Once again Audi pulls out the big guns for a convertible. Audi has an aspect to them that allows for every vehicle they produce to be absolutely stunning under the bonnet, but always lacking on the exterior. It’s always some little flaw that keeps them from achieving huge marks on the one to ten scales from car review magazines. We’ll get to the good and bad of the S4 in a bit, but as another company put it, the S4 is the perfect vehicle to buy if you’re longing for a trip to the beach but don’t have an excuse to go. Other than heading to the beach and letting your hair flow though, the S4 might not be something you want to be seen in public with.
The Good Part (AKA Under the Hood)
As said above, the S4 is another Audi masterpiece if you were to just consider the way it handles on the road. With almost unnecessary power under the hood, the S4 is definitely a vehicle you want to consider if you’re looking for a sport’s car to impress your friends with. The convertible S4 has a 40 valve V8 that puts out 340 horsepower for your enjoyment. And just in case the small car’s power is a little too much for you to handle, there are some electronics that monitor your every move and prevent you from screwing up too badly. It’s a nice feature if you’re worried that you won’t be able to handle the car at high speeds or revs.
On highway tests (while speeding on your way to the beach), you’ll notice that the S4 does surprisingly well. It manages to keep its composure in the interior without rattling your CD cases around too much. Our number one complaint with highway convertibles is that they start to shake violently when taken to high speeds, but not the S4. Apart from these few things though, the S4 lacks in almost everything else. That leads us to…
The Bad
On the exterior, the S4 seems to be a mangled mess of many engineers ramming body parts together. It is reminiscent of the PT Cruiser from the past decade that got more laughs than good reviews. And like all convertibles, there’s a very fine line between good ones and bad ones, and unfortunately, the S4 falls on the bad side.
When you finally put the pedal to the floor, past the recommended highway speeds, the S4′s flaws really come out. It’s surprisingly difficult to control for a sporty car and if you thought you shouldn’t worry about your safety yet, now’s the time to start. The S4′s steering feels very sluggish at high speeds and if you were to try and move out of the way quickly enough to not die, you’d find yourself wishing things moved faster. And if you pull too hard, you’ll swerve too quickly. The steering really needs to be fixed before 2011 rolls around otherwise the S4 should not be a car you consider for just under $60,000.
Further Readings:
- 2012 Audi RS3 Sportback Black Optics Package
- Audi A4 4dr saloon 2.0 TDI 140 S Line Technical Specifications
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