While the Audi RS 5 might not be the most exciting sporting coupe around, the estate-only Audi RS 4 makes a much better case for itself. It manages to combine serious straight-line performance with unrivalled all-weather, cross-country ability, thanks to its 4x4 system. It handles better than the previous RS 4, too, although it still lacks the fun factor of rivals such as the Mercedes-AMG C 63 estate.
The RS 4 makes up for this slight lack of sparkle by being easier to live with than almost any rival, with impressive refinement and a ride that’s barely any less comfortable than the standard A4 Avant. Combine that with one of the best interiors in the business, a usefully large boot and even decent fuel economy, and you’ve got a car with a real Jekyll and Hyde personality.
While the S4 is the king of understatement, the RS 4 features a more muscular look thanks to enlarged air intakes and 30mm wider wheelarches. It looks menacing without being too showy or aggressive, and Audi’s extensive colour palette can give it extra personality if buyers want to be bold.
The standard A4’s interior is already the nicest environment for driver and passengers in its class. It’s neat and clean design, feature-packed yet brilliantly easy to use infotainment and granite-hewn material quality means it teaches most premium brands a thing or two about ‘upmarket’ cabins.
The RS 4 adds to that with a dose of sporting glitz, including red stitching, part-Alcantara trim and figure-hugging sports seats. It’s tasteful and not overdone. Audi’s Virtual Cockpit comes as standard, and it’s one of the best in the industry. It clearly shows sat-nav and any other info right in front of you. There’s a special RS mode that shows a prominent tachometer and other performance-related info, too.
The Audi RS 4 has built up a reputation for being fast, grippy and secure, and this latest car is no different. There are some crucial ways in which this car differs from the last model, however.
For starters, that new V6 motor is lighter than the engine it replaces to the tune of 35kg, which might not sound like much but is significant when the weight is slung over the front axle. As a result, there’s less of a nose-heavy feeling under hard cornering, with the RS 4 feeling more neutral instead of defaulting to understeer.
There’s also a new four-wheel drive system which puts around 60% of the power to the rear wheels in normal driving, but can send up to 85% to the front or 70% to the rear when additional grip is required. Audi has also added a number of pricey options that can make a considerable difference to how the car drives. These include hydraulically linked dampers, an electronic rear differential, ceramic brakes and variable-ratio steering.
We’ve only driven the RS 4 with most of these options fitted so far, and there’s no question it’s an extraordinarily capable fast estate. Impressive grip levels and super-strong body control mean you can build up confidence in the car, and carry ever faster speeds through the bends. Unlike fast Audis of old, that differential even allows a bit of slip at the rear, although it’s far from the tail-happy antics of rear-driven rivals. The dynamic steering is direct and precise, although it lacks crucial feel.
It might lack the playfulness and engaging feel of a C 63, then, but the RS 4 is better at the more mundane drives thanks to its surprising comfort levels. On models with adaptive dampers at least the ride is very smooth for a performance car, even in Sport mode, while you can leave it in Auto and the car will adapt depending on how you drive it. Refinement is strong, too, with less tyre noise than many rivals. It could be argued, however, that because it feels so normal in everyday driving it lacks the special feel that many desire from performance models of this price.
Engines, 0-60 acceleration and top speed
The RS 4’s old V8 has been replaced by a twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6. It’s 35kg lighter than the old unit and produces exactly the same 444bhp. However, torque is up significantly from 430Nm to 600Nm, and is produced much lower down the rev range than before.
Whereas the old car needed revs before it came on song, this RS 4 picks up from around 2,000rpm (after a little lag) and continues its relentless shove right to the 6,500rpm red line. 0-62mph comes up in 4.1 seconds officially, that feels conservative to us. The top speed of the regular car is 155mph, but it can be upped to a restricted 174mph for an additional £1,450.
There’s no question that this isn’t one of the fastest cars of its type, despite being down on outright power compared to the C 63 estate. Thanks to the four-wheel drive system, a full-bore launch slingshots you away from the line at an alarming rate.
Key to how fast the RS 4 feels is the slick, fast-shifting eight-speed automatic gearbox, helping to keep the engine in the most responsive part of its rev range. It’s sometimes too eager to kick down, however, rather than make the most of the torque on offer.
There’s one sticking point that may put some people off, and that’s the noise. The V6 makes plenty of it, particularly with the exhaust in its loudest mode. There, it snarls on upshifts and lets out little pops and bangs on downshifts. The noise it makes isn’t anywhere near as special as the old unit, however – it means the powertrain is devastatingly effective, but just a bit soulless.
The RS 4’s impressive brakes can be upgraded to ceramic pieces for ultimate stopping power, but at a price - £6,000 on the options list. Standard kit includes blind spot assistance, Audi Pre Sense with automatic emergency braking, which works at speeds up to 53mph, and able to stop the vehicle completely under 25mph.
Cruise control with a speed limiter function is also standard fit. The Tour Pack is optional and completes the suite of assistance features with adaptive cruise, collision avoidance assistance, traffic sign recognition and extending the automatic braking system to work right up to 155mph. Rear side airbags are a £350 option.
The A4 notched up a five-star Euro NCAP crash test rating back in 2015. Less impressive was Audi’s performance as a marque in our most recent Driver Power new car survey. Audi finished 18th overall, with the A4 62nd out of 75 different models for reliability.
Warranty
Audi’s standard warranty is included on the RS 4 and gives cover for 60,000 miles over a three-year period. Two extention packages are also offered. For £385 buyers can opt for a four-year warranty that extends up to 75,000 miles or for £905 a five-year 90,000-mile warranty is available.
We’ve very few complaints with the RS 4 in this regard. That shouldn’t be a surprise, as we already rate the regular Audi A4 Avant very highly in its class when it comes to versatility and space. Room up front for passenger and driver is fair, while the rear boasts good headroom and shoulder room. The quality fit and finish inside makes the RS 4 a nice place to be, and it’s easy to find a good driving position to really exploit the car’s performance from.
The boot is wide opening and useable, with 505 litres of cargo space available with every seat in place. As you’d expect from a fast Audi estate, it really does do practicality alongside the punchy performance.
Size
Using the MLB Evo platform, the latest RS 4’s underpinnings shave 120kg from the car’s curb weight, while more mass is stripped owing to the loss of two cylinders from the engine.
Against the tape measure, the RS 4 comes in at 4,781mm long, 1,404mm tall and 1,866mm wide, with a wheelbase of 2,826mm. It means that the sporty styling adds a bit of length and width to the overall dimensions over the regular A4 Avant, while the low ride height means its a few millimeters shorter in height.
Leg room, head room & passenger space
Up front, the Audi RS 4 gets a pair of bucket style sport seats for driver and passenger to sink into. They’re in-keeping with the high-performance nature of the car, hugging you tightly in corners, but they’re also fairly comfortable and padded, and even boast massage functions.
Space up front for driver and passenger is good too, and it’s the same story in the rear. Four adults will sit in comfort and space, though the middle seat in the rear bench of three is obstructed a little by the transmission tunnel when it comes to legroom.
Boot
A 505-litre boot places the RS 4 a smidgen ahead of the Mercedes-AMG C 63 for boot space, while the BMW M3 isn’t available as an estate at all. Folding the rear seats flat opens up a 1,510 litre space. The opening is wide and flat, while a power-opening tailgate is standard.
This is usually the area where performance saloons and estates come undone: all that power in a relatively heavy body means ruinous running costs. The RS 4 is better than most, however, thanks to that downsized V6 engine.
Official economy is 32.1mpg combined, which is acceptable, but in our testing we found it easy to exceed 25mpg in normal driving without too much effort, and even get close to 30mpg on a run. By comparison, a Mercedes C 63 estate manages about the same official figures, but in the real-world you’ll be looking at closer to 20mpg unless you take it easy.
The RS 4’s emissions of 199g/km are comparable with rivals and the list price exceeds the £40,000 barrier, and therefore tax is pretty costly. It’ll cost £450 a year just to keep it legally on the road. Insurance groups have yet to be announced, but getting cover won’t be cheap.
Depreciation-wise, we’d expect the RS 4 to hold its value at least as well as its German rivals given the pedigree of the RS badge.
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