RE: Audi RS4 B8 beats B7: Tell Me I'm Wrong

[Baryonyx]

The B7 will always win out in terms of pure driver appeal, so whilst I agree with the crux of the article, I just don't want a B8 like I'd want a B7. But then, the B5 RS4 is still my favourite RS4.

The one car I always wanted to try was the B5 S4. That 2.7 Biturbo engine sounds like the stuff dreams are made of and in saloon format at least, it was beautiful. The ones I see for sale these days are usually knackered looking donkeys, a shame really. I wish I'd made the jump a few years ago when I bought a TT225.

[mattf93]

GranCab said:

P.S.

Perfect, black pack, sepang blue. What colour is the interior? also glad you've got a black F Splitter... I HATE the silver trim around the front and rear splitter, I personally think it ruins a car. Only thing that has concerned me with the B8 is if its equipped with Keyless go, and how easily they seem to be stolen.

I must admit I love the B7 rs4, one still lives close to me, sounds lovely burbling about. Althoug there are also about 3/4 local sepang b8 rs4s, they look so much sleeker in my eyes. But unless you're a petrol head you wouldn't necessarily realise what it was...

[matsoc]

I think that every past and present car can be judged in 2 ways: how it performs in every aspect today in absolute terms and how it performed at the time it was on sale, against the rivals and in the market situation there was then.
Clearly the B8 got some advantages today in absolute terms versus the B7 but back in the end of 2005 the B7 RS4 was a game changer, overall they made 15k B7 RS4 and you can see why. Numbers don't tell all the story, this is true but 420ps back in 2005 are a lot more than 450ps nowadays. M3 had just 343ps when the B7 came out and the 996.2 GT3 RS just 381ps...

[RicM5]

Having owned 5 B5 RS4's I like to think I know a bit.... They're a fantastic all round machine and with a simple MRC stage 2 custom map ( £1000) an absolute weapon.
I do now however own a B7 Daytona grey avant which although not as quick just feels the better car all round . Costs with both can be a heavy drain, in the last 2 months I've had audi perform a decoke £1000 and more recently new inlet manifolds £2900.... This is starting to make me wonder whether although not as pure is a B8 with fewer miles and a nice WARRANTY not a better option
That being said just look at her

[graeme4130]

Like quite a few others on here, I moved from b7-b8 rs4 (and then again to an Rs5, and now another b8 RS4)
The artical skips quite a few points, but I think imho picks up most of the main ones, and I certainly agree that the steering is the only real thing the b7 wins on
The cost comparison's a bit out though, as 95% of b7's are 20k and under and there's only a couple of high mile/low sped B8's under 40, so comparing a 20k Carmel to what's really a £45-50k car would be much more reflective of the market
I had a drive of a b7 recently, and although it was decent, it certainly felt very old and out of date, especially in the dash and general interior
These cars are designed to be everyday cars, and in the 20k or so miles I do a year, I probably need razor sharp steering response for about 50 of them, and the b8's is still reasonable

[Alucidnation]

Sorry chaps, but the v8 RS4 is no longer.

You'll have to settle for a twin turbo (one of which is electric) V6...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2016-au...

[Driver Rider]

I don't like Audi. But I'd get a B8 rs4 all day long.

[Gorbyrev]

Alucidnation said:

Sorry chaps, but the v8 RS4 is no longer.

You'll have to settle for a twin turbo (one of which is electric) V6...

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2016-au...

That's interesting. The only B8 Audi I have driven was the S4 and its supercharged V6 was superbly tractable. Have to say, at no time did I think it was a car that needed another 120hp! There have been long musings as to whether the S6 had a lot more power available than stock trim as many Bluefin users have found out.

[GranCab]

mattf93 said:

GranCab said:

P.S.

Perfect, black pack, sepang blue. What colour is the interior? also glad you've got a black F Splitter... I HATE the silver trim around the front and rear splitter, I personally think it ruins a car. Only thing that has concerned me with the B8 is if its equipped with Keyless go, and how easily they seem to be stolen.

I must admit I love the B7 rs4, one still lives close to me, sounds lovely burbling about. Althoug there are also about 3/4 local sepang b8 rs4s, they look so much sleeker in my eyes. But unless you're a petrol head you wouldn't necessarily realise what it was...

Yes - the black pack looks much better - the standard silver accents make them look far too "blingy". It also has the sports pack which from memory gives you the wheels, sports exhaust and sports diff. The interior is black and no keyless go either.

I have had it from new since June '14 and love its ability to be quiet, smooth and civilised when necessary - e.g. when taking my 89/86 year-old parents to Sainsbury's and then after dropping them off with their week's shopping I can do the hooligan thing on the way back home - the induction/exhaust noise is worth paying 14MPG for....

[RS4Magic]

The B8 is only available as a Bread Van !
That's my one big reason for not buying one.

[RS4Magic]

The B8 is only available as a Bread Van !
That's my one big reason for not buying one.

[Supersante]

Have always associated "B" prefix with Alpina products

[StottyEvo]

RS4Magic said:

The B8 is only available as a Bread Van !
That's my one big reason for not buying one.

As was the B5!

[Adrian E]

Supersante said:

Have always associated "B" prefix with Alpina products

It's only an internal/dealer code for distinguishing between different generations of the model - same is used on other Audis e.g. the A/S8 is also known as D2/D3/D4 depending on generation.

[anonymous-user]

RS4Magic said:

The B8 is only available as a Bread Van !
That's my one big reason for not buying one.

Funny, that would be my one reason for actually buying one. Audi RS were far cooler and far more desirable when they were estate (Avant) only. Far too watered down these days.

[mattf93]

GranCab said:

Yes - the black pack looks much better - the standard silver accents make them look far too "blingy". It also has the sports pack which from memory gives you the wheels, sports exhaust and sports diff. The interior is black and no keyless go either.

I have had it from new since June '14 and love its ability to be quiet, smooth and civilised when necessary - e.g. when taking my 89/86 year-old parents to Sainsbury's and then after dropping them off with their week's shopping I can do the hooligan thing on the way back home - the induction/exhaust noise is worth paying 14MPG for....

Currently considering our options as a family car, we now have a labrador who's growing too quickly and as our current car is an A5 Sportback 3L Tdi S-tronic (2013) our options currently stand as B8 RS4, 3L Bi-tdi A6 Avant, Land Rover Discovery 4, or Range Rover Vogue 4.4.... An odd mix but dad and I shoot as well. Downside is that it'll be mums daily driver, and dads at the weekend.

Are there anything to be aware of in spec/problems? We would be looking for non keyless go equipped cars, less of an issue of being stolen. Colour wise, ibis white or daytona grey most likely even though I much prefer sepang blue.

Has your car got the 'dynamic steering' on it? and is it as bad as journos make out?

[Adrian E]

mattf93 said:

We would be looking for non keyless go equipped cars, less of an issue of being stolen.

Has your car got the 'dynamic steering' on it? and is it as bad as journos make out?

I wouldn't get too hung up on that - it's just as easy to steal a non-keyless car if you have the right equipment to code a new blank, but it requires smashing a window rather than a relay attack. My wife wouldn't do without keyless now, having dismissed it as something she wasn't fussed about before we bought ours.

We've got dynamic on our S (bought used) and I don't like it, but the non dynamic feels a bit light on smaller wheels. Not driven one on RS sized wheels to know what the weighting is like. They all feel pretty artificial given they're electric assisted

[markupton]

I owned a B7 a few years ago and whilst I never really bonded with it, it was a GREAT car when I drove it hard. The problem was the 98% of the time when you didn't. The two things which got annoying in every day use are exactly what have been resolved in the B8. The over- hardcore seats and the manual gearbox. I drove a B8 recently and around town it was excellent but when pressing harder, the things which made it better in town made it worse for the 2% of the time when you hammer it.
The B8 is ultimately a bit softer and more sophisticated which is better for the type of driving you do most of the time but is not quite the monster it used to be. Would you notice much different in a sporty Quattro diesel in every day life?

[Sport Coupe]

You're wrong.

B8 is without doubt the nicer place to sit and do motorway mileage in. However, both my B7's are with Audi right now and I have a B8 to try out; the steering is quite frankly shocking! The on centre feel is worryingly vague that I'm twitching so much, I'm all over the road.

I'm a manual die hard but the steering feel is by far the hardest obstacle to overcome. So much so, that I've disregarded the B8 now as a suitable replacement for my B7's and am looking to Porsche 997.2's as viable alternatives.

[Escort3500]

markupton said:

I owned a B7 a few years ago and whilst I never really bonded with it, it was a GREAT car when I drove it hard. The problem was the 98% of the time when you didn't. The two things which got annoying in every day use are exactly what have been resolved in the B8. The over- hardcore seats and the manual gearbox. I drove a B8 recently and around town it was excellent but when pressing harder, the things which made it better in town made it worse for the 2% of the time when you hammer it.
The B8 is ultimately a bit softer and more sophisticated which is better for the type of driving you do most of the time but is not quite the monster it used to be. Would you notice much different in a sporty Quattro diesel in every day life?

I'd agree that on a daily basis and in an urban location a diesel Quattro would be more than adequate and make more economic sense than a B7 or B8. But the occasions when you reach the open road are when they really come into their own. I've got an old 3-Series diesel as a daily and for work, and use the RS4 (B7) when the opportunity arises for a good blast through some of the great countryside where I live with its stunning driving roads. I've not driven a B8 yet, and although for me it's the logical replacement for the B7, I can't justify the additional financial outlay of upgrading to a car that's probably not significantly better. Do love the looks of the B8 though.