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From YourSITE.com Reviews & Road Tests 22,084 – 23,867 miles
Still, there’s a sense of satisfaction you get when you drive a car like this. Compliments are paid and longing looks are made virtually every time you take the car onto the road. Valets park it in front of the hotel for higher visibility. Our memories go fondly back to the DC-area Deutsche Marque Concours, where the S4 drew admirers from the BMW, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz corrals who came over and looked longingly at the car’s handsome interior. We wished that interior had the alcantara Recaro seats of the car’s sedan and Avant siblings, though were amazed how much people dug the silver piping that is unique to the S4 Cabriolet (and now the North American RS 4). We dug it ourselves to be totally honest. The Cabriolet version of the S4 is an even more exclusive car than the S4 sedan and Avant. We would run into numerous of each at the enthusiast events this car attended in the past year – from Waterfest (2005 and 2006) and the Carlisle Import Nationals to the Deutsche Marque Concours, Audi Club of North America gatherings and the ALMS event at Lime Rock. We only ever encountered one other S4 Cabriolet at an event – a black one registered in Virginia at the Deutsche Marque Concours. That level of exclusivity is something more akin to RS 4 owners than S4 owners due to sheer rarity. And for those who care, chicks seem to dig the convertible more. Were we single, that would have been an added benefit for sure. We weren’t, so it wasn’t. But those who are should take note. Could we be more glowing about the car? Probably not. However, we did find shortcomings other than poor fuel mileage that is to be expected of a V8.
What didn’t we like? For one, the otherwise awesome head unit with Navigation and satellite radio was at times annoying. While we fell in love with the ability to list 30 of our favorite stations from AM, FM and XM Satellite Radio and group them as we wished, we were annoyed that the unit didn’t go back to ‘Favorites’ after being switched to the Navigation mode or the like via the Return button. A radio so intelligent should be able to go back to Favorites from which it came, rather than a band setting like FM or XM or whatever the last used station was/is on. That’s a minor nuisance to be sure, but a nuisance nonetheless and one we wish Audi would fix as we find the same shortcoming in most of their current MMI-like setups, from the elder A6 to the latest Q7. Our sport steering wheel didn’t have any stereo controls. Fact is, our 2005 Cabriolet is the last model to switch to the new steering wheel setup, so a bit of a hiccup in that it had the newer navigation MMI system. That system is just complicated enough where steering wheel controls are a must. Owners buying cars without the Sport wheel as our car had, or owners buying new B7 models out this summer won’t have this issue. Seat bottoms get a little hard on long trips. This is characteristic of most non-Recaro A4 models, and also a characteristic of the Cabriolet seats. It’s only after about 3-4 hours of driving that you notice it, but after 5 to 6, you’ll be wanting to get out and walk around a bit. Perhaps this is a down-side to sport-oriented seats, though we don’t notice the problem in the Recaro seating found in other S4 and RS 4 models. All-in-all, our criticisms seem pretty trivial. We've always loved the S4, so it's no surprise that a droptop version was quite popular with our staff. The S4 Cabriolet is about as versatile as you can get for a convertible. It seats four comfortably, swallows ample packages in its large trunk, and motors through all four seasons sure footedly with quattro all-wheel drive, if not frugally due to its throaty, torque-laden V8.
My Take (David Herlihy, Contributing Editor): The 4 seasons S4 while in our tenure definitely earned its keep crossing the nation and putting in some heavy mileage on the East Coast mainly. While you can't say the winter was incredibly harsh in the Mid-Atlantic, thanks to global warming or El Nino or whatever theory you subscribe to, the S4 was a treat to drive in both warm and cold weather alike. The grip from the quattro was legendary, but I wouldn't put the S4 on the list of cars I'd go pushing incredibly hard on back roads mainly due to its rather portly weight. Once pushed the weight of the S4 Cab clearly begins to tell. It's nothing drastic, but it's definitely built more for the cruising the boulevard vs. mixing it up on the back roads of the Shenendoah Valley. If I owned this car, I might consider a mild exhaust upgrade to further release the sexy sound of that engine. On the convertible, the exhaust is already so enjoyable. The right aftermarket exhaust would really kick that up a couple of notes. Likes: Silky smooth V8 Effortless torque and passing power. Great exhaust note. Sounds like an aircooled aircraft engine at idle. Lots of bass. Looks: It's so subtle, but stylish at the same time that it goes unnoticed. Maybe that's a bad thing for many, but in this case it's a good thing. Dislikes: Mileage: You're lucky if you get 21mpg. Weight. She definitely needs to go on a diet. My Take (Anthony Garbis, Contributing Editor, Forum Administrator): The S4 Cabriolet didn't wow me at first. The factory wheels are a bit mild and the styling is rather subtle and doesn't stand out much compared to the less expensive A4 Cabriolet. However, when the 19" BBS CKs were added, the look of the car was transformed and people took notice. The V8 provides plentyof passing power and good acceleration, but at the cost of abysmal gas mileage. My 2,00-mile trip to Canada netted an 18.8 MPG average, mostly of highway and without the a/c on. Considering it is a convertible, the S4 isextremely quiet and well insulated, and I often forgot I was driving a softtop. Likes: The navigation system. Audi integrated the nav extremely well, with a large screen in the dash and a readout in the instrument cluster. Furthermore, adding the Audi navigation plus gets you two SD card slots behind the power fold-down screen, which allows you to play MP3s. The Bose speaker system was excellent, as well. Dislikes To find a least favorite thing would be nitpicking, but the inability to operate the convertible top unless you are completely parked is rather cumbersome. I can recall more than one occasion when I was stuck in traffic and went to operate the top, and then the traffic started to crawl forward, and the top stopped moving. So I had to hold up traffic even more until the top, which is rather slow, locked back in place. As mentioned, this will be rectified with 2007 models this summer.
My Take (Jim Sykes, Senior Editor, SpeedArena.com): I really did like the car. The combination of luxury and sport was right on and was a car in which I easily cruised several thousand miles without getting bounced around or feeling uncomfortable. When I wanted it, the car was fast. I loved the interior and the navigation system and it would be a wonderful all around car to live with everyday. All that said, at $61,000, you’re paying quite a premium for those luxuries. Likes: The think I liked most about the car was the way it combined luxury with sport. The interior and ride was great and really made you feel comfortable when just cruising, but the power and handling was there when you wanted to get a little crazy. Dislikes The S4 Cabriolet looked far too plain for what was under the hood and for the price you pay for it. I want it to look different than any other A4 Cabriolet, a welcome change being implemented for 2007 B7 models.
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