German Car Zone

Some photos of my newest fleet member

Across country this car is phenominal, much faster point to point than the M6. not as crazy in the straight line speed department but close enough.

Splendid car. The RS4 is quite a popular car here in London unlike in other places I've lived where it has been a rarity. More deeper reflection on it compared to the M6 would be appreciated i.e the characteristics of the engine, steering feel and responsiveness.

Oh wow! One of my favorite Audis you have there

You have some amazing cars!!


Safe miles

Congrats on the car man. I had a blast driving this on Track and it's just so easy to live with on a day to day basis.

Its a good question. So ill compare it to the M6.

The M6 is an animal of a car. Its fast, really really fast, in fact its too fast for the UK. You cant really tap into its real performance envelope at sub 100 speeds.

If let it rip in 3rd im over the ton, in second im doing 70. The engine only comes alive at about 5000rpm, and goes on until 8500rpm ish. The power band is insane, make no mistake. It feels faster over 100 say 100-150 than it is does say 50-100. This car was made by the germans for the germans, to be driven on german autobahns. It has 7 gears and accelerates like crazy in everygear, ive seen 190 on a private road, bonkers.....

It is very plush inside, leather everywhere, suede roof, all the bells and whistles, and after year of ownership the gearbox is starting to prove a letdown. At full throttle, with dsc disengaged, in M mode on setting 6, it changes gear more or less instantly, very violently and is a joy. At all other speeds (99% of all driving) its clunky, lazy, and univolving.

the engine sounds like a formula one car at high revs at low revs sounds like a diesel rattley and not at all like a 500bhp supercar.

The bluetooth takes forever to connect and the satnav is pretty shite....

Now then how does the Audi compare.

First of all the V8 sounds simply amazing, way better than my C55 which was amazing. A pal of mines thought it sounded like a little veyron, high praise indeed. So as soon as you start the engine it puts you right in the mood.

The interior is excellent and very sporty, ( not M6 plush) great feeling wheel, loads of steering feel, that is defo more feelsome than the M6. I can feel more about what the road is telling me than i can in the M6. Im not saying you cant place the M6 accuratley but it always a little leap of faith in doing so.
Its a manual, and i feel connected to the car, maybe id have felt this way about any manual, but i doubt it.
Satnav is much better, bluetooth connects instantly, and today i bought an adaptor for my iphone and its a great bit of kit.

I honestly dont think MY rs4 is that much slower than my m6, slower it is but not that much.

The confidence i feel in the car when pressing on makes me feel safer about my driving and today a took a juntion bend about 15mph faster than ive ever had the balls to do in the M6.

Its an all weather car and i live in manchester were it pisses down ( read rains a lot) most weeks so i can USE the performance more often.

On a 'look at me level' and lets be honest we all like people looking at our motors with an admiring glance, everybody stairs at the RS4( may be the noise)

For me i can use more of the performance more of the time in all weathers, and i like driving it more, it really is as simple as that.

Could this be the end of my M6 romance??????

Stunning garage and congrats on your new car!! Just saw and hear a RS4 Convertible an hour ago!! AWESOME!!

Nice collection Steve, enjoy.

I must say, you have got a very good taste in cars! Enjoy & be safe!

Just thought id share my drive this afternoon.

took the RS4 today as it is raining very hard in manchester today.

On my way home from work i decided to go for some b road action and i very glad i did.

I cant see how i could have gone faster down my fave road, the steering is perfectly weighted, you turn the wheel, then you feel the tyres turn and the car stays true to the line you chose. Only on the sharpest bends that are taken too fast is there any sniff of understeer and tbh if you slow down a bit more and unwind the steering at the apex the exit speed is amazing

Im starting to remember a little heel and toe but as its been so long since i did it i really am still very jerky when i try to blip the throttle. Having the pressure on the breaks and throttle at the same time is coming back but i think itll take a few months before i can pedal properly again

If Audi can dothis in the RS4 and R8 why oh why does it not filter into there other products?????

Anyways i need to read my son a bedtime story, so ill say bye for now.

Steve

Aw, terrific posts Steve, thanks very much for your input. I must say, I'm a big fan of both of your performance cars and, having experienced both of them, I can say that I share very similar views except that I have no idea what either are like to live with on a daily basis! (You lucky bugger )

M6's V10 is just ludicrous. You're quite right when you say it's just too fast for urban conditions. It is. One doesn't even scratch the surface of the car's epic performance potential. I reckon a used M6 is a safe buy simply from the fact that, because it's there in one piece, it couldn't possibly have been driven anywhere near hard enough to compromise the car mechanically. Raw numbers - particularly that seemingly low 520 Nm at a peaky 5500 rpm (is it?) - just don't convey the latent capability of this machine.

RS4 - a future classic. The most thoroughly resolved front-engined Audi ever. Amazingly, the ride is good - it's very refined in terms of the bump-through insulation when driving over high frequency road imperfections - and unlike other Audis where the heavy engine out front blunts turn-in, the RS4 turns in crisply and feelsomely. I've only driven it once on busy public roads. But, I never did tell you about the day that I stumbled upon 4 pre-launch RS4s at a private test facility down here in SA? The keys were in the door pockets and it was past 5pm. I coulda had the best drive of my life... but chose not to in the interests of professionalism. Damn! Audi SA - you owe me one.