Wednesday 29th March 2017

Audi S4 Avant: PH Fleet

S4's drinking habit seems to have moderated and the Sport Diff is making is presence felt

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In last month's update I spoke about how the S4 had me resolutely sat on the fence; I just couldn't decide if I liked it. I also spoke about the less than ideal fuel economy, which falls a significant way short of the claimed figures published by Audi. So, another month and 1,435 miles later, what's changed?

Read our full Audi S4 Avant review

After the promise I made at the end of the last article to stop using the Efficiency mode and just drive the car in a more PH mindset, I did fear the consequences. However, something strange has happened. Despite using the car exclusively in Dynamic engine mode and driving accordingly I've seen... a significant improvement in economy. Now, whilst I'm sure the additional miles might have loosened the engine up a bit it was already well run-in. So I'm at a loss to explain it. Where before 30mpg was nearly impossible to achieve on a motorway run, just last night I achieved 34mpg over 100-ish miles of mixed motorways. At every opportunity I 'made progress' and nor did I hold back as I drove the last few miles of familiar country lanes as I made my way home.

I know it shouldn't matter so much, but this has had a profound impact on my enjoyment of the car. No doubt this is helped significantly by the fact that in Dynamic mode the car feels so much sharper. Where before I sometimes found myself struggling to get excited about the S4 I now look forward to spending time in it; after all the rest of the car continues to be excellent. Talking of which, a recent stint in our PH Fleet Skoda Superb really highlighted how far ahead of the game Audi is with its frankly excellent Virtual Cockpit arrangement.

As I've become more and more used to the S4 I'm also starting to notice the optional Sport Differential. On the road the effects are quite subtle and fairly hard to coax into play, mainly because of the extremely high grip levels on offer. However, once you gain a bit of confidence the influence on the the S4's handling becomes more assertive, especially through longer corners and out of roundabouts.

Basically you feel yourself using less steering lock, the rear wheels now helping drive the car out of the corner. Make no mistake, this is not heroic, tyre smoking oversteer. Indeed, passengers would struggle to feel it happening but for the driver it is really satisfying. As an experiment I adjusted the differential to the less sporty mode via Audi's Drive Select configurator. This didn't last long as you really miss the extra layer of dynamism that it gives the car, so I turned it back on within a few minutes and I don't expect to ever adjust it again. £1,200 is an expensive tick on the options sheet but for the way it elevates the S4 from merely fast Audi into a genuinely involving driving machine it's worth every penny.

Overall I'm still slightly on the fence in my feelings towards the S4 Avant but with revelations like this, and the improved economy, I can feel it slowly starting to win me over. Here's to more of that over the coming months.

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FACT SHEET
Car: 2016 Audi S4 Avant
On fleet since: January 2017
Mileage: 5,249
List price new: £44,415 (As tested £49,770 comprising Misano Red paint for £645, Quattro sport with Sport Differential for £1,200, 19-inch diamond cut wheels for £550, Light and Vision pack for £750, Adaptive S Sport suspension with damping control for £900, Audi phonebox with wireless charging for £325 and on the road costs of £985)
Last month at a glance: James is on the rebound as the Audi starts winning him over

Previous updates:
Audi S4 arrives on the fleet
Audi S4: Review
Audi S4: Getting to grips with Audi's fast Avant

[Oz83]

Spring is here...could that explain the fuel economy?

My A4 V6 Tdi does about 15mpg until it's warmed up (which can take 15 minutes on a cold day), then it does 40+.