CARS MAGAZINE

At times it can seem as though the whole world has gone crossover crazy. But amid all the high-rise faux-SUVs, not to mention the coupes and hatchbacks, there are still plenty of traditional three-box saloons. Towards the high-performance end of the saloon spectrum there’s been, on and off since 1991, an S4 version of the Audi A4.

This 2017 Audi S4 is lighter and more fuel efficient, but also more powerful, than the previous S4. It also has a relatively subdued look compared to some of the S and RS performance models from Audi’s rich back catalogue.

It’s not cheap, so the question is whether such a traditional style of car – albeit one laden with current technology – still has a place when there are so many alternatives.

Read on for our full Audi S4 review.

The engine is a turbocharged 2995cc petrol V6, replacing the supercharged V6 of the previous S4. It comes with an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. You can switch between four driving modes (Efficiency, Comfort, Auto and Dynamic, plus a customisable fifth set-up), giving differing levels of responsiveness from the engine, steering and gearbox. Dynamic will hold on to low gears for longer as you accelerate, whereas E mode will be up into sixth before you’ve topped 30mph.

The S4 has its own look, albeit relatively subtle: black brake calipers, with an S logo on the fronts; a different grille and side air vents; a rear diffuser and tiny spoiler; and two sets of twinned oval tailpipes. 

We live with the last Audi RS4.

The classy but not flashy interior has different seats to the A4: sportier without being hardcore buckets, they’re heated and electronically adjustable, and nicely finished in nappa leather. There are brushed aluminium inlays, or optional carbonfibre. There are paddles for manual gearshifts, as well as a chunky gearlever that doubles as a wrist rest while you’re fiddling with the MMI dial.

You have a choice about how you control the audio and some of the other comfort and infotainment functions. As well as the MMI dial and the central screen, there are many, many stalks, buttons, switches and dials, most of which double or even treble up. This may seem perverse. But the reality is that these minor controls are so logically grouped that using them is entirely natural. If you guess how to adjust something, you’ll guess right; the manual on many an S4 will go entirely unread.

It’s not a plush car, but it is comfortable and reasonably quiet, although you get a good dose of engine noise when you first fire it up and again when you up the pace when you exit the 30mph zone

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Passengers have a reasonable amount of room – the saloon shape is kinder than coupe alternatives – and a lot of comfort. The boot offers 480 litres of luggage capacity.

If you’re anything like us, you’ll spend a few days experimenting with the different driving modes but end up leaving it in Dynamic. This is where the Audi S4 is at its most engaging and responsive; it feels like it was created with Dynamic mode in mind, and the others were added to placate back-seat drivers.

In Dynamic, the engine and chassis work together in harmony. You find yourself enjoying driving at high speeds, soundtracked by the urgent V6 gurgle, discovering that the S4 has far more grip and braking ability than you’ll need in everything bar the most extreme circumstances. 

Whether you let the Tiptronic transmission make the changes itself, or you over-ride it, the shifts are quick and rewarding, as you dip back into the S4’s deep reserves of torque.

The most direct rival is the Mercedes-AMG C43 4Matic: another all-wheel-drive V6, with similar power and performance. BMW’s line-up is slightly out of kilter, with the M2 closest on price and power, while the 340i M Sport has a saloon body but is slightly cheaper and less powerful.

The S4 has a familiar Audi feel to the steering and ride – firm, slightly remote, less involving than a good 3-series – which some people dislike, but doesn’t take much getting used to.

It’s when you’re driving faster that you really appreciate the traditional saloon set-up, the all-wheel drive and the firm suspension: you’re sitting close to the road, hugging it hard, with minimal lean through the bends – a timeless pleasure, and one that’s rarely experienced in taller, softer cars. 

The S4 is more than just an A4 with a more powerful engine, tauter steering, upgraded brakes and firmer suspension. It also comes with a lot of equipment that’s on the options list for more modestly priced A4s. You get aluminium-effect door mirrors, chrome trim on the door handles, 18in diamond-cut wheels, different front seats and upholstery, a chunky steering wheel and high-grade audio.

Cost options for the S4 include adaptive dampers, a sports differential, dynamic steering, 19in wheels, a variety of different wheels and steering wheels, and further infotainment upgrades. 

The S4 is not the ultimate anything, but it is a superb all-round package if you’re in the market for a fast, high-quality saloon. It helps you to drive very rapidly, while never giving the feedback and nerve-jangling excitement of a sports car. 

It’s perfectly happy being used for supermarket or school-run duties, but hit the open road and it will up the pace with flair and gusto. It has enough electronic augmentation to look after you, nicely balanced with the raw appeal of a throaty V6. It also feels like it will last for a very long time.

This is the Honda S660, a 21st Century adaptation of the brand’s S600 sports car, first seen in the 1960s. The tiny two-seater roadster will be shown off at the Tokyo motor show in November 2013, but before you get too excited about a Honda roadster revival, we’ve got bad news. Even if the S660 did get green-lighted for series production, Honda UK has confirmed to CAR the S660 ‘is not destined for Britain.’

Looking very similar to 2011’s electric EV-STER concept, the S660 swaps batteries for internal combustion power, and ushers in an interior not pinched from the set of Star Trek, indicating a step closer to showroom-ready condition.

The S660 name refers to the front-mounted engine’s capacity: it’s a 660cc three-cylinder petrol powerplant, boosted by a teeny turbocharger and free of the hybrid nonsense forced upon the slow-selling (and moving) CR-Z coupe. The engine is thought to be mated to a CVT automatic gearbox, though paddleshifters behind the steering wheel allow selection of stepped ‘ratios’, like a proper automatic.

Engine spec sounding familiar? The recently-revealed Caterham Seven 160 uses an identically-sized Suzuki-derived three-pot, which develops 80bhp. The 660cc capacity comes about from Japan’s miniature ‘Kei-car’ regulations, which demand such cars boast no more than 660ccs under their dinky bonnets.

Honda itself hasn’t branded the S660 as a Kei-car, unlike the Beat model launched in the 1990s. Instead, the new concept has been coined an ‘open-top sports-type mini-vehicle’. Way to make a fun car sound boring, Honda.

We’ll get our first look at Honda’s sub-CR-V crossover in production-ready trim. The new car is Honda’s first compact SUV since the HR-V, and will challenge the big-selling Nissan Qashqai and Kia Sportage. The ‘Urban SUV Concept’ was shown in design study form at the 2013 Detroit motor show, but Tokyo will be the production variant’s debut – mercifully sporting a less clunky, but as yet undisclosed name.

As far as high-performance Hondas are concerned, it’s all quiet on the Far Eastern front. While the NSX supercar concept will be doing the show-stand pirouette once more, no updates on the Civic Type-R project are expected at the Tokyo show. However, you can click here to access CAR’s spy shots roundup, tech scoop and watch a video of the new Civic Type-R on its mission to set a new Nurburgring lap record.

A quarter of a century after Audi’s B3 Cabriolet was launched – a car that arguably propelled the firm directly into the mainstream, made famous as Princess Di’s preferred method of ruining her hairstyle – we’ve been out to Spain to test the latest four-seater drop-top from Ingolstadt.

The A5 Cabriolet has certainly come of age in those 25 years. It’s a far more handsome car, albeit in the iterative style of modern-day Audi, from many angles making it difficult to tell it apart from myriad other models in the firm’s 51-strong version line-up.

We’re testing what’s set to be the most popular engine – a four-pot diesel – coupled with Quattro and an auto ‘box.

It isn’t really fun, exactly – the S5 and its mega turbo hot-V6 is there for that - but it is impressive in other ways. Audi’s done a lot of work suppressing the dastardly derv din - revised engine mounts and bulkhead insulation a nuclear submarine would be proud of help here, but so do thicker front windows and the fact that this familiar 2.0 TDI has been fettled to within an inch of its life now. There’s minimal vibration, and what noise you do hear isn’t too offensive.

It’s still got a decent wallop of shove, too; made all the more accessible by the well-ratioed seven-speed double-clutch auto ‘box. You’re not allowed a third pedal on many A5 Cabs – it’s only the low-power 2.0 TFSI that gets a manual shift – not that many buyers will want one anyway.

It’s fair to say the previous version of this car wasn’t exactly renowned for its handling capability. Lopping the roof off the A5 had a dramatic effect on torsional rigidity, and the result was a car that felt like its two axles were connected by putty.

To combat this, the shell’s been back to the drawing board and twist has been reduced by 40% thanks to the introduction of extra support for the front suspension strut domes, wider sills, and beefed-up bracing both diagonally and across the rear end of the car.

The end result? For a convertible version of a tin-top car it’s mighty. There’s an immediate and predictable response to driver input – the front end bites and the rear (a new, more precisely honed five-link set-up replacing the old trapezoidal configuration) simply tracks along obediently, slipping wide ever-so slightly if you let off the gas.

This particular version has all the steering character of an eggplant (the S5 has far more heft and feedback) but body control is top-drawer; and thanks to Quattro AWD, traction is remarkable too. It makes for a great everyday cruiser, which is all you could ask considering its fuel-economy-focused driveline.

This is an incredibly well-resolved attempt at a four-seater soft-top. The roof folds open in 15 seconds and back in 18, operated via a one-touch switch at speeds up to 31mph (50kph).

Roof up and there’s another surprise: it’s as quiet as a beer-brewing mouse in a Trappist monastery. Close your eyes and you could quite easily forget the roof comes off at all. Even at 80mph there’s very little wind or tyre noise to bother you.

The ride was excellently resolved on the adaptive dampers fitted to our test car (a box on the options list that fewer than 5% will tick) but we’ve yet to see what it’ll be like on standard suspension – and with the larger wheels that are a far more popular add-on for most customers.

We’re not driving the S line version set to be the most popular (bodykit/wheels/sports seats/LED lighting) but one step down; Sport gets you nav and electric seats along with the trick seatbelt microphones from the TT Roadster for clearer voice control and Bluetooth chatting.

One of the options stands out, though: Audi has finally found a way to cool the back of your neck in the same way Merc’s Airscarf did when it was introduced back in 2004. Welcome to the party! Though it’s so noisy when you push the button you’re constantly scanning the mirrors for an overtaking A380.

This is the best A5 Cabriolet yet, and actually among the most impressive four-seater convertibles around for everyday use.

We’d prefer the considerably more exciting S5, but even with a diesel motor there’s a lot to like. Sure, BMW's 4er with its folding metal hardtop steers better, and we suspect the Merc C-Class is slightly comfier, but in almost every other way the Audi takes the honours.