Audi's entry-level sedan was revamped last year, and now wears the company's in-your-face new corporate "face." The wide range of available engines and transmissions now includes the RS4 (profiled elsewhere) which means the S4, with its 340-hp, 4.2-litre V8, isn't even the most powerful A4 in the line-up anymore. It's still plenty quick though, even if the engine feels and sounds somewhat harder-working than you might expect from a V8 in a small car. Six-speed manual or automatic transmissions are available. The handling is wonderfully balanced, with little of the understeer that sometimes plagues all-wheel drive cars. What the interior lacks in rear-seat space, it makes up in excellent trim materials and fine craftsmanship.

World class interior, rumbling V8

Tight rear seat, controversial styling