I have the Avant (Wagon) version of the 2001 S4, 6spd, black on black. I leased the car when new, as I figured I'd be upgrading to the newer version of either a future S4, or something else more appealing on the market by 2005. Long story short, I now OWN the car after buying it out of the lease..... I just couldn't part with it.... It is by far the best car I've ever had, as far as all the 'pros' mentioned above, and I've had a few nice cars (69 and 89 Vettes, an 83 911 SC, BMW 535 and an Audi A6, of notable mention). I drove the newer V8 S4 when it came out, but it just didn't do it for me as much as my twin turbo V6. So, as I write this now in the fall of 2006, the car has 42k miles on it, and it feels like it's brand new.

I chose the Avant over the sedan, as I needed the utility to haul musical gear around, and only wanted one car, a car that would get up and GO on command, and still handle the utility needs. I'm not nuts about the looks of the rear end of the wagon, but looks aren't everything, and the wagon carries a kind of 'stealth' image while passing all the Ferrari's, Lambo's and Porsche's out here on the So Cal highways (that's not to insinuate the car will outrun said exotics, I can just go faster without getting paid as much attention to!). My S4 doesn't have many of the frills I had seen on others, no silver mirrors, no multi color seats (but really NICE black leather ones!) and only a rich, grey birds eye maple strip in the middle of the dash, and on the console surrounding the gear shift, accents the otherwise all black interior. The car just feels meaty, rich and solid, before you ever turn on the engine and go anywhere. It carries on that feeling when driving as well, feeling solid and tight no matter how it's driven......It is a true example of fine German engineering. Other reviews I've read seem to favor the 3 series BMW, but that car (at the time, 2001) felt cramped to me, was not laid out as well inside, and with BMW's horrible rep in the electronics area of their cars, I didn't even bother driving one (I speak also from experience, my '90 535 and current '01 X5 were/are electronic nightmares, not to mention, not very reliable in comparison). It just didn't feel right, plus, at the time, I don't think there was an M3 available, and if there was, there most certainly wasn't a Wagon version! There still isn't! So the Audi was it. The only problem was finding a dealer that wasn't gouging... but finally did! Right place at the right time I guess.

The car is very quick, not blinding fast by any means, but it moves, especially for '01. There wasn't much out there with a twin turbo 250 HP motor in this league at that time. I had driven the Automatic Tiptronic S4, but I've always owned manual gearboxes where performance cars were concerned, and the auto felt slower anyway. So the black six speed was it. I have just recently put a stage one chip in the car from APR, which boosts HP to 307 without putting too much strain on the motors or turbos. I may do an exhaust upgrade as well, for more free flow an a bit more throat out of the exhaust note, and am considering stiffening up the suspension just a bit, not too much though, but the car does lean quite a bit while cornering with the stock suspension. I will also be upgrading from the 17" stock wheels to 18's, which, on S4 Avant's I've seen with this upgrade, makes the car's stance look fatter, especially from the rear, where it needs all the help it can get. Since I put the chip in the car, it moves pretty well now, especially in the 3-5k RPM range. With the twin turbos you get A LOT of bang for the buck with just the chip..

The only real 'con' I posted (besides the rather dumpy rear end) is the wheel alignment. I blew out a REAR tire at 16k miles due to an alignment problem. Now the front tires seem to be wearing uneven, so that is one area of concern if buying one of these things used...check alignment regularly! Turbo health is also something to be aware of...they're REALLY expensive to replace!

Otherwise, this car is just fantastic! I would highly recommend it to anyone searching for a used one. Just find a low mileage, unabused one, if you can!

Happy driving!

Amount Paid (US$): 42,000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2001
Model and Options: Audi S4 Avant, 6spd