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

---

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.

---

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+.

[QuattroDave]

Never been an A4/S4 fan (always preferred look and interior of the A6) but I had a poke around a colleagues new S4 avant a few weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised. With regards to economy my colleagues is able to average 32mpg on his 50 mile each way commute so the economy has definitely increased a lot since the last couple of generations.

Was slightly disappointed with its sound, my non fettled M140 sounds better/louder!

Still not sure whether I'd have one though. 17 Audi's down so far and not sure I could 'do' another (though I will make an exception for a C7 RS6!)

[Onehp]

3800 miles last month may be run in by the book, but engines loosen up over a longer period of time and actually using the power will help. And perhaps temperatures play in also as suggested above.

[Maldini35]

I loved my old S4.
I think it's the sweet spot of the entire Audi range and defines the brand : Fast, comfortable, subtle, quattro.
Halo RS models are all well and good but the S4 does everything you need in the real world.
It really is a very fast car.

[culpz]

Funny that you mention about the Dynamic setting somehow now improving the fuel economy after a bit of time in it.

I've had my B9 1.4 TFSI A4 in nothing but Dynamic mode since i took delivery of the car and it's done nothing but hammer the fuel economy and give it a stupidly sharp and unnecessary throttle response.

I'm in no way comparing this S4 to mine of course, as that would be daft. But since leaving it in the Comfort setting and settling for the longer throttle, it's been a much better experience all round.

Edited by culpz on Wednesday 29th March 12:49

[Davey S2]

Can you do a back to back comparison with the new Skoda 280 long termer you have?

It would be interesting to see how they compare and whether the Audi is really worth £10K+ more.

[Hillbilly75]

Interesting comments on fuel economy. I run an S3 saloon as a daily and had the thing almost permanently in Efficiency mode for a year, only going to dynamic for the B road blasts. A few weeks back, like you, I decided enough was enough and have run in standard auto mode and too have seen economy increasing. My non engineering gut thinks it may be to do with the lift and coast function. In E mode on the motorway the car goes into neutral on lift off, when you touch the accelerator the engine has to rev up to find the bite point on the box and then settle again. Surely this is far less efficient than the car just tickling along at 2,000rpm.

[mmcd87]

Only half this post is about how the car actually drives? And the last post was mpg related as well.

I don't see how you can complain about the economy or how you can expect much more than 30mpg on a cruise. It's a 6 cylinder automatic estate car, with 4 wheel drive, wide tyres and reasonable kerb weight. It's going to drink like a fish, especially when its on boost - 350+hp doesn't come from thin air.

Expecting 35mpg+ seems crazy to me, and Audi are just playing the MPG game like everyone else - very few cars do book figures.

A BMW M140i will do high 30's for example with a brand new 6 cylinder engine design, but thats a smaller car with 2WD - how can Audi match that with a bigger car and 4wd?

Ask Audi for a 2.0TDI S-Line next time.

[Ved]

Looking forward to getting mine soon and glad I ticked the diff option as well.

[Icehanger]

Ved said:

Looking forward to getting mine soon and glad I ticked the diff option as well.

another supporter of that diff, took me 6 months of hunting to find a second hand A6 in the specI wanted, before anyone jumps on the steering feel bandwagon, The diff makes it genuinely nice to hussle down some sharp twisties

[Ved]

Icehanger said:

Ved said:

Looking forward to getting mine soon and glad I ticked the diff option as well.

another supporter of that diff, took me 6 months of hunting to find a second hand A6 in the specI wanted, before anyone jumps on the steering feel bandwagon, The diff makes it genuinely nice to hussle down some sharp twisties

A colleague at work has one ordered as well and when he tested it with the sports diff he found it reasonably close to his outgoing 3 series in terms of feel. Not as good of course but good enough.

[big_rob_sydney]

So you saved £3.47 in fuel and its transformed how you feel about a £50,000 car, eh?

[Dale487]

culpz said:

Funny that you mention about the Dynamic setting somehow now improving the fuel economy after a bit of time in it.

I've had my B9 1.4 TFSI A4 in nothing but Dynamic mode since i took delivery of the car and it's done nothing but hammer the fuel economy and give it a stupidly sharp and unnecessary throttle response.

I'm in no way comparing this S4 to mine of course, as that would be daft. But since leaving it in the Comfort setting and settling for the longer throttle, it's been a much better experience all round.

Edited by culpz on Wednesday 29th March 12:49

My SEAT Leon FR estate with the same engine as your A4 has modes & the sport mode has a far too sensitive throttle map - it's only fit for a back road blast.

I'm still undecided if different modes or a fixed rate for steering, throttle etc is better.

[culpz]

Dale487 said:

My SEAT Leon FR estate with the same engine as your A4 has modes & the sport mode has a far too sensitive throttle map - it's only fit for a back road blast.

I'm still undecided if different modes or a fixed rate for steering, throttle etc is better.

I only left it in Dynamic because most reviews advised to leave it there as it's hardly the most dynamic drive regardless, so it just makes it slightly more engaging. Truth is, it doesn't really do much for the car that i'm driving.

I still don't get it though, even when taking it for a bit of a spirited drive, not that i really do that in mine anyway. You just seem to get full-throttle on only about half the pedal travel. So, when you you do actually put the pedal fully down, you don't really get much back.

I honestly think there should be a default set-up and then deal with it, personally. I seem to find it hard to find one that just kinda does it all, for the most part. It's a shame as most new cars seem to be applying this technology now and it's just a waste of time in my eyes.

[Ved]

Can you guys please review the car like it should be and stop being amazed/shocked by MPG and rubbish like that? This is more like it (turn on subtitles) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qLs72A5RIQ.

Drive it like a rep who made his bonus this quarter instead of the penny pinching guy with buyers regret. If it was a WRX STI you'd be ripping the nuts off it and enjoying it for what it is.

[kmack]

I bought an B8 2009 S4 a few years ago and found it slow and heavy. A revo re-map improved the cars performance and whilst the sport diff did help the driving dynamics, it was still a little dull and frankly easy too drive fast. I appreciate the quality of Audi but they are too easy /dull to drive hence (after 8 Audi's) I switched to a BMW M4 which is far more rewarding to drive. Audi is a better daily driver though...