Intake 2020 Audi S4 FIRST DRIVE

Cars like the Audi S4 have a complicated set of responsibilities. They have to be fast, high-tech, comfortable, well-built, efficient, safe, and satisfying to drive—not to mention good-looking. Personally, I prefer the looks of the old car, but that doesn’t mean the new car isn’t handsome enough to satisfy those who can afford the $50,895 starting price.

- Nick Yekikian

Audi’s adaptive dampers don’t give the S4 a Jekyll and Hyde duality—the changes in personality aren’t that extreme. But every time you switch from Sport to Comfort, the car relaxes and coddles you along the way. Ask for a heated massage from the red-trimmed sport bucket seats, and the calming effect is only heightened. Move the dynamic select switch in the other direction, and the S4 firms up, the eight-speed auto changing down with an energetic yowl from the quad exhaust pipes.

As I made my way out of the built-up areas of L.A. County, the roads started to get twisty and the “S” in S4 finally started to mean something. The 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 in the S4 makes 349 horsepower, but this car is all about torque. Specifically, 369 lb-ft of the stuff.