Quote:
Originally Posted by robg
Interesting. Worse ride quality?
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Not so much the ride quality. Comparing a 2010 b8 a4 6-speed manual sports suspension 18" wheels vs. 2014 b8.5 s4 6-speed manual... Two items stand out.
* Engine revs and response tuning. The s4 revs higher on the highway. Nuts. As a result, it is highly responsive to right foot when doing long cruises at 80mph. The 2.0T 6th gear is geared longer.
* Steering. Neither win the steering prize. On back roads, the s4 was more fun due to response of the chassis and the car. Both of them sucked on the highway due to overly weighty steering. I swear sometimes I needed two hands on the wheel to turn in sweepers. Ugh. The a4 wasn't great but had slightly more feedback due to hydraulic, but the speed sensitive weighting was screwed up. The s4 was electric and felt great on test on back roads and aggressive turns, but again was not a steady, calm ship for doing a 350mile stretch after days of skiing.
* MPG's. They had about the same size tank, which means the s4 had a much less useful range. I achieved a real 30 to 33mpg in the a4 on long stretches, compared to 23 to 25 on the s4. Same speeds.