

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 02:07 PM

Cars are smaller over in the UK and Europe. The cars here are getting larger it seems like.

imitchellg5 · Mar 20, 2007, 03:42 PM

Uh, not really. The most popular cars over here are small cars. The compact car market is huge and quite competitive. Automakers are downsizing. If the market wasn't hot, then we wouldn't see new brands like Smart and Scion coming in.

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 03:52 PM

When will the SUV's get better gas mileage? I heard sometime in the next few years they will get better mpg.

earthlings · 04:47 PM

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angelmb · Mar 20, 2007, 03:57 PM

Sorry but… how long until the gearbox break down?

-NOT joking-

Parking sensors are not that cool if you don't get any visual feedback, you can barely hear them so to speak. Of course your C32 had visual feedback, does your new car come with any resemblance of it?

Railroader · Mar 20, 2007, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by earthlings

When will the SUV's get better gas mileage? I heard sometime in the next few years they will get better mpg.

They are getting better mileage every year.

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

They are getting better mileage every year.

That's good to hear.

Railroader · Mar 20, 2007, 05:51 PM

Originally Posted by earthlings

That's good to hear.

You bring "+1" to a new level.

earthlings · Mar 20, 2007, 06:09 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

You bring "+1" to a new level.

Gossamer · Mar 20, 2007, 06:23 PM

Originally Posted by Railroader

You bring "+1" to a new level.

You noticed that too.

Railroader · Mar 20, 2007, 06:38 PM

Originally Posted by Gossamer

You noticed that too.

Glad I am not alone. They never reply in an indepth or interesting manner, just flippant little comments without any thought behind them.

But hey, I don't want to have besson jumping down my throat that I am not "lounging" correctly, so who am I to tell them to stop.

Railroader · Mar 20, 2007, 06:40 PM

Back on topic: Sorry to get caught up in the derail, jebjeb. Nice car. I like station wagons myself, a friend had a mid-90's Volvo wagon that was very comfortable and nice for long trips. I myself like my mini-van, but more for the functionality, it certainly is no performance beast like your Audi.

earthlings · 04:41 PM

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