RS4 quotes
"It feels light on its feet and even at the modest speeds the chassis has a balance and responsivness that immediately sets it apart from any other Audi I've driven. It's big brother, the mighty RS6, feels like a ballistic steamroller by comparison; all muscle and no subletly. Clearly The RS4 signals a new philosophy for sporting Audis."
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"Let's break down the constituent parts that set the RS4 apart from other Audis. First and the foremost there's the linear steering response. Its still a Servotronic set-up and perhaps just a shade on the light side, but unlike, say, the S4, the changes in assistance as your speed varies are imperceptible. The manual box is slick and positive, and the brakes are exceptional (the eight-piston front callipers grip 365 mm discs), displaying none of the hyper-sensitivity that often makes Audis tricky to meld with. It all feels just right. The engine is one of the greats. At low revs there's ample response, and it feels genuinely muscular even when lugging at 2000-3000 rpm. At 5000 rpm you're flying, and then , just when most V8s are starting to huff and puff under the strain, the RS4 kicks again and hammers on to 8250 rpm. Never once does it feel overstressed or unenthusiastic. It gives the RS4 a soul."
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M3 CS quotes
"Even in these conditions and with its power deficit, it can happily match the RS4. And the balance is just so good. Where are all the power gone? Ah, there it is - much higher up the rev-range. And what a noise! All high-tech, high-displacement fizz and crackle. Incredible throttle-response, too. The CS feels light, razor-sharp, almost devoid of intertia compared to the lazy Mercedes, and against expectations the M3 has more faithful front-end grip than even the RS4. Thats the advantage of having a straight-six tucked well back in the engine bay rather than a V8 slung out ahead of the front wheels."
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"Stay committed and the CS scythes cleanly through the corner, totally balanced, completely hooked-up. When you're dialled-in to the chassis and really nail a road in the M3 it's so unhurried, so serene. You could almost set it to music. I love this car."
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"So the RS4 kills the M3 CS, then? Well, not quite. At eight-tenths the RS4 feels exceptional, and even when pushed to its very limits it ratinas much of its composure. However, it's still true to the Audi philosophy, which means it will always look after you first and foremost, even when you just want a bit of entertainment."
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C55 quotes
"When you think of Mercedes integrity just a handful of years ago, the C55's interior feels cheap after the supreme quality and cool design of the RS4. The plastics are hopeless and the dash is a mess of tiny buttons with indecipherable legends. The C-class may be in the winter of its life, but the RS4 makes it feel obsolete already."
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"Still, with the RS4 long gone I can concentrate on just what the C55 has to offer as a driving experience. The ride isn't as settled as the Audi's the damping feels slightly less controlled and there's certainly more body-roll and pitch. The steering has a dead patch either side of neutral but then weights-up nicely, and although it's by no means the most feelsome of systems it does start to feel more accurate the quicker you go."
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"Like all AMG products, it's the engine that really defines the C55's character. I doesn't rev to heavens like the RS4's V8, but in the midrange you can feel the advantage of that extra displacement."
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The winner
"It comes down to RS4 and M3 CS. After ten minutes behind the wheel the RS4 was my winner. It's got the looks, the interior, the edge on performance. Forty-eight hours later, the deft balance, awesome adjustibility and sheer exuberance of the M3 CS seemed insurmountable. It gives you so many options, and I don't just mean you can oversteer it all day long (which you can). It has incredible balance, and it's so responsive to your inputs that you feel intimately involved through every part of every corner. For you and me, thats what really counts. The M3 is still the all-conquering action hero.
Did I mention there's a new one later this year?"
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EVO rating: M3 CS (5 stars), RS4 (5 stars), C55 (4 stars)
Tracktest and track behaviour
RS4: 1:28.6 min
M3: 1:29.8 min
C55: 1:30.1 min
"Three more different styles would be hard to find. The Audi's peerless traction means it holds its line brilliantly around the tricky Bank complex. The suberb brakes can upset its composure into Pif-Paf, though. The Merc's auto box is frustrating as it rarely responds immediately to your commands at these speeds. It particulary likes to prevent you from changing down. The way you can use the M3's tail to point the car into the apex is very effective, particulary through Bank and the last two corners. It would've have gone quicker had it not been delivered on new tyres."
These are great quotes. This is something Martinbo would say
"Get it right and the C55 dances with a delicious angle until the road straightens"
"You can often hear the RS4 tearing towards its red line, even when you're driving one of the other cars"
"The deft balance, awesome adjustability and sheer exuberance of the M3 seem insurmountable"
A more proper comparison would be to compare the RS4 to an M3 CSL/GTR. I don't think the next M3 will be able to compete with the new RS4 because of this reason. Wait for a new generation M3 CSL maybe.
I'd say that's about right. The 3 Series is the competitor to the S4 and the M3 is the competitor to the RS4...
