cgfen

I've searched the archives and have found 1 relevant thread on the newer S4s, (2005.5 and newer).

I’ve also seen a few anecdotal comments regarding these cars. I’m specifically interested in the 2006 (B7) Avant variant.

The few posts I’ve seen seem to run along the conventional wisdom of;
Great car
Good fun
Sounds great
Heavy!
Sell it before the warranty runs out because they are maintenance challenges
(Thanks Bill V)

That all makes sense to me. I’ve found one in colors I like, on a local dealer lot, CPO’d, with extended warranty (6 years, 100k miles) which makes this seem pretty attractive.

If you’ve owned these cars and would take a moment to comment I’d appreciate your thoughts

Cheers

Craig

Ps. yes, I’ll be a dork and also ask if you tell me about “real world gas mileage” once the engine was “broken-in” and loosened up a bit. This car has 32K miles.

pps. The fact that i got to drive a RS4 Avant on a recent trip in Ch has nothing to do with this somewhat irrational choice............................

Chuck W.

You've done your homework. You just need a push. Go for it. Great cars, lots of power, right size. CPOed is a great advantage. Go get it and post some photos! Remember, life is short. Enjoy it!

techsis

I had a 2006 S4 and racked up 30k miles in 18 months. The car was great and I regret selling.

The city milage on the car is low....but on the highway I would get up to 22mpg. That milage would include some high speed runs on the empty flatland highways in Texas.

The engine sounds fantastic and the seats are very comfortable. The audis are a little on the heavy side, but they stick very well with the awd.

I say go for it! or get a RS4

Cheers

JM993

I asked this question a while back and it seems the B6s are less trouble prone and maintance intensive than the B5 (2.7 TT with a timing belt). I too am anxious to hear more from those with experience.

mrsullivan

I have owned the B7 S4 and The B7 RS4 (and a C5 RS6 for that matter). I LOVE Audis for daily driving. The B7 S4 is really not very different than the previous platform, both had the same 4.2 V8. Here are some comments for your consideration.

- The V8 that they put in the S4 is one seriously sweet engine. It has been around for quite awhile, tried and true tested. Its not going to get you great gas mileage, but it sounds really sweet and has nice low end torque. I especially like it mated to the auto transmission for effortless grunt around town.
- The Audis are heavy, but they arent meant to be sports cars. Sports sedans, perhaps. The quattro AWD makes them very heavy. But also very stable and safe. I have driven other AWD systems in ice, etc. and nothing compares to quattro.
- The interior styling is very nice, and I think better than either BMW or Mercedes, which have gotten a little crazy with the angles, swoops, materials, etc. Newer Audis have a nice Teutonic cleanliness to them that I really like. Beware, the back seat in the S4 is tiny, so if kids or rarely a back passenger, you are fine...just dont expect much room back there.

I love the Avant also, very popular in Europe, not too many of them around here...I like the uniqueness. Depending on what you want to spend, and your appetite for mileage, etc. there are some great S4 deals out there, both used and new 2008 unsold stock. The unsold stock has got me itching... several brand new 08 models out there that could be bought for about $40k. I think that is a helluva deal for this car.

Having said all this, it doesnt compare on any level (except maybe interior) to the RS4, which is just one sweet car. I would say that my RS4 is one of the top 3 cars I have owned throughout the years. So much power, so involving, so high revving, sweet engine, etc. It is a little bit of a 'tweener' though...meaning, its not a sports car (too heavy, 4 doors, etc.) and not all that practical for daily driving if you have traffic to worry about (constant shifting, likes to rev, etc). If you never are in traffic, I would personally spend the extra $ and get the RS4. If you are willing to put up with a not-so-popular color (like Sprint Blue), there are even brand new ones left and killer deals. Saw one listed for close to $50k on autotrader at one of the dealers.

Happy hunting!

jenskleis

I have an S4 Avant manual and it is a great little performance family car.

Mine has passed the 200.000 km mark, and still feels as solid as a new car.

The only gripe I have is the thirsty mileage in stop-and-go driving. But then, it is a very powerful car.

Another advantage is that it is very discreet.

Chuck W.

A few years back we had a an '02 Audi S4 Avant. Some young kid in a ricer tried to take my wife off the line where the road narrowed to one lane. She blew his socks off. He had to wonder what happened.

NoSubEDU

Audi's are great cars. They are very well apointed, have a great history, and look fantastic.

I would not take it to the track. I would not modify the car.

I had a '04 S4 Avant (B6) and had an unfortunate experience with the car. My driving style was the blame. PM for more details.

If you are going to drive the car on the street, and keep it in stock form, I don't think you can go wrong as long as you have a warranty.

clipstone

I have a B7 cabriolet as a DD - done 80k in 3 years - great car overall and would recommend.

Mine is the 2.0 diesel, re-mapped to about 170hp - on the daily commute, 90% of which is motorway cruisng at around 80mph, I get around 42mpg. If you drove steady, I reckon 50mpg would be achieveable.

cgfen

Hey you know me too well.............are you the devil or the angel sitting on my shoulder? A push is exactly right.

RS4 would be ideal, but i don't have the $$$$$ to pay to import one.

Thanks for taking the time to write your thoughts, regarding not seeing too many here, indeed, i was recently traveling in Switzerland and Italy, by far the most "common" nice car was an A4 Avant. They seemed to be the defacto autostrada cruiser and were used as executive cars for the big pharma companies i was visiting.

(un)Fortunately, they don't import the Avant RS4, otherwise i'd have to sell a bicycle or two to buy one!

excellent advice.
I'll pm you as you asked.
If i buy, it will remain stock, but it might be more fun to drive at the local "other car AX" we have every December than my Outback wagon

Thanks again to all that commented.

cheers

Craig

PsyD4Me

55k and the only thing that ever went wrong was a coil pack failed. I had the car back a day later. My driving style is probably to blame but I've never gotten better than 17 mpg and that is 70% highway driving. Echoing what others have said, it is heavy. If you expect it to react to driver inputs as a sports car would will be disappointed but it if you hop in expecting it to be a typical 4 door sedan you will be pleasantly surprised. I love mine. I'd trade it for a pcar for sure but if I had enough space to keep the Audi, I would for sure. With the CPO there's no reason to hesitate.

Cheers, Rob

cabrio993

I love my Oh-Dees. I have driven nothing but Audis as my daily drivers for the past 15 years. Every generation keeps getting better and better.

CarmG993

We have had a handful of Audi's - last 2 being both allroads. I wish the A4 or A6 were available in a 6 spd, would be all over it. Also have been searching around for low mileage S4 Avant in 6 spd. Very rare.
Good luck in your search.

Wilder

Just sold my B7 2.0T s-line titanium. Great car. I've also had two S6s and I've driven B7 S4s and RS4s. I think Jonathan gave a great summation. The only think I can add is to suggest you take a trip to audizine.com and audiworld.com and get acquainted with their issues as they do have some, like every other car.

AW21

I had a B6 S4 6mt avant for awhile and replaced it w/ a b5 turbo S4 6mt avant and was much happier w/ the B5. Cheaper and a whole lot funner. I was somewhat bored w/ the B6 v8 and gas mileage was not great in normal stop & go traffic.

May move on soon to something different but it's been a fun daily ride for the last 2yrs.