Audi RS 4 -
Leaves all fashionable pretenders in its wake

...Well, it certainly looks the part with puffed-up shoulders and fat tyres hinting at some serious firepower. And it delivers, too, thanks to a 4.2 litre V8 engine that develops 414bhp. That’s 70 more than the old M3.

But when the engine in question is a thumping great V8, the effect is a complete lack of balance. Imagine trying to fly a Piper Cherokee with a hippo on the bonnet to get some idea of what I’m on about. To get round this the RS 4 has aluminium front wings, and the engine, which is super-light and small, is mounted backwards so all the heavy chains are at the rear. Clever.

And effective. Push hard and the four-wheel-drive system will still understeer but it’s not the same Oh My God I’m Going To Die understeer from yesteryear. Especially now 60% of the power goes to the back wheels.

Better still, thanks to the test programme in England, the car rides properly. It’s not what you’d call a magic carpet but it doesn’t juice your internal organs either. And the new-found compliancy in the suspension is matched by quite the best seats in the whole world. They’re so big they take up all the rear legroom, which renders the back useless. Perhaps that’s why there are no rear electric windows, an otherwise strange omission in what’s a £50,000 car.

Other than this minor irritation I’m completely sold on the RS 4. It goes like a scalded cock, corners beautifully, sounds like God with a cold, looks like Achilles, and best of all, if you buy one, you won’t have to buy something else tomorrow...

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Hey you forgot this part Yannis :

Audi does its best to get its nose in the fashion world by running a fleet of A8s that are at the permanent beck and call of Jade Goody and Nigella Lawson. But it hasn’t worked because, with the notable exception of the TT, they’re about as fashionable as vicarages.

Well I have to say that that wasn't the greatest article to read. 1/2 of the article talks about fashion and how it changes... and barely the rest talks about the car. The red RS4 is hot though, perfect color for it... after blue that is.

he has such odd reviews, but i guess overall he likes it, he is very confusing and never stays on point.

REminds me of the article on the M5 he did. Half of it was about communism. I was just like "Clarkson, what the hell are you talking about, half of this article is a waste my Goddamn time!"