2007 Audi S4 Cabriolet
Slide behind the wheel of the new Audi S4 Cabriolet and it's clear that you're in a car meant for serious driving. One tip-off is the meaty three-spoke wheel. It's leather-wrapped and the lower sections, between the 10 o'clock to the 2 o'clock positions, are perforated. Non-drivers won't appreciate this. But enthusiasts will. The perforations allow air to circulate under sweaty palms, keeping them in solid contact with the wheel but without requiring a death grip. The rest of the car is similarly tailored to enhance the driving experience.
The driver has the best seat in the house. The leather sport seat's bolsters do a good job of keeping you anchored and a big dead pedal helps out in high-G corners. The wide console also serves as a handy knee brace. A big tach and speedo dominate the cluster with the primary gauges just below. Secondary controls are placed exactly where they belong and the six-speed's shifter is only a short reach away.
The shifter does an adequate job of finding gears but it doesn't like to be rushed. Throws are fairly short but the action is a bit rubbery. Snap-shifting during acceleration testing, I twice missed fourth gear entirely, finally resorting to a hard and very deliberate yank to catch each gear reliably. In less frantic conditions the gearbox responds obediently to commands. And you'll be using it a lot if you want to extract maximum performance. The car is heavy and even with 340 hp it's far from being overpowered.
Ratios are close and the 3.89:1 final drive delivers 25 mph per 1000 rpm in top gear. But those close ratios and broad torque band make it easy to extract the all-alloy 4.2-liter V-8's 340 hp. And there's enough low-end grunt available that in city traffic it pulls readily in sixth gear at 45 mph, barely 1800 rpm.
One unfortunate ergonomic hiccup is pedal placement that makes heel-and-toe downshifting virtually impossible. Okay, it's understandable that Audi could be a bit sensitive on this issue (you probably understand if you've heard of "Sixty Minutes" and you're over age 45), but you won't find a similar glitch on the M3.
Audi's MMI, their answer to BMW's loathed iDrive, controls the nav system ($1,950) and audio system. It's easier to use than iDrive but still intrusive. Viewing the radio station channel guide first requires pressing a button to get rid of the lawyer's screen, for instance, which reappears with every startup. In a performance car that's being driven hard, the system entails too much time spent looking down at the console controls and the center stack's LCD screen.
There's plenty of front legroom but the two rear seat passengers get just enough to avoid muscle cramps on short trips. Getting back there involves some contortions and it's far easier to step in with the top down. Trunk room is a fairly generous 10.2 cubic feet with top up and about two-thirds of that remains usable with the top stowed.
The top itself is something of a marvel. A fully automated sequence for lowering and raising it is common enough these days that it no longer draws stares from bystanders. But when raised, its ability to limit noise intrusion is remarkable. I measured 75 db(A) at 70 mph cruise, scarcely louder than many sporting coupes. Fitted with all-season rubber, it'd be even lower. Careful attention to airflow management, excellent door seals and a host of other tweaks serve to keep interior noise levels low. You'll hear only the faint whir of the driveline and tire noise until you're nearing triple-digit speeds.
That driveline incorporates something Audi calls Asymmetrical Quattro. Manual transmission cars have front/rear torque apportioned 40/60; Tiptronic cars are set at 50/50. As with non-S-Line Audis there's still a Torsen center diff to vary the torque split as needed but with Asymmetrical Quattro, both axles are driven full-time. Electronically-locking front and rear diffs dole out power from side to side.
It all works quite well. Dive into a corner and there's much less final understeer than you'll see in most AWD performance cars. The system is transparent to the driver and completely masks the 57/43 front/rear weight distribution. All you'll feel is the sticky 235/40-18 Michelin Pilot Sport summer performance tires clawing for traction. There's enough on tap that you'll need to push the car at competition speeds to ever find the limit. Stray past it and the excellent stability control system is on hand to help sort things out.
The suspension, multi-link front and rear, is beautifully damped, soaking up big pavement irregularities and potholes without complaint. Body roll is minimal and the speed-sensitive steering weights up nicely in relation to steering angle and cornering force. Turn-in is sharp and it's easy to pick off an apex without making mid-curve corrections. The Cabriolet gets bigger front discs-1.36-in., up 1.0 in. over other S4 models-and they haul it down from speed quickly and with excellent pedal feel.
The compromise between ride and handling is impressive. Coupled with the hushed interior and supportive seats, in the S4 you can drive rapidly over several hundred miles of challenging roads and step out afterward without feeling like you've just gone six rounds with Mike Tyson.
Do be prepared to stop every 250 miles or so in the process, however. The 16.6-gallon tank limits cruising range to that vicinity when you're pressing on. I saw 16.9 mpg in hard driving, down a few mpg from what the DOHC 4.2-liter, 340 hp all-alloy V-8 can deliver at more sedate velocities.
It's a gem of a powerplant, silky smooth with torque everywhere across the rev range, an attribute of its FSI high-pressure, direct fuel injection and variable cam timing on the intakes. A dual-path inlet system and a high 11.0:1 static compression ratio also lend a hand.
Performance is good for a vehicle that Audi says weighs 4211 pounds, up a full 342 pounds over the sedan. The 0-60 dash averaged 5.65 seconds and the quarter mile rolled past in 14.3 seconds at 93.4 mph. Those numbers are a few tenths longer than the car's true potential. But the launch technique required to achieve them-disengaging traction control, holding the engine at redline and sidestepping the clutch-isn't something I choose to inflict on a press vehicle. (If you don't feel like shifting for yourself, the optional Tiptronic 6-speed automatic is a few tenths quicker than the manual.)
Audi's publicity material claims the S4 Cabriolet is electronically limited to 155 mph. They're too modest. My test ride hit a radar-verified 167 mph just shy of redline in top gear. Significantly, this was achieved in the presence of powerful winds gusting across the road. And controlling the car entailed scarcely more effort than many sporting cars require at half that speed.
That's the hallmark of pedigreed GT car: comfortable, stylish, quiet, with effortless performance. Not that it comes cheap. With five options, the test car sticker showed $63,445 with a base price of $55,700. .Now if only they'd see fit to slide in the RS4's 420 hp version of the 4.2-liter, I'd be among the first to be knocking on the local Audi dealer's door.
