Any B9 S4 owners on PH yet?

[IJB1959]

porsch1909 said:

IJB1959 said:

ould it be the passenger seatbelt?.....common issue.

No no, that's firmly belted in when someone isn't with me!

Ok, I am on the B9 S5 forum, but watch this one as well as the two are very, very similar. Rattles from the rear appear to be a common issue and hard to diagnose. The most common one being the passenger seat belt clip banging against the seat frame when not used.

The others are:...

Loose items under the spare wheel cover
Loose items where the jack is stowed
Rear base seat fixing clip/s come adrift and it is not clipped down properly.....common in all models.

[porsch1909]

IJB1959 said:

Ok, I am on the B9 S5 forum, but watch this one as well as the two are very, very similar. Rattles from the rear appear to be a common issue and hard to diagnose. The most common one being the passenger seat belt clip banging against the seat frame when not used.

The others are:...

Loose items under the spare wheel cover
Loose items where the jack is stowed
Rear base seat fixing clip/s come adrift and it is not clipped down properly.....common in all models.

Thanks for this. Will check those things out. I thought it might be the kids cars seat but it was even louder when I took the car seat out!

[IJB1959]

porsch1909 said:

IJB1959 said:

Ok, I am on the B9 S5 forum, but watch this one as well as the two are very, very similar. Rattles from the rear appear to be a common issue and hard to diagnose. The most common one being the passenger seat belt clip banging against the seat frame when not used.

The others are:...

Loose items under the spare wheel cover
Loose items where the jack is stowed
Rear base seat fixing clip/s come adrift and it is not clipped down properly.....common in all models.

Thanks for this. Will check those things out. I thought it might be the kids cars seat but it was even louder when I took the car seat out!

Sounds like the rear base seat clip/s then. To check, see if the seat/s move up and down slightly. If so, the rattle is from the clip.

[porsch1909]

My wife and I share our S4.

She took this car this morning and dropped the sprog off at school. Had a couple of hours then came home for lunch. We went out for lunch and I was driving. I'm 6ft2 and wife is 5ft5 or something so a big weight and height difference.

I noticed the climate was set to 20 and my wife is always cold and usually has the car as a furnace. We had a little argument about it as she accused me of changing it.

SHe set off just now to go and get the sprog from school again. And the climate changed back to her original setting...with the heated seat turned on as well.

Is this a feature that it knows who is driving or are we just going a little bit mad? I'm thinking it might be linked to the key used to start the car?

Edited by porsch1909 on Friday 6th October 14:52

[TomScrut]

porsch1909 said:

My wife and I share our S4.

She took this car this morning and dropped the sprog off at school. Had a couple of hours then came home for lunch. We went out for lunch and I was driving. I'm 6ft2 and wife is 5ft5 or something so a big weight and height difference.

I noticed the climate was set to 20 and my wife is always cold and usually has the car as a furnace. We had a little argument about it as she accused me of changing it.

SHe set off just now to go and get the sprog from school again. And the climate changed back to her original setting...with the heated seat turned on as well.

Is this a feature that it knows who is driving or are we just going a little bit mad? I'm thinking it might be linked to the key used to start the car?

Edited by porsch1909 on Friday 6th October 14:52

If you use separate keys I think it does do this. Some of the car settings are stored on the key. Similar to memory seat option

[IJB1959]

TomScrut said:

porsch1909 said:

My wife and I share our S4.

She took this car this morning and dropped the sprog off at school. Had a couple of hours then came home for lunch. We went out for lunch and I was driving. I'm 6ft2 and wife is 5ft5 or something so a big weight and height difference.

I noticed the climate was set to 20 and my wife is always cold and usually has the car as a furnace. We had a little argument about it as she accused me of changing it.

SHe set off just now to go and get the sprog from school again. And the climate changed back to her original setting...with the heated seat turned on as well.

Is this a feature that it knows who is driving or are we just going a little bit mad? I'm thinking it might be linked to the key used to start the car?

Edited by porsch1909 on Friday 6th October 14:52

If you use separate keys I think it does do this. Some of the car settings are stored on the key. Similar to memory seat option

Yes, agree with Tom. Have a 'his & hers' key to maintain preference. Same with other premium makes too.

[SL22]

Still getting use to S4, as you can probably see from the trip counter it’s still on only 300 miles! The pace it has is pretty rapid but still learning the 8 speed box. Been out to get some photos though as it was sunny!

[Shambler]

Has anyone else traded up from a Golf R, I thought at first the Audi handling was better but after a run in the golf I was amazed at how much better the handling/steering and body control was on the golf. The other thing I have noticed is that the golf hides high speed much better than the S4. Still a tremendous car but slightly disappointed after a drive back to back with the golf.

[ashleyman]

Shambler said:

Has anyone else traded up from a Golf R, I thought at first the Audi handling was better but after a run in the golf I was amazed at how much better the handling/steering and body control was on the golf. The other thing I have noticed is that the golf hides high speed much better than the S4. Still a tremendous car but slightly disappointed after a drive back to back with the golf.

I am seriously thinking about it. There's not a lot that does what the Golf does and improves upon it. I had 2 test drives in the S4, one saloon and the other an Avant.

I found the wind noise to be quite bad in the S4 even with the windows closed at 40 and up it was quite bad. Windows down at 30 and it was really bad, probably worse than the Golf.

I find that the Golf R is easy to drive fast, for me, it doesn't really do town well and hates being at 30. On my particular car the gear changes can be quite aggressive and the ride is very harsh on the 19' wheels. The S4 felt a lot softer and the suspension was definitely more forgiving which I enjoyed. The sense of speed in the S4 is very different to the Golf, it feels much smoother but is still a rocket ship which is great!! Everything about the Audi interior and tech is better. I also found the seats to be much more comfortable than the Golfs.

I didn't get to throw the S4 round some country lanes, but I don't do that often in the Golf anyway. The S4 feels a lot bigger and has a very long bonnet, from my research theres not that much difference in actual dimensions which is weird unless the sites have quoted incorrect measurements.

I really liked the visual cockpit and the screen on the dashboard coupled with the click wheel. Much much better than the touch screen on the Golf. I'm sure it's in there somewhere, but I could not find consumption data at all. I could see the bar that moves in real time but not the actual figures from the drive. Therefore I couldn't see if it was any better or worse than the R. My Golf seems to average between 24 in town and 27-31 on the motorway at 70.

Golf R comes with ACC , Hill Hold Assist and Folding Mirrors as standard which the S4 does not. ACC is only part of the Driver Assistance Pack which is £1250 and Hill Hold is £75 or is part of the Comfort & Sound Pack which is £1295. Folding Mirrors start at £225.

One thing I didn't consider at the time but have since discovered is the Golf R is in insurance group 34 and the S4 in group 36. This means a £400 uplift in annual price for me. This will differ for everyone but it was a bit of a nasty surprise. Also the VED is £450 compared with £185. Combined, the increase in running costs and PCP fees mean a £200 increase in my monthly motoring costs.

However nice the S4 is, I don't think it's worth it and any sensible person would say don't do it. But it is a lovely car and I want one!

I broke down the monthly costs to run one and they're as follows:

S4
£430 - PCP
£37.50 - VED (£450 in total)
£120 - Insurance (£1200 in total)
£130 - Basic Fuel Bill
£717.50 - without any extra fuel spend on other journeys.

Golf R
£342 - PCP
£15.40 VED (£185 in total)
£120 - Insurance (£1100 in total, set to be £850 on next renewal)
£130 - Basic Fuel Bill
£607.70 - without any extra fuel spend on other journeys.
£558.40 - on next insurance renewal.

Edited by ashleyman on Monday 16th October 21:03

[talksthetorque]

My comments on the S4.from you r observations. Not had a golf R.But have had Leons and driven A3s with ACC, foldies, etc.

You don't need hill hold, it's an auto, and i'ver not had mine roll back yet.
Try LV for insurance. they were cheapest for me and a few others.
Non-folding mirrors are a pain in the arse.
OH's friend turned up at the weekend in a 63 plate citroen has auto folding mirrors, they were also standard on my 56 plate Leon.
Perhaps they expect us to only park at our director's parking place (1.5 spaces to ease our Powerfully built frames out of the car) or on the gravel ( fountain in the middle obvs) driveway.
Heated massage seats, auto box, ride quality is all worth the extra.
I'm also wondering if the people complaining about noisy cabin on the S4 have a wonky door seal or something. I am able to have a conversation at 95 ( on the autobahn) with the oh, at almost whispering levels.

[VAGLover]

Ved said:

Had I kept it black then I'd agree as it's nice on dark cars but I didn't like the contrast. I've got tinted windows so there are silver, grey and black on the car and I quite like it. It reminded me of a 1.8 TDI too much but I think I'll be happy either way. I've had too many black cars so something with a bit of pop is nice.

I had an S3 in Daytona, wish I had the black pack! Reconsider

[ollie05]

talksthetorque said:

You don't need hill hold, it's an auto, and i'ver not had mine roll back yet.
Try LV for insurance. they were cheapest for me and a few others.
Non-folding mirrors are a pain in the arse.
OH's friend turned up at the weekend in a 63 plate citroen has auto folding mirrors, they were also standard on my 56 plate Leon.
Perhaps they expect us to only park at our director's parking place (1.5 spaces to ease our Powerfully built frames out of the car) or on the gravel ( fountain in the middle obvs) driveway.
Heated massage seats, auto box, ride quality is all worth the extra.
I'm also wondering if the people complaining about noisy cabin on the S4 have a wonky door seal or something. I am able to have a conversation at 95 ( on the autobahn) with the oh, at almost whispering levels.

Spot on, agree with all of them! Didn't understand everyone saying get hill hold...

Only options I specd were different 19's and VC. Glad I did both, and would definitely want VC if I was to have one again.

The only negative is vwfs charging 100 quid in total to add/remove a private plate. There are admin fees and then there's taking the fking piss!

[filski666]

Has anyone ordered the grey interior, and would they mind posting some photos?
Looking to order an S4 Avant, local dealer doesn't have one, the configurator makes the grey look really dark, not much different to black, but a Google images search shows really light grey seats....?

[TomScrut]

Shambler said:

The other thing I have noticed is that the golf hides high speed much better than the S4.

You're kidding right? I have an S5 but they are basically the same car and I found the Golf very much let you know you were going fast. I find with the Audi I look down at the speedo and be like "s*** didn't realise I was going that fast" because it rides better at speed and is a lot quieter in terms of road noise IMO. I don't regret going from a Golf to the S5, far better car IMO. Miss out on a bit of steering feedback but everything else makes up for it.

[TomScrut]

talksthetorque said:

I'm also wondering if the people complaining about noisy cabin on the S4 have a wonky door seal or something. I am able to have a conversation at 95 ( on the autobahn) with the oh, at almost whispering levels.

Yeah I don;t understand that. I have been in an A4 and its was fine (quieter than a Golf) and if they can make the S5 quiet at high speed (frameless windows) then the S4 should be easy.

[talksthetorque]

So why did I change from a 2 litre diesel? Here's why.
Notts to Lowestoft Monday Morning.
Anyone who has done this route, knows it is tortuous single lane running a lot of the time with lots of farm lorries and tractors pulling artic trailers. Chances to overtake are few and far between even with a few ponies under the bonnet. Add a couple of cameras along the way at some favourite overtaking points, and it's sit back, relax, put radio 3 on and hit the massage function.

[porsch1909]

talksthetorque said:

My comments on the S4.from you r observations. Not had a golf R.But have had Leons and driven A3s with ACC, foldies, etc.

You don't need hill hold, it's an auto, and i'ver not had mine roll back yet.
Try LV for insurance. they were cheapest for me and a few others.
Non-folding mirrors are a pain in the arse.
OH's friend turned up at the weekend in a 63 plate citroen has auto folding mirrors, they were also standard on my 56 plate Leon.
Perhaps they expect us to only park at our director's parking place (1.5 spaces to ease our Powerfully built frames out of the car) or on the gravel ( fountain in the middle obvs) driveway.
Heated massage seats, auto box, ride quality is all worth the extra.
I'm also wondering if the people complaining about noisy cabin on the S4 have a wonky door seal or something. I am able to have a conversation at 95 ( on the autobahn) with the oh, at almost whispering levels.

I've noticed a fair amount of wind noise above 90 in my s4 but doesn't mean I can't have a conversation still without shouting. The car is going in tomorrow regarding the rattling so will ask them to check the seals etc.

[porsch1909]

Car is in for checking the rattling. Got an Audi Q2 courtesy car...what a POS

It's only when I sit and drive something else I realise what an excellent car the s4 is. I hope they have some great deals when my lease is up in 2 years time...or they will need to pry this out of my cold dead hands

[TomScrut]

porsch1909 said:

I hope they have some great deals when my lease is up in 2 years time...or they will need to pry this out of my cold dead hands

The only satisfaction I will get from downgrading from the S5, even to something like a Cupra or Golf R is that it is cheaper. I'd happily go to an S4 next given they are the same car (make mine an Avant though)

[porsch1909]

TomScrut said:

The only satisfaction I will get from downgrading from the S5, even to something like a Cupra or Golf R is that it is cheaper. I'd happily go to an S4 next given they are the same car (make mine an Avant though)

I'd quite fancy the S5 sportback next time around.

They can't find the source of the rattle so keeping the car until tomorrow. Q2 heaven for another day