3.0T Premium 4dr All-Wheel Drive quattro Sedan
2023 Audi S4
CARLSBAD, Calif. – It’s only natural to be seduced by whatever is newest. It’s part of the reason I get to do what I do: People are eager to know about the most recently introduced cars, and in many cases, buy them. They’re bound to be more excited when they do, too, and want to show them off. In this way, we never really grow up. I’m not sure how many of us bounded over to a friend’s house to show off a toy your brother had seven years ago. Well, there is nothing new about the 2023 Audi S4. The car you see here is the result of a 2020 mid-cycle refresh of a generation that debuted for 2017 – though we first drove it back in the summer of 2016. It would be easy to dismiss the S4 as yesterday’s news. I certainly pondered whether anyone would actually want to read about Grandpa S4. That’d be a shame, though, because what we have here is an oldie but a goodie, to borrow a phrase from your actual grandpa. It may be familiar; it may show signs of its age, and it may look like a car that someone bought new three years ago, but whatever. The Audi S4 is a terrific sport sedan that deserves to have a spotlight dropped back on it. As a refresher, because even I had long forgotten what you actually get with the A4’s high-performance sibling, the 2023 S4 is powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 that produces 349 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. Audi says it hits 60 mph in 4.4 seconds. That’s a huge jump from the Audi A4 Quattro (aka 45 TFSI Quattro), which is good for 248 hp, 273 lb-ft and a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds. That makes the S4's acceleration technically closer to a BMW M3's even if it still falls well short. That’s by design. Audi’s RS models continue to be the M fighters, and while the RS 4 no longer exists, the RS 5 Sportback does and is the equivalent of an RS 4 in a fancy suit. At least in terms of 0-60 times, it matches the RWD M3 Competition (the all-wheel-drive version is 0.4 quicker), but here I am getting distracted by newer things again. Back to the S4. Parking S4 so it won't feel quite so old. At least it's not filled with dead flowers. Since it’s an Audi and the year is 2023, Quattro all-wheel drive is standard and an eight-speed automatic is mandatory. And it’s a traditional, torque converter automatic, too, unlike the seven-speed dual-clutch found in the A4 that can’t handle the torque of the big V6. The DSG might be swell for efficiency, but the speed, smarts and smoothness of ZF’s tried-and-true eight-speed are hard to beat. Put the car in Dynamic mode, slap the shifter down into S, and you can forget about the shift paddles. Which is good because they’re flimsy plastic and an affront …
Full Review
CARLSBAD, Calif. – It’s only natural to be seduced by whatever is newest. It’s part of the reason I get to do what I do: People are eager to know about the most recently introduced cars, and in many cases, buy them. They’re bound to be more excited when they do, too, and want to show them off. In this way, we never really grow up. I’m not sure how many of us bounded over to a friend’s house to show off a toy your brother had seven years ago. Well, there is nothing new about the 2023 Audi S4. The car you see here is the result of a 2020 mid-cycle refresh of a generation that debuted for 2017 – though we first drove it back in the summer of 2016. It would be easy to dismiss the S4 as yesterday’s news. I certainly pondered whether anyone would actually want to read about Grandpa S4. That’d be a shame, though, because what we have here is an oldie but a goodie, to borrow a phrase from your actual grandpa. It may be familiar; it may show signs of its age, and it may look like a car that someone bought new three years ago, but whatever. The Audi S4 is a terrific sport sedan that deserves to have a spotlight dropped back on it. As a refresher, because even I had long forgotten what you actually get with the A4’s high-performance sibling, the 2023 S4 is powered by a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 that produces 349 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. Audi says it hits 60 mph in 4.4 seconds. That’s a huge jump from the Audi A4 Quattro (aka 45 TFSI Quattro), which is good for 248 hp, 273 lb-ft and a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds. That makes the S4's acceleration technically closer to a BMW M3's even if it still falls well short. That’s by design. Audi’s RS models continue to be the M fighters, and while the RS 4 no longer exists, the RS 5 Sportback does and is the equivalent of an RS 4 in a fancy suit. At least in terms of 0-60 times, it matches the RWD M3 Competition (the all-wheel-drive version is 0.4 quicker), but here I am getting distracted by newer things again. Back to the S4. Parking S4 so it won't feel quite so old. At least it's not filled with dead flowers. Since it’s an Audi and the year is 2023, Quattro all-wheel drive is standard and an eight-speed automatic is mandatory. And it’s a traditional, torque converter automatic, too, unlike the seven-speed dual-clutch found in the A4 that can’t handle the torque of the big V6. The DSG might be swell for efficiency, but the speed, smarts and smoothness of ZF’s tried-and-true eight-speed are hard to beat. Put the car in Dynamic mode, slap the shifter down into S, and you can forget about the shift paddles. Which is good because they’re flimsy plastic and an affront …
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Retail Price
$52,800
MSRP / Window Sticker Price
| Engine | 3.0L V-6 |
| MPG | 21 City / 30 Hwy |
| Seating | 5 Passengers |
| Transmission | 8-spd auto w/OD |
| Power | 349 @ 6300 rpm |
| Drivetrain | quattro all wheel |
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