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Review (2/2)

Audi RS 4 Avant: Combination of Dynamics and Everyday Practicality

Source: Audi | Published: Wed Feb 15, 2012

(continued from the previous page)

Interior: Sporty Black

The interior of the RS 4 Avant is clad completely in black, with the exception of the roofliner, which is optionally available in Moon Silver. Chrome clasps subtly accentuate switches and control elements. Carbon inlays are standard, with brushed matte aluminum, Aluminum Race, black piano finish or a light stainless steel mesh available as options.

The standard heated front sport seats with integrated headrests are power adjustable and covered in a combination of black leather and Alcantara. Fine Nappa leather in either Black or Moon Silver accentuated with Stone Gray piping is optionally available. Other options include bucket seats or luxurious, climate-controlled deluxe seats with a ventilation function. The thick ring of the leather multifunction sport steering wheel is flattened at the bottom, and the shift paddles mounted on the back of it sport an aluminum-look finish.

The driver information system with color display includes an RS menu with a lap timer and an oil thermometer. Both it and the MMI monitor display a special RS welcome screen when the car is started.

The instrument cluster bezel shines with a piano finish, and the design of the selector knob of the seven-speed S tronic is unique to the RS. Typical of all RS vehicles, the door openers are two delicate bars. The pedals, the footrest, the air vents, the shift paddles on the steering wheel, the MMI buttons and other controls shine in an aluminum-look finish. Aluminum inserts adorn the door sill trims, which are accentuated with RS 4 badges.

Audi offers exclusive high-grade leather packages for all seating options, including a design package with honeycomb quilting for the RS 4 bucket seats. Rounding out the list of optional equipment is a broad range of state-of-the-art driver assistance and communication systems, including the Bluetooth online car phone that connects the RS 4 Avant with the Internet.

Options for the luggage compartment, which offers up to 50.50 cu ft (1,430 liters) of cargo space, include a rail system with load securing set and a power hatch.

Delivery of the Audi RS 4 Avant is scheduled to begin in fall 2012 at a base price of 76,600 EUR in Germany.

quattro Drive with Crown-Gear Center Differential

Like every RS model from Audi, the RS 4 Avant comes standard with quattro permanent all-wheel drive. The heart of this system is the crown-gear center differential. This compact and lightweight component can vary the distribution of power between the front and rear axles immediately, smoothly and over a wide range, with up to 70 percent flowing to the front or as much as 85 percent to the rear. The default 40:60 ratio of the rear-biased configuration ensures sporty handling.

The self-locking crown-gear center differential works together with the torque vectoring system, which acts on all four wheels. If the load on the inside wheel is reduced too much while the car is being driven dynamically, the torque vectoring system brakes it slightly before unintended slip can occur. Audi offers the sport differential, which uses two superposition stages to actively distribute the power between the rear wheels, as an option.

Aluminum in Abundance: Chassis

The chassis of the Audi RS 4 Avant is a very complex design. Many components of the five-link front suspension and the self-tracking trapezoidal-link rear suspension are made of aluminum. The new speed-dependent power steering is a highly efficient electromechanical system with a direct steering ratio for highly precise road feel. It helps the driver stay on course by making slight steering corrections when braking on surfaces with different amounts of grip.

The taut RS setup lowers the body by 20 millimeters (0.79 in) compared with the Audi A4 Avant. New, polished 19-inch, ten-spoke forged aluminum wheels shod with 265/35-series tires are standard. Audi also offers 20-inch wheels with 265/30-series tires. These are available in a new, polished, titanium-look, five-V-spoke design plus two additional variants in the five-arm rotor design.

Mounted behind the large wheels are internally vented wave disc brakes measuring 365 millimeters (14.37 in) in diameter up front. The steel friction rings with their wave-like outer contour are perforated and connected to the aluminum brake caps via pins. This concept reduces tensions, quickly dissipates heat and prevents transmission of temperature peaks. The new shape of the friction rings shaves a total of roughly three kilograms (6.61 lb) off the unsprung weight.

The calipers are painted high-gloss black; the front calipers have eight pistons each and sport RS logos. The ESP stabilization system has a Sport mode and can be fully deactivated. For the front axle, Audi offers the option of 380 millimeter (14.96 in) carbon fiber ceramic discs and six-piston calipers in anthracite gray. The ceramic brakes are especially lightweight, robust and durable.

The Audi drive select driving dynamics system is among the standard equipment for the RS 4 Avant. With it, the driver can switch between three modes - comfort, auto and dynamic - to determine the characteristics of the steering, the seven-speed S tronic and the throttle valve. Audi drive select can even vary the sound of the exhaust system, double-declutching when downshifting in dynamic mode. If the car is equipped with an Audi navigation system, a largely driver-configurable custom mode is also available.

In addition to the sport differential, another component available for Audi drive select is dynamic steering. It varies its steering ratio by nearly 100 percent depending on the speed driven and automatically countersteers slightly at the cornering limit for even more precise and stable handling.

Another particularly dynamic damping technology available as an option from Audi is the sport suspension plus with dynamic ride control (DRC). Oil lines and a central valve connect diagonally opposed pairs of shock absorbers. During fast cornering, the system boosts the stabilization of the front outside wheel, for example.

The damping characteristic of the sport suspension plus is variable, with a choice of three settings available via Audi drive select.

Audi RS 4 Avant: Photo Gallery, Review (1/2) and Specifications

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