Audi S4 Cabriolet thoughts & experiences?

[kippax]

I currently have a Boxster S which I love but i don't get much chance to use it due to having a 4 year old.

I miss my TVR Tuscan & the noise & am thinking of swapping the Boxster for a S4 cabriolet as they sound great but how do they drive?

I'd love to hear from owners with their experiences of how these drive etc & what to look foremen buying.

[kippax]

Anyone?

[Hairy Bob]

I have a 55 plate b7 S4 estate, don't know how old you are looking at or what sort of money. I can talk about b7s but don't know what year you are thinking of.

They are not much fun to drive (not bad, just not fun). They are rapid and grip the road, but fun is never the word I want to use.

Edited by Hairy Bob on Saturday 29th September 21:11

[Chris Hinds]

It's a nice car to drive but for cruising and looking smart rather than the last word in driver performance. When really driving hard they are good but will always tend towards understeer. I always liked driving them at work as they sound very good, especially with the Milltek exhaust. However in the A4 Cab, the 3.2v6 goes nearly as well and actually sounds better. If I wanted an A4 Cab that would be what I'd hunt down.

[schmalex]

I have a 56 plate B7 S4 Cab. It's not the last word in driver involvement, but is quick (although not as quick as the CLK500 it replaced). Roof up, it's as quiet as our old B6 S4 Avant and 100% waterproof. Roof down, it sounds incredible. Pushing on, it has a tendency to understeer, but to be honest, it's more of a fast cruiser rather then a point to point weapon.

They aren't particularly economical - on my trip from Newbury to Guildford, I see between 24 / 25mpg. This can drop rapidly if you use the loud pedal (and you will due to the noise alone), although, the auto has a higher final drive, so is a bit more relaxed on the motorway.

It always attracts lots of positive comments, as they are pretty rare and in the right colour, look very subtle indeed.

Things to look for:

• Xenons suffer from "Audi flicker" (ie, they have a tendency to flicker on and off sometimes
• headlight washers can develop a problem whereby they don't re-seat themselves correctly after use
• ensure all heater bars in the rear screen work (replacing the rear screen is NOT a cheap job)
• they can use a bit of oil. As they are on the long life servicing regime, it's worth doing an interim oil change)
• they have a cam chain, rather then belt. Which is nice. It can rattle for a couple of seconds on startup. This, I'm informed is OK

Overall, I'm very happy with mine.

[anonymous-user]

I had a B6 S4 cab. Strong cars mechanically. Lots of threads in the VW forum here on them.

As others have said, fast, grippy, but not first choice as a point to point missile.

Under steer can be dialled out by swapping the standard anti roll bars for those from the RS4. Think carefully about putting a Miltek exhaust on. Mine sounded epic when pressing on but was very boomy at town speeds. Drive me potty.

I think the biggest thing you will notice coming from a Boxster is that whereas you feel like you are properly "in" a Boxster, you feel like you're "on" the S4. It's one of the things that contributes to it feeling less involving.

If you're in the market for a 4 seater cab, what about a 996 cab?

[schmalex]

^^^. I agree with that. When my wife had her S4 Avant, I had a Box S. the Box was a much, much involving drive and, whilst not as quick in a straight line, was all over the Audi through the corners

[ajb85]

Nice cars, and a lovely choice of a car you seldom see. Go like the wind and sound like thunder. Clarkson and Hammond rated it - if you have a search of Youtube for convertible comparisons from about 7 years ago you'll find a review. If it's anyhthing like the V6 that my mother has in her A4 cab though I'd point out that they do use a bit of oil.