2001 Audi S4 Avant Wagon

Automotive Industries, July, 2001 by Gerry Kobe

The S4 Avant is decidedly stealthy, but apparently not so much that it goes unnoticed by the younger crowd. During my test loan, I was heading down the freeway and noticed a snow white Mustang GT on my tail. When I moved over a lane, it moved over too. When I sped up a bit, the Mustang paced me precisely. And when I took the off-ramp, the Mustang was glued to my tail.

At the end of the ramp, the Ford pulled alongside, revealing two very teenage boys. "Hey, is that the twin turbo, 2.7 with 250 horse?" queried the one in the passenger seat.

"Yep, sure is," I countered.

"And does it really go from zero to 60 in 5.1 seconds?" he asked.

"Well, no don't think it's that fast, but it's quick," I counseled.

"Can we run you?"

"What?"

"I said can we run you. Can you beat this Mustang?"

As much as I hate to admit it, the kid raised an intriguing question. Could a small-displacement, blown Audi wagon really dust off an American icon like a GT Mustang?

"I got an idea kid. I don't want to drive these things wide open on the street, but we'll run them zero to 60 at the next few lights. That should tell us something."

"Cool."

Now for obvious reasons I won't go into detail, but suffice it to say I know two kids who know a lot about an S4 tailgate.