2006 Audi S4 Test Drive

Draggin' Wagon

Zero to 60 mph in 5.3 seconds will blow away a Dodge Charger R/T and stay a tick ahead of a Honda S2000 roadster, even with two bicycles in back and a kayak on the roof.

Exterior

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Audi’s new large trapezoidal front grille, now a part of every new Audi from the compact A3 to the large A8 L, is big and bold enough to be controversial: The traditionalists don’t like it. (I own an older Audi with the smaller, more subtle grille and find the assertive new face to be stunning.) Unfortunately, it’s designed to carry only a long, narrow European front license plate; those of us in front-plate states such as New York would have to live with the spoiled aesthetic thanks to our taller American license plates.

The S version of the A4 features handsome brushed-aluminum side mirror pods and roof rails. The body rides a little more than an inch lower on its sport suspension than the A4.

Audi long ago aced the challenge of making station wagons that don’t look like rolling mailboxes, so the S4 is not only fast — 155 mph electronically limited top speed — but looks fast. And in a time when metallic beige or yet another shade of black seem to be the norm, Audi offers the S4 in two unique colors (as well as standard A4 shades): an electric blue and a vivid yellow.