Tight cockpit
Just like its main rival from the land of giant pretzels, the 3-Series from BMW, the A4 and S4 doesn't wear extra large duds. You climb into this car, but you can't drop yourself into it like in, say, an Accord or a Camry.
The rear seats seem conceived for midgets when you look at them, but once you're sitting down, they're good. The seatback and the cushion of the rear bench seem to have been designed to two separate teams; there are three seat belts, but the seatback seems sculpted for only two backs.
The rich interior includes a tasteful dashboard, flat black with dark wood accents. The MMI multimedia system is used to control the radio, the navigation system and other various functions. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Acura, among others, all have similar setups, but and it's a question of taste, but's Audi's system isn't my favourite; the display text on the screen is too small, and using the navigation without a touch screen is complicated.
I've always preferred rotary knobs for adjusting temperature and fan speed settings. In the S4, though, there isn't any. A button for cold, a button for hot, a button for more air, a button for less air... we're constantly pressing them and that's a distraction while I'm driving. This needs to be improved, please.
As for Rover, there's enough space in back for him to lie down and turn around, but headroom is limited because of the sloping angle of the rear window. The retractable cargo cover is clever, because it includes a net that hooks to the headliner; Rover won't be able to jump over the rear seat or give some surprise face lickings to the kids.
Competition
Curiously, the BMW 3-Series doesn't have a wagon equivalent to rival the S4 Avant, as the 328xi isn't as powerful or as hard-edged. The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class doesn't have a wagon version for now, and there is a strong rumour that Cadillac is preparing a wagon version of the CTS for Rover the wonderdog. So for now, the S4 Avant is more or less in a world of its own.
Just like its main rival from the land of giant pretzels, the 3-Series from BMW, the A4 and S4 doesn't wear extra large duds. You climb into this car, but you can't drop yourself into it like in, say, an Accord or a Camry.
The rear seats seem conceived for midgets when you look at them, but once you're sitting down, they're good. The seatback and the cushion of the rear bench seem to have been designed to two separate teams; there are three seat belts, but the seatback seems sculpted for only two backs.
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| The interior of the S4 is classy yet sporty. |
The rich interior includes a tasteful dashboard, flat black with dark wood accents. The MMI multimedia system is used to control the radio, the navigation system and other various functions. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Acura, among others, all have similar setups, but and it's a question of taste, but's Audi's system isn't my favourite; the display text on the screen is too small, and using the navigation without a touch screen is complicated.
I've always preferred rotary knobs for adjusting temperature and fan speed settings. In the S4, though, there isn't any. A button for cold, a button for hot, a button for more air, a button for less air... we're constantly pressing them and that's a distraction while I'm driving. This needs to be improved, please.
As for Rover, there's enough space in back for him to lie down and turn around, but headroom is limited because of the sloping angle of the rear window. The retractable cargo cover is clever, because it includes a net that hooks to the headliner; Rover won't be able to jump over the rear seat or give some surprise face lickings to the kids.
Competition
Curiously, the BMW 3-Series doesn't have a wagon equivalent to rival the S4 Avant, as the 328xi isn't as powerful or as hard-edged. The new Mercedes-Benz C-Class doesn't have a wagon version for now, and there is a strong rumour that Cadillac is preparing a wagon version of the CTS for Rover the wonderdog. So for now, the S4 Avant is more or less in a world of its own.
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| The quattro system performes incredibly well in every road condition. |