B7 RS4 Avant v B8 S4 Avant v E61 M5 Touring?
Discussion
For me it would be the B7 RS4 as it has the noise & 4 wheel drive. I had a similar discussion to this with a friend - a mate in the trade said that the M5s can have a slightly clonky box at light throttle/low speeds & they also lack low down torque? The friend ultimately had an RS6 estate but how about an S6 estate?
MrC986 said:
For me it would be the B7 RS4 as it has the noise & 4 wheel drive. I had a similar discussion to this with a friend - a mate in the trade said that the M5s can have a slightly clonky box at light throttle/low speeds & they also lack low down torque? The friend ultimately had an RS6 estate but how about an S6 estate?
Yeah the SMG box can be cumbersome and clunky, but I had a CSL with SMG a few years ago and you learn to drive around its foibles, so SMG doesn't put me off like it would to some. What worries me is how thirsty they are - I borrowed a mate's M5 once for a weekend and put £150 through it in 3 days - averaged 14mpg. Your mate is right about lack of torque too - you need to wring the neck of the M5 to make swift progress, they love revs! It depends what you want from a car, but my money would be on the S4.
Audi have been conservative with the stats, but as a benchmark 350bhp and 0-62 in 4.9 seconds.
They then remap to 430bhp, and should crack 100mph in 9 seconds. Add a bit of grease to the road and an M5 won't see which way it went.
The S4 also handles better than the RS4, assuming you've specced it with the sports differential.
Audi have been conservative with the stats, but as a benchmark 350bhp and 0-62 in 4.9 seconds.
They then remap to 430bhp, and should crack 100mph in 9 seconds. Add a bit of grease to the road and an M5 won't see which way it went.
The S4 also handles better than the RS4, assuming you've specced it with the sports differential.
I am biased, but the M5 is in a different league to both the RS4 and S4. As Aeroshesh said, it is the only "supercar" in an estate body. Performance wise it is in a different league. It may not have the low down shove, but above 4000rpm the V10 is something else - Audi had to buy Lamborghini to get something similar and yet, the V10 is better...
BertieBee said:
It won't really be a daily though, so a firm ride doesn't bother me.
I think currently I'm thinking RS4 > S4 > M5
Yeah thats the order I would go with, as mentioned the RS4 sounds superb with a Milltek, looks the best tho if it was me personally I would go for black with optics pack. The M5 would be have been a great choice when almost new but now it's out of warranty it would be a brave choice. I am sure the S4 is very capable but it looks like any other A4 and depreciation will be a killer in next few years.I think currently I'm thinking RS4 > S4 > M5
Get an RS4 in a decent colour with the must have options and if you don't like it sell it in a year for close to what you paid for it.
R1gtr said:
Yeah thats the order I would go with, as mentioned the RS4 sounds superb with a Milltek, looks the best tho if it was me personally I would go for black with optics pack. The M5 would be have been a great choice when almost new but now it's out of warranty it would be a brave choice. I am sure the S4 is very capable but it looks like any other A4 and depreciation will be a killer in next few years.
Get an RS4 in a decent colour with the must have options and if you don't like it sell it in a year for close to what you paid for it.
Wise words - thanks mate. Get an RS4 in a decent colour with the must have options and if you don't like it sell it in a year for close to what you paid for it.
To be honest I'd take either Phantom Black or Daytona Grey, whichever comes up locally at the right money, optics pack is nice to have but I can always get a body shop to sort this if the car doesn't come with it.
What I definitely want is factory privacy glass, as aftermarket jobs look awful. Recaro buckets and flat bottomed steering wheel are also essential for me.
SWoll said:
Get it done properly and you wont tell the difference. We had our E61 done by the same company that tints the new cars that Sytner gets in and it's identical to factory.
Not sure about that, the heater elements are very noticeable on the RS4's rear and quarter windows if done aftermarket. BertieBee said:
Wise words - thanks mate.
To be honest I'd take either Phantom Black or Daytona Grey, whichever comes up locally at the right money, optics pack is nice to have but I can always get a body shop to sort this if the car doesn't come with it.
What I definitely want is factory privacy glass, as aftermarket jobs look awful. Recaro buckets and flat bottomed steering wheel are also essential for me.
The main issues to watch out for on B7 RS4's is the DRC - Audi caved and extended the warranty to 5 years on these components due to the number of failures. Mine failed and was replaced at 1,500 miles. I am not sure what the cost is to replace all the suspension these days's. RS4's also suffered from excessive carbon build up due to an in-compatability issue with the Audi recommended engine oils. Many owners found the Engines didn't make the manufacturers stated power out put and some managed to reject their cars and get their money back from Audi due to this issue.To be honest I'd take either Phantom Black or Daytona Grey, whichever comes up locally at the right money, optics pack is nice to have but I can always get a body shop to sort this if the car doesn't come with it.
What I definitely want is factory privacy glass, as aftermarket jobs look awful. Recaro buckets and flat bottomed steering wheel are also essential for me.
From a depreciation point of view, I can see no reason why cars of this nature will do anything but continue to head south. In the very long term, I am sure the very best examples will bottom out and start to increase in value however, that point is some way off.
I did enjoy my RS4, the ride and mine had SSplus (when the suspension worked) was much better than the S-line variants, engine noise was epic, it went well and it was a nice place to sit.
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