2001 Audi S4 Review

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Review:

The quirky British -- naturally -- were the first to come up with the wacky concept of a rattlesnake quick, high-class station wagon (the "shooting brake" Aston Martin). But leave it to the Germans to one-up the Brits. Audi's S4 2.7T Avant is the only twin-turbo, six-speed, all-wheel-drive sportwagon in the world. It's just the ticket for hauling the dog -- and hauling butt -- all at the same time.

The only thing missing is a microwave in the glovebox and a shower somewhere in the back. The S4 2.7T has pretty much everything else you could think of to put in a car, including heated door locks and washer nozzle jets.

It's also quick, with the standard intercooled, twin-turbocharged 2.7-liter V-6 jamming 250 hp through the S4-only six-speed (a less fun five-speed automatic is available) and standard quattro all-wheel-drive system. The tenacious quattro setup allows the S4 to get going even when just one wheel has decent traction -- so it's great in snowy/wet weather as well as superb on dry pavement. Few true high performance cars (let alone wagons) offer this kind of all-weather capability.