Audi RS4 Avant review

The R8 was probably the first high performance Audi to introduce suppleness to a chassis lexicon in which ride comfort was apparently an alien concept. Since then, the company regularly flies its engineers to the UK during final sign-off, the crucible of distressed bitumen and asphalt. Gotta make sure that quattro prowess and multi-link front and rear suspension is up to mustard.

And is it?

Like the RS6, this thing is a revelation. The RS Sport suspension sits seven millimetres lower than the S4’s set-up, and it’s very well judged.

Things get more complicated (and even better) if you’ve ticked the optional Dynamic Ride Control box. It works in a manner similar to the system in the McLaren 720S, using three-mode dampers that are linked diagonally with hydraulic fluid. As in the RS6, this is another highly rapid Audi in which the chassis’ compliance actually trumps its lateral grip in the top 10 of reasons to be impressed by it. Its everyday useability is terrific.

Which isn’t to say that this isn’t a car of considerable dynamic competence. Although it weighs 1,745kg, it warps between apexes with palpable conviction and doesn’t fall over itself when it gets to them (it’s worth noting that the 2.9-litre TFSI engine only weighs 182kg).

Steering feel is probably one of its weaker points, but its front end poise is terrific, and an electronically controlled rear differential means the back end obediently follows suit (RS-only variable ratio dynamic steering is an option). It’s meticulous and precise, its quattro AWD meting out torque in a mostly 40:60 front to rear split, with torque vectoring in the mix to further sweeten its cornering chops.

Talk to me about stopping and going.

Braking is by 375mm front, 330mm rear steel discs as standard, with ceramics as an option (which also save 8kg in unsprung mass); the standard set-up isn’t wholly feelsome but is easily good enough. This is a car that is singularly unflappable, as well as more than fast enough for any sane human: 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds, and a top speed of 174mph… with the electronic restrictor removed. Otherwise it’s 155mph.

But here’s an old-fashioned thought: does it get the heart pumping? Not in the way a Mercedes-AMG C63 or, if we discount the estate element, an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio does. The RS4’s engine doesn’t ripple with the same frenzied character, although the (optional) sports exhaust ramps up the drama.

Audi’s Drive Select offers six different profiles, influencing the engine and transmission, steering, suspension, and the quattro sport differential. However, it still doesn’t feel like a car in which you’d be inclined to go into ‘hoon’ mode for the sake of it (unlike the C63 or Alfa). And you’ve got to stick the ’box in manual mode to get the best out of it, regardless of the software tweaks. It’s plenty smooth enough left to its own devices, but never quite where we wanted it to be once we got a move on.

And then there’s the latest BMW M3 Touring to think about. Its capability dwarfs that of the RS4 and until Audi brings the next-gen car to the table - rumoured to have plug-in hybrid power - there really is no contest between the two in terms of driving stakes.

It all sounded so promising…

Don’t give up hope, though. A short-lived Competition model was launched in 2022, and the inclusion of trick suspension and active rear diff (plus the realisation within Audi that ‘manual’ mode really should mean manual shifting) injected a much-needed sense of fun that had otherwise been missing from the RS4’s make-up.

It raises various questions though. Why did Audi build so few of them? How come it waited so long - as it nears the automotive retirement home - to give us what we’d argue is the greatest RS4 of the lot? Were its buyers really so invested in performance that it was worth going down the manually adjustable suspension route, special toolbox ‘n’ all? And why didn’t the UK get the stupendously better bucket seats that were dished out in Europe?

All good points. Boring one: is it efficient?

Ha! No. Audi claims fuel economy of up to 29.1mpg, which we would describe as… optimistic. At full pelt you won’t escape figures in the teens. If you’re really going for it, even that might be pushing it. Keep a weathered eye on those fuel prices; acceleration could get expensive.