Comparison on S2 & S4 Avant

[GirlRacer]

Hi, wonder if you can help.

Anyone own or have owned an S4 on here.
My choise is only S2 aby or S4.
I went back to jap but now the scooby is sold i NEED an avant.

This will be my daily driver, and needing advice/pro's n cons on both.
Reliability etc. Prob the S4 will be a guzzler, but dont know, i dont take notice
of facts n figures on parkers.
Not a normal driver as like a bit frisk.
Been feeding a newage scooby with mods, brimmed tank 200miles if lucky,
so it cant be as bad as that??? (i hope)

Need to get summit sorted pretty soom as i cant cope with a 100bhp diesel
as a run about LOL

Cheers
Tina x

[Jamo]

Is that a Bedlington Terrier in the pic? Which part of Bedlington are you from Tina?

My mrs and her family are from that area

[GirlRacer]

LOL its an english bull terrier.
will pm u the rest lol

[istoo]

the urS4 avant is virtually the same engine as the S2... didint you own an S2 a few years ago?

Thus economy is much the same, also hinges quite heavily on how much lead boot you use. I get 26mpg from my AAN urS4 avant as my daily doing 1000miles a month. On a run will go into the 30's and on a blat low teens possible single figures on a track day. The urS4 is not as common as the S2 thus more likely to get a good avant (slipper wagon). The urS4 however is massive compared to the S2. The 80/90 is a close fit for me, i know a few folk taller than me with them and must be a right old squeeze. The different really is the size in the original S4 versus the S2 avant. Spares can be an issue for both cars these days. The B5 (first A4) shaped S4 is a different kettle of fish, similar economy twin turbo affair which used to have a reputation for spitting turbos as they are paired it can get really expensive. But i am sure there are plenty of folk here who can keep you right with those. All cars capable of daft power if your still needing a bit of that!

[GirlRacer]

Yeah ive had 2 S2's.
the s4 that am on about is the 2.7 bi

[Christophski]

Ok a mate had the s4 bi and was always broke with no mony or petrol cos each played against the other lol! I drove it a bit n I currently own an s2 avant. It's a difference between newer cars to older but if u buy a decent s2 it can b really nice to drive n good fun too. Parts are harder to get than the s4 but other than that n the s4 being alot thirstier and a bit quicker there isn't really much in it. Hth.

Chris

[GirlRacer]

Ok a mate had the s4 bi and was always broke with no mony or petrol cos each played against the other lol! I drove it a bit n I currently own an s2 avant. It's a difference between newer cars to older but if u buy a decent s2 it can b really nice to drive n good fun too. Parts are harder to get than the s4 but other than that n the s4 being alot thirstier and a bit quicker there isn't really much in it. Hth.

Chris

What are the things that easily break, and just how thirsty was it ?

[Christophski]

It didn't break it just made him tight on cash cos of the running bills. It's thirsty specially with a heavy right foot. I wouldn't known the mpg average on his but it's alot worse than the s2. Fill mine up for bout £60- £65 n get 250 miles if I'm careful. His was worse

[dest]

Ive had 2 S2 Avants and 2 S4's (saloons).
A standard S4 in good health should average 25mpg with a mixture of driving, obviously it goes down if you hammer it!
Would you be keeping it standard though? My 1st one was 100% standard, and was quick, but didnt feel as much fun as the S2 (homefried) was.
It all depends if you want crash bang wallop (big fun!) with the S2, or more refined with the S4 (a standard one)
Ive now got a highly modded S4 and its HUGE fun, but very thirsty!

[GirlRacer]

A dont think i can do standard, a map would be needed.
ant go stupid as i have a pup n noise n harsh ride is a nono
(reason the scooby no good, modded, to hard n noisy and its a saloon)

[dest]

A remapped S4 will run ~330bhp, stick a Milltek on and it will sound awesome without being too loud (can also get a resonated one which is even quieter)
Mine has no cats or pre-cats, is 2.5" dual non-res system and our 18 month old Basset doesnt get atall bothered by the sound!

[GirlRacer]

A remapped S4 will run ~330bhp, stick a Milltek on and it will sound awesome without being too loud (can also get a resonated one which is even quieter)
Mine has no cats or pre-cats, is 2.5" dual non-res system and our 18 month old Basset doesnt get atall bothered by the sound!

So its pretty quiet then
Ave replaced pipes n pecats on scooby 3" and its really loud, u can hear it
way before u see it, which is why i thought i wouldnt do that.

Just hope the right avant turns up

[mreinders]

What Dest said about fun.
I've had an ABY S2 and now on my second S4 2.7tt avant
The S4 feels more sensible (ok, i'm 39 now) for a daily drive and is still quick enough in standard trim.
25 mpg is about right - the 6twin has plenty of pull low down so you won't be ragging it all the time. Something about the 5 pot just makes you want to keep your right foot planted all the way to 6.5Krpm!
The rub is that being a V-motor you have nearly twice as much to potentially go wrong.
My car buddies all drive (R)S2s and I sometime wish I'd gone with an aan/adu/aby car.
A week after I got the second S4 the right side turbo gave up. Previous owner had ignored a Throttle body boot leak. The turbos had been overspinning and when I fixed the leak the dreaded siren sound came, then smoke - lots of smoke.
Long story short, engine out, new head gaskets, K04 turbos, Wagner downpipes.
The car owes me so far about e4k, plenty of love, and about 15cc of blood.
It goes very well, with it's flatter torque curve it feels less urgent than an RS2 on full boost. Less exciting but ultimately more satisfying for a daily driver.

The previous S4's woes:
ABS controller - a common issue - 400ish quid if you can find one
EGT sensors - 150 per side - both were throwing errors
Lamda sensor - can't remember what I paid, but it needed replacing - throwing DTCs
Boost leaks - long intake tracts with plenty of hose clamps to fail - Throttle body boot always goes.
Crank case ventilation hoses - old plastic got hard and brittle - 60 quid at dealer
Aux Coolant pump - a bosh item - 25 quid but is located under intake manifold - 4 hrs work
MAF replaced - easy but expensive


My old S4 did 215,000 km before it was hit by a cab and written off. It was chipped but otherwise standard and I never had any problems with the turbos. Perhaps I was just lucky, perhaps it was because I replaced all the boost hoses, clamps and TBB and avoided overspin...

Be careful with the B5 S4. A good one is a pleasure, a bad one a nightmare.
Make sure you know the history, check carefully for existing boost leaks before you buy it and check the ECU for spurious codes.

[dest]

So its pretty quiet then
Ave replaced pipes n pecats on scooby 3" and its really loud, u can hear it
way before u see it, which is why i thought i wouldnt do that.

Just hope the right avant turns up

Mine isnt quiet in any sense of the word!
470bhp on full chat is an awesome sound, and you can definitly hear it coming
It will quite happily set off car alarms on narrow streets and make small children cry
Remember its a DUAL 2.5" system compared to a single 3"

[GirlRacer]

What Dest said about fun.
I've had an ABY S2 and now on my second S4 2.7tt avant
The S4 feels more sensible (ok, i'm 39 now) for a daily drive and is still quick enough in standard trim.
25 mpg is about right - the 6twin has plenty of pull low down so you won't be ragging it all the time. Something about the 5 pot just makes you want to keep your right foot planted all the way to 6.5Krpm!
The rub is that being a V-motor you have nearly twice as much to potentially go wrong.
My car buddies all drive (R)S2s and I sometime wish I'd gone with an aan/adu/aby car.
A week after I got the second S4 the right side turbo gave up. Previous owner had ignored a Throttle body boot leak. The turbos had been overspinning and when I fixed the leak the dreaded siren sound came, then smoke - lots of smoke.
Long story short, engine out, new head gaskets, K04 turbos, Wagner downpipes.
The car owes me so far about e4k, plenty of love, and about 15cc of blood.
It goes very well, with it's flatter torque curve it feels less urgent than an RS2 on full boost. Less exciting but ultimately more satisfying for a daily driver.

The previous S4's woes:
ABS controller - a common issue - 400ish quid if you can find one
EGT sensors - 150 per side - both were throwing errors
Lamda sensor - can't remember what I paid, but it needed replacing - throwing DTCs
Boost leaks - long intake tracts with plenty of hose clamps to fail - Throttle body boot always goes.
Crank case ventilation hoses - old plastic got hard and brittle - 60 quid at dealer
Aux Coolant pump - a bosh item - 25 quid but is located under intake manifold - 4 hrs work
MAF replaced - easy but expensive


My old S4 did 215,000 km before it was hit by a cab and written off. It was chipped but otherwise standard and I never had any problems with the turbos. Perhaps I was just lucky, perhaps it was because I replaced all the boost hoses, clamps and TBB and avoided overspin...

Be careful with the B5 S4. A good one is a pleasure, a bad one a nightmare.
Make sure you know the history, check carefully for existing boost leaks before you buy it and check the ECU for spurious codes.

Buddy heck, i wouldnt know where to start for checking leaks and codes