2010 Audi S4 Trackside

I was recently handed the keys to a fully loaded, brand-new Audi S4 sedan. So, I did what any motorhead would do in this situation and proceeded to put the sporty A4 variant through its paces on the open road, on an autocross cone course, and even on the track at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point.

Our adventure starts with a trip from an uncharacteristically sunny San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sonoma. While in the stop-and-go bustle of the city, the S-Tronic DSG double-clutch automated manual was so docile and the 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 engine so even tempered, that I almost forgot that the S4 was the performance variant of the A4 sedan line. This is mostly due to Audi's Drive Select system, which gave me limited control over the suspension tuning, power delivery, and steering ratios, effectively making the S4 two cars in one: a comfortable boulevard cruiser and a rip-snorting canyon carver.