A S-uper saloon for Audi fans

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Sept 26, 2008

Byline: By STEVE HUGHES

AUDI will be offering more for less with its new S4 saloon and Avant models from next spring.

The normally-aspirated V8 engine is replaced by a supercharged V6 that endows the cars with more rapid acceleration and significant economy gains.

Despite cutting the 0-60mph acceleration time by half a second to fractionally over five seconds, economy improves from 21mpg to 29mpg, with the top speed still electronically limited to 155mph.

The cars will be making their debut at the Paris Motor Show at the beginning of October and will be on sale here from next April, with prices from pounds 36,000.

They will come with a choice of sixspeed manual or optional seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch transmission systems, with the latter being slightly more economical.

They will also boast Audi's 4WD quattro system, with active sport differential capable of varying torque not only between the front and rear axles but also between each rear wheel.

Crucially, the whole operation is achieved with a whopping 30% reduction in CO2 emissions, despite the use of a supercharger in preference to twin turbos in order to speed up throttle response times.

The supercharger is so small that it fits inside the 90-degree V of the cylinder banks and the gas paths to the cylinder are so short that the throttle response is even faster than that of a non-turbo model.

Power is 333bhp, torque comes in at 440Nm and the CO2 figure is 225g/km in comparison to 322g/km for the V8.

An equally radical departure for the new S quattro flagship is the addition of the S tronic twin-clutch automatic transmission from the new Q5 medium sized off - roader.

This delivers a fast manual shift with virtually no interruption to the engine's power delivery and at the flick of a lever it can be transformed into a full automatic without any drain on power or economy.

This results in economy that actually betters that of the manual version at 30mpg with a CO2 figure of 219g/km.

The new S4 will ride 20mm lower than standard versions on specially tailored 'S' sports suspension and 18-inch 'S' design alloy wheels.

Other familiar hallmarks will include the aluminium-look door mirrors, xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights, special 'S' front and rear styling treatments and black-painted brake calipers bearing the S4 logo. For the first time in an Audi model at this level, the S4 also uses LED rear lights.

Inside, the 'S' theme is continued with sports seats upholstered in leather and Alcantara, and by 'S' embossing for the silver-faced dials and the multifunction sports steering wheel.

The UK order book opens in November.

CAPTION(S):

MORE FOR LESS - above, the Audi S4 Saloon and, below, the S4 Avant