swajames - thanks for your input on your S6 test drive. From what I read about the S6 handling, I would take it over a 550i in a heartbeat. I am guessing BMW is sweating the intro of the RS6!

My only issue is the S6's 0-60 acceleration of 5.1-5.3 seconds. Can you comment on whether it feels faster than that? I would assume the Gallardo's engine sound would help in this regard.

Also, besides exterior looks and lack of manual (personal preference), are there any downsides vs. a 550i?

 

What about the trap speed in the quarter? 10 mph slower?

 

Just like the 550 I'm pretty sure it's quicker than the published spec, the official spec is 5.1 (vs 5.4 or so the 550) but like the 550 it certainly feels quicker than the official time. I'd say it's probably a sub 5 car, it feels as quick as you could reasonably need. Part of that is torque delivery, the curve is flatter than on the 550 and most of it is available lower in the rev range - around 2000 rpm it puts out about as much torque as the 550 has at its peak. The engine noise helps - push it and it's a real howl, it sounds truly excellent. Based on my test, it's quicker than my 550, and whilst it's not ultimately as quick as the M5 it's all available where you can really use it. You don't have to keep the engine at the top of the rev range to go quick and feel quick (which depending on your personal preference is a strength or a weakness) though on my test we never pushed as hard as I would if it was my own car. In terms of downsides, the major downside I see is that Audi residuals just aren't as good as on a BMW although I think the S cars hold up better than other Audis in this respect. Looks wise I really do love the E60's looks but also appreciate the understated Audi - it is different from the standard A6 but in pretty subtle ways. The LED DRL's and four exhausts are cool but the coolest thing is how compact the engine is. Open up the hood and the V10 seems tiny!

Couple of reviews in case anyone is interested:

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/luxury...ison/index.html

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews/sedan...dans/index.html

 

what about a rear-biased AWD ... 40:60 ???

 

Nope. Even with 40:60, and even in an RS4 you simply can't make the car tail happy. Tiff Nedelle from 5thGear tried it and failed and i trust him as a driver.
Sorry rwd is the best for fun and (why not) for racing on dry tarmac.

I drove some awd cars in my life and i drove them hard. Audi S4, subaru STi are just some of them.

In other words it's like this> I like to control the car, to take it's pulse upon it's limits, to simply feel it whenever the car understeers or oversteers and to try my best to drive it as fast as possible. This is very hard in an awd car, the car is simply less responsive, the awd system whatever it's named is simply not comunicative. All awd cars i drove understeered far more than any rwd car, and you had to really fight the car to get it to oversteer just slightly and i'm not talking about drift mania, i'm talking about taking a turn with a tad of oversteer which in many cases is the fastest way around.

For example in a rwd car it's easier to take a turn more quickly. You simply brake, (or trail-brake i for one am a trail braker), hit the apex controlling the understeer or oversteer and then back on the throttle as soon as possible and as progressive as possible. That way when you leave the apex you have the "control over the oversteer". It's easy frankly. All you have to do is pay extra attention to the throttle input and always avoid target fixation. That way you end up by leaving the corner in a nice little drift.

That thing you can't do with awd. The car will understeer way more. Being a trailbraker i have to back off alot which in many times is awfull cuz i simply have to brake even more just to get back the grip on the front wheels. Once i do that, in the same time i approach the apex and the car may switch from understeer to oversteer in an instant. Why ? Because the weight is moved to the front (to make the front tires "bite" more) and the back gets loose. Now the problem is oversteer, cuz you don't want that early. But remember the problem in the first place was not oversteer, it was understeer. Plus you have the "clever" diffs that will sometime catch you by surprise. And once you leave the apex you can't get back on the power that quickly. Why? Well...obviusly because the car will again start to understeer, cuz even with 40:60 the fron tires will always have even more stress than on a rwd car PLUS the fact that the car is quite heavier than a similar rwd car, weight that in the end counts.

Conclusion: RWD is by far more rewarding that any other set-up. Sorry but even the Xi from bmw has a bigger weight and a different weight distribution. They ruined the 50:50 weight distribution in the Xi models but that was just inevitable. That's why i choose the 550i over the S6. Cuz i simply look for other things now from a car, other than just engine or raw power.

I tried to be as clear as possible and i didn't want to brag with anything but that karting experience really proved something. I await the replys from other forum members especially the ones that get to track their cars often.

 

No, you have just been reading too much!!

Relax, the S6 is 50 / 50 drive differentiation. How fun do you think it will be to drive with a "De-tuned" Gallaro engine pushing that kind of HP to the front wheels? It blows!!

I was all set on an S4 until I drove it! I'm telling you, go somewhere where both cars are, and drive them back to back. You made the right choice. Torque steer in a V-10 is horrible.

If you are never on the throttle (In which case you would have bought a 528, not a 550) you would be fine. Get an A6 and save the 30 K. The S6 makes no sense to me, an AWD V-10?

Dirve 'em both!

 

I don't think you can describe it any better. The real driving experience should outweight the snowy safety factor any day.

Completely agree with above, and this is how I ended up here. After Benz's Audi's Japanese cars, etc. only the BMW drove like my Corvette. That was 'nuff for me.

Well written!!

 

There's absolutely no torque steer issues on either an S4 or an S6, because of quattro

 

Thanx Finally someone understands what i'm talking about and i'm glad some people trully get what driving experience is all about.