Audi RS4 Avant
the 455 litres available in the mark three version. Fold down the back seats on the new one and you have 1,510 litres of space to play with.
Ceramic brakes for added stopping power, dynamic ride control and a specially tuned RS steering set up are other options and so is a sports exhaust that emanates a wonderful noise under acceleration.
Pack it all in and the RS 4 we tried tipped the scales just shy of £78,000 but to keep things sweet Audi is offering a special Carbon Edition of its new fast estate with most of the sporty essentials as well as extra carbon-finish body kit for £72,175.
Where the new RS 4 scores is with its driveability which is utterly compliant whatever asked.
Keep things gently and it purrs along, unleash the power – and there’s 40 per cent more torque from this new engine compared to the V8 – and the effect is astounding.
Under acceleration the feel is amazing and the soundtrack awesome. The fidgetiness that could exhibit itself in the previous incarnation is gone and the new RS 4 is a driver’s delight and beautifully balanced.
With the quattro all-wheel-drive system set up to react quicker than before power can be switched from 85 per cent front to 70 per cent rear in a fraction of a second and the stability system has three stages with torque vectoring to maximise performance and grip.
The powertrain includes an eightspeed tiptronic gearbox with a rapid shift pattern – either left to its own devices or via steering wheel paddles – and a sport differential is standard fit.
The new engine – the same capacity and configuration of that of the original RS model of 1999 but massively more powerful – is 30kg lighter and that makes up the bulk of the weight saving. The rest has come from clever design and plenty of use of aluminium in the construction.
Nineteen-inch alloys are standard, 20-inch an option and the Carbon Edition model comes with milled alloys – an industry first that sees the rims cut out of a single block of aluminium rather than being forged. The result is a further eight kilo reduction in weight.
The cockpit is decked out to impress just as much as every other aspect and comes with an RS-themed instrument panel on Audi’s virtual cockpit multi-mode display. The car we sampled also had a head up display – another extra at £900.
Only Mercedes-Benz has an estate that can be considered an alternative in the shape of the Mercedes-AMG C63 while BMW relies upon the M3 saloon to compete.
Both are hugely capable but when it comes to sheer refinement and an astonishing degree of performance then new RS 4 sets the standard – an incredible car in every department.