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With production of the B9-generation RS4 Avant moments from ending, Audi farewells its iconic performance wagon with an optional Competition Plus package
As you read this, the Audi RS4 Avant is teetering on the edge of existence.
As production halts on all B9-generation A4/S4/RS4 variants at Audi’s Ingolstadt plant – in preparation for an all-new, A5-branded, B10-generation replacement – the RS4 nameplate is staring at extinction.
Going forward, all even-numbered Audis will be electric (with odd-numbered models, such as the imminent new-gen A5, being combustion-engined), which means that if ‘RS4’ ever appears in a digital Audi catalogue again, its make-up will be radically different.
What you see here is the opposite of that – it’s a swansong variant intended to celebrate the almost seven-year-old B9 RS4 Avant (and its RS5 Sportback sister).
While the Competition Plus package has been available on the RS4 and RS5 overseas for more than a year now, Audi Australia has saved its introduction locally to act as a fitting farewell for this twin-turbo V6 B9 generation. And what a way to go out.
Fundamentally, not a whole lot has been changed for the Competition Plus. But every aspect that Audi Sport has paid attention to has been comprehensively improved and uprated, to the point where the cumulative effect results in the car we always wanted the B9-generation RS4 to be.
It finally has enough dynamic edge and mechanical aggression to suavely complement its supreme driveability, marvellous practicality and luscious build quality.
Just 75 are coming to Australia – two thirds of which will be the RS4 Avant – adding $13,990 extra to the $165,015 baseline price for the wagon and $168,015 RS5 Sportback, or $15,290 extra when RS Dinamica/leather front bucket seats are included.
On its own, the 2024 RS4 Avant is already a generously equipped performance car, with loads of standard gear and relatively few options. Equipment includes:
For $13,990 extra, the Competition Plus package adds:
For an additional $1300, the Competition Plus pack can be expanded with:
Further RS4/RS5 options include an RS design package in red for $3400 that brings:
And a Matte Carbon package for $6300, including:
The Competition Plus treatment focuses on six distinct areas: RS Sport Suspension Pro with coil-over, fixed-rate, manually adjustable dampers and lightweight 20-inch alloys (saving 2kg per wheel); fixed-ratio dynamic steering; quattro self-locking centre differential sending more drive bias to the rear; reprogrammed quattro sport rear differential with more aggressive tuning; RS sport exhaust system plus; and enhanced shift logic for the eight-speed automatic transmission.
Sitting 10mm lower than the ‘regular’ RS4, with an additional 10mm drop available via manual adjustment – as well as manual adjustment of damping and rebound – the RS4 Competition’s much more focused suspension set-up is what elevates it beyond the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ base RS4, offering a newfound level of communication and dynamic reward.
In combination with the crisper, more direct fixed-ratio steering and the differential tweaks to noticeably heighten its rear-end balance and flavour, the RS4 Competition is a more analogue performance car – sharper, firmer, and grainier, with more of a drive-bias kick from its back end, and a more hard-wired personality.
It has had layers of comfort and refinement removed, yet it still manages to ride with an agreeable level of absorbency for a pukka, hot-rodded performance car.
Even the ABS software has been retuned for greater stopping force from its superb brakes – 375mm front discs with six-piston calipers and 330mm rears – especially when matched with optional Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres. And there’s a ceramic front brake option (with 400mm rotors and six-piston calipers) that saves 6.5kg per wheel to create the ultimate track-day RS4.
As for the drivetrain, the 331kW/600Nm 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 – developed in conjunction with Porsche some years back – remains untouched, though the Competition’s new sports exhaust system not only amplifies its bent-six gurgle and high-rev rasp, it’s had 8kg of sound deadening removed from around it to dial up the soundtrack even further.
And the eight-speed auto has been reprogrammed for faster, more intuitive gearchanges and more of a kick when upshifting at full throttle – reducing the wagon’s claimed 0-100km/h time to just 3.9 seconds (or 3.8 in the RS5 Sportback).
The current-generation Audi A4’s interior has maintained its high-quality allure for eight years now, and compared to the screen-heavy designs that have followed since its debut at the Frankfurt Show in September 2015, there’s an elegance to the lean horizontal aesthetic of the Audi’s dashboard that remains timeless.
The RS4 takes all that underlying goodness and makes it even more alluring – especially when optioned with RS bucket seats and the RS design package like our test car.
The textural blend of Alcantara, leather and carbon fibre – highlighted by red and piano-black flourishes, and red edging and stitching – makes the last-ever RS4’s cabin a seductively luxurious place to spend time, even though it’s clearly a high-performance vehicle.
The optional bucket seats are brilliant, offering fabulous all-round support and a lower hip height to really hug the front passengers. Yet they’re also relatively generous in the room they offer and are exquisite to look at.
And the RS4’s rear seat is similarly fit-for-purpose, with terrific support, plenty of space, and even an ability to seat three in reasonable comfort.
All four doors offer proper grab handles to hang onto, and ample bottle storage for up to 1.5-litres – meaning the benchmark for any vehicle type – and the RS4’s standard panoramic sunroof enhances its cabin vision even further.
It also has a beautifully trimmed, amply sized 495-litre boot that expands via 40/20/40 backrests for a near-flat rear luggage area.
The functionality of all the RS4’s controls – including its ‘virtual cockpit’ instruments and 10.1-inch touchscreen – remains simple and intuitive, as every car should be (but isn’t).
And if you somehow grow tired of the Competition’s louder, edgier exhaust note, there’s always an excellent 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen 3D sound system to drown out this German hot-rod’s heightened mechanical tunes.
When the B9-generation Audi A4 was independently tested by ANCAP back in 2015 it received five stars. And while that rating has since long expired, there’s no doubting the inherent strength and safety credentials of the DNA-related RS4 Avant Competition Plus.
Its active-safety features are subtly tuned, yet decisive when they need to be. And as a performance car, it also offers supreme roadholding and braking, as well as multi-stage ESC to maintain a safety net when driving hard.
Safety features include:
The RS4 Avant’s official combined fuel consumption figure is 9.5L/100km, drinking 98-octane premium unleaded, however our brand-new test car had averaged 12.8L/100km over its almost 1800km lifespan, which is quite respectable.
The RS4 Avant’s combined consumption translates to a range of 611km from its 58-litre tank.
Recommended service intervals for the RS4 Avant are 12 months or 15,000km, with a five-year Audi servicing plan costing a pretty reasonable $3630 for this type of vehicle.
Audi’s new vehicle warranty in Australia is five years/unlimited kilometres with included roadside assistance, as well as a five-year paint warranty and a 12-year rust perforation warranty.
With a direct competitor now in the 390kW/650Nm all-wheel-drive BMW M3 Touring, the ageing Audi RS4 Avant no longer has the performance-wagon niche to itself – or for much longer, hence this farewell-edition Competition Plus option package.
The BMW might be more powerful and slightly faster (0-100km/h in 3.6sec) but there’s much to be said for the Audi’s old-school simplicity – especially with its coil-over suspension, newly aggressive focus and its 120kg weight saving compared to the M3 Touring.
Comparisons aside, as a farewell vessel for the RS4 nameplate, this Competition Plus scores. Its heightened reflexes, superior balance, enhanced stance, more aggressive drivetrain and still-fabulous interior truly make it the B9-generation RS4 to covet.
In removing all those layers of refinement and comfort, it has become both friendlier and a more focused performance car. It communicates more clearly, with a much louder voice, yet when the chips are down, its dynamic reward is so much sharper and sweeter. It’s angrier, but in a totally loveable way.
Sometimes it’s what you remove that makes something better, and in its most naked form, this RS4 Competition Plus is all the better for it. What a way to go out.
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