Test of the 100,000 km to the Audi RS 4 Avant: a fantasy dressed in blue

The bodywork painted in Turbo Blue (we paid 900 euros for it) of the Audi RS 4 Avant made us all fall in love from day one. But that’s just a side note, just like the gorgeous huge 20-inch black alloy wheels (2,300 euros).

It all started with his arrival at the newsroom on May 27, 2020, when the RS 4 began to play its powerful symphony emanating from the twin-turbo V6.

From wild roars to powerful bass, the RS 4 is never late for a note: it knows its sheet music by heart. And yet, no matter how fast you’re driving, this supercar masquerading as a wagon never interrupts a conversation with road, engine or aerodynamic noise.

Test of the 100,000 km to the Audi RS 4 Avant

The RS 4 has also shown itself impressively in everyday use. The key question was always: is it still a family member or is it already a sports car with all the letters? And the answer, each time, came quickly and clearly: both!

On the one hand, this is due to the shape of the body. Whether with a film crew at the Lausitzring circuit or busy with four AUTO BILD colleagues on the Golden Steering Wheel, the Ingolstadt always had its four doors and tailgate open and ready to meet our transportation needs in a way quick and easy.

All passengers enjoyed the interior, in elegant leather and Alcantara. The boot carpet was thicker than some passenger compartments and showed hardly any signs of wear even after 100,000 kilometers.

In this sense, only the front seats showed crease-like marks on the sides, an expression of a hectic life with frequent driver changes.

When assigning points, you should also briefly mention the costs. When we went to buy it, to start talking we had to prepare 81,400 euros for the basic model. The unit that finally reached our hands for the long-term test cost a dizzying 112,979.99 euros.

Once the price is paid, we move from pure reason to pure pleasure: the 450PS 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 helps the RS 4 navigate the day-to-day in an almost provocatively relaxed manner and with great pleasure.

And that is capable of getting to 100 km/h from a standstill in about four seconds and on the Autobahn it reaches 280 km/h without worrying too much and is always confident thanks to its 600 Nm of maximum torque.

The combination of a powerful engine, the always desirable four-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission did not leave anyone indifferent, from testers accustomed to these models to colleagues from other departments who do not usually drive this type of vehicle.

The stops to refuel at gas stations can cause the occasional hot flash, because in the end it is a large engine that needs to be fed often. Even the average over 100,000 km has been high: 12.2 l/100 km make it clear that the RS 4’s high performance doesn’t come cheap.

In sections in which we could run, accelerate without mercy and reach the maximum speed, we reached averages of 20 liters (of 98 octane gasoline!). That also entails a low autonomy, since there were test sessions where they barely exceeded 250 kilometers before the 58-liter tank sent the signal to activate the reserve pilot.

On the other hand, no one was looking forward to the appearance of the numbers 1-0-0-0-0-0 on the speedometer. Quite the contrary: as the final date approached, the newsroom began to dress in mourning.

In the last measurement session we were surprised by a braking distance of almost 40 meters from 100 to 0 km/h, almost five meters more than at the beginning of the test. Was there a problem with the 6,000 euro ceramic discs? No, much easier: the tires were quite worn: the rubber warning was already visible at a glance.

We ran into some small technical problems

At Ingolstadt, the RS 4 impressed with almost flawless performance. Teardown revealed some cosmetic issues, a worn slider rail, and a crank ring that was starting to leak slightly, but no cause for concern. This was the highlight:

• Protection against corrosion: in the body, shafts and cavities it is very good. There was some incipient corrosion on four screws in the underbody trim.
• The engine: the endoscope shows wear-free pistons and cylinders. All main bearings and connecting rods make it clear that the crankshaft is still in perfect condition.
• The cabin has held up. We feared for the carbon inserts, but they hold up like the first day. Other surfaces have begun to show the typical shine of the passage of time…
• The cylinder head greets us with slight signs of decay, with hairline cracks in the valve seats. But they are symptoms that should not yet lead anyone to worry.
• The transmission already shows the contact points of the friction discs. But it is nothing that should impress anyone: the behavior has been impeccable at all times.
• The seats show some small folds on the sides. But the leather holds up well and all the seats retain their properties, despite the use to which they have been subjected.

An overspeed of 7,305 revs that was stored in the error memory after adjusting the automatic transmission could not help the Audi on the way to the top spot in the model list, so we have to note this small disadvantage due to the failure. But it is indifferent. We really enjoyed our blue miracle, which we now miss a lot (too)…

Our opinion

The 100,000 km have passed very quickly… in every way. On the one hand, because the powerful and practical RS 4 Avant never gets boring. On the other hand, because it was wonderful to start it up and listen to its sound. And, furthermore, he did not give us any kind of problem, thus obtaining a final grade of 9.5.