Quick Spin ~ 2010 Audi S4

A Gentleman’s Express is what Europeans call a car like the Audi S4. It has to be discreet, fast, sure footed and, above all, with all the inputs and controls coming into focus at the eyes of the driver. It’s a combination North America, with its long and wide highways, has rarely understood. Shelby got it 40 years ago with the Mustang GT 350 and, maybe, you can include the current Cadillac CTS-V, but for a true Gentleman’s Express, you have to go to Germany.
Audi’s S4 builds on the A4, which is the company’s bread-and-butter vehicle in North America. The heart of the S4 is its 3.0-litre supercharged V6 and superb Quattro all-wheel-drive with optional sports rear differential. The engine uses direct fuel injection with lessons learned from Audi’s numerous wins at the LeMans 24-hour race.  With twin intercoolers for the supercharger, it produces 333 hp and 325 lb/ft of torque for a top speed of 250 km/h. It’s offered with a six-speed manual transmission ($52,500) and the new seven-speed, twin clutch S-tronic automatic ($54,100).

Fuel consumption for the six-speed is rated at 12.2/8.1/10.3L/100 km city/highway/combined, while the S-tronic is a little better at 12.1/7.9/10.2L/100 km city/highway/combined.
The car is fitted as standard with Quattro AWD, traction control, electronic stability control, brake assist, electronic brake force distribution and a monster set of disc brakes that really fill up the standard 18-inch wheels. But for those who really want traction to go with the action, you can order Audi Drive Select with rear Sports Differential ($4,000), or simply the rear Sports Differential at $1,500.
Audi Driver Select is an electronic system that computes incoming data from a battery of sensors and adjusts suspension damping, engine mapping, transmission shifting sequences and the rear differential. There are three modes starting with ‘Comfort’ that evens everything out for a relaxed highway driving style of ride. ‘Auto’ is for daily driving. And then there is ‘Dynamic’ that tightens up the suspension, speeds steering response while making the engine operate crisper in terms of power delivery. There are systems in other performance cars that do roughly the same thing, but none with the prowess of this advanced form of Quattro.
While you may not think that a compact sedan costing more than 50 grand is inexpensive, get the S4 out for a spirited spin and it might just change your mind. It’s a lot of car for the money.