Audi RS4: Driven by Jeremy Clarkson

Jeremy Clarkson, well-known host of British "TopGear", has driven the Audi RS4.

The RS 4 is different, however, partly because it was tested on Britain’s roads and partly because right now there is no up-to-date M3 version of the current BMW 3-series. If you want a small fast saloon then it’s the Audi or nothing. So what’s it like? 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.

Nice summary at the end.

GermanCarBlog, Audi RS4

Source: The Times Online

Audi RS4: Driven by Jeremy Clarkson

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