B8 RS4 or S204 C63

[Steve84N]

Has anyone owned either of these or experience of driving both?

Interested in thoughts around what they're like to drive and live with. I was on the verge of ordering a 340i Touring but it is too similar to the lower engined models to be special enough.

Both the RS4 and C63 have presence from their pumped up arches and V8 soundtracks. The way I see it:

- Audi has better interior and exterior looks
- C63 has better steering as it's still hydraulic
- Awesome traction vs very limited traction...

Which would you choose and why?

 

[ben g]

I'm unsure what you mean by S204, i just know them simply as C63 AMG, but definitely go for one of those if you don't mind the fuel costs. The sound alone is incredible and worth it 8)

 

[Ducklakeview]

Best friend has a 2016 c63. Awesome sound, horrendous economy think 12mpg and a total handful on anything but bone dry surfaces...

Mike

 

[buzyg]

Merc, Because it's a rear wheel drive beast of a car and so much more of an event that any Audi could ever be.

 

[Steve84N]

S204 is the version like e85/e86 and the S denotes the estate where W is the saloon. Looking at the one which was a 6.2 rather than the 4.0 it has now become, mainly because the newer one is still too expensive.

The B8 is the later 4.2 V8.

My man maths was estimating 20mpg which is about another £100pm for my mileage compared to the Z4. I thought that was worth it...

 

[Machine monkey]

S204 is the version like e85/e86 and the S denotes the estate where W is the saloon. Looking at the one which was a 6.2 rather than the 4.0 it has now become, mainly because the newer one is still too expensive.

The B8 is the later 4.2 V8.

My man maths was estimating 20mpg which is about another £100pm for my mileage compared to the Z4. I thought that was worth it...

I think your about right on with your man maths. Add on the cost of a S/C for the zed (still wouldn’t have c63 performance)

I haven’t driven either a good friend has s RS5 and it seems dull even in the passengers seat! And not fast even? Witch is very Audi as it is quick. I have had a few and they are great family cars. Not for the driving purest though.
Another friend had a sls amg different engine but it was a riot!! Massive big car that set off like a scolded cat!! The back would snake and squirm in the dry and the wet. But why else would you buy a high performance estate?! If you want a quick but relaxing car buy the c350 or a 3.0d Audi.

If you want a full fat driving experience get the c63 forget the RS. And yes cars with rear wheel drive and big power are a handful and will spin up when it’s wet. But the right pedal isn’t just on and off! And that’s the fun-challenge of theses cars is it not?!

 

[Steve84N]

A lot more love for the Mercedes then...

It does happen to be cheaper too.

 

[MrPT]

Yeah, definitely the Merc. B8 went backwards from the B7 in terms of enjoyment and that C63 engine is a bit special. AMG’s first bespoke V8, I think.

 

[Z4M-2006]

I have a W204 C63

It suprised me as I bought it as a car to own on my bucket list, and expected to sell fairly quickly ..

As it stands it's lasted a lot longer than most.

Fuel...

People scream horrendous, but I get around 17mpg on my 12 mile commute in traffic , not so bad really. Most cars I have had a between 16-22mpg on the same journey.
On a run, the most I have achieved is 29mpg, that was a very steady drive but 26mog is easily achievable .
These figures are for the 6.2V8 the bi turbo are approx 4 mpg better all round

Tax is £500
Insurance was cheap for me £313..

Rear tyres do get eaten often. The torque that gets pushed through them wears them quickly.. 6-8k if driven nicely , my last set of conti's sports did around 4K with some hooning.

Mine has miltek secondary cat deletes and a map, running around 520bhp... you cannot get tired of the sound or the power.
Yes they are a handful, but that's to be expected, they will light up the tyres at any kind of legal speed.

They can be driven like a pussy cat though, my missus drives ours daily with no problems..

Audi RS are a good car, but drive one. Competent and fast but ultimately boring..


Good luck in your decision, it's a nice position to be in..lol

Oh, I have driven a mapped W205 and it was incredible.. they fasted thing I have driven that wasn't a dedicated track car..

Still out of my price bracket unfortunately

 

[Paulwirral]

I've had a 340i touring for over two years now , mineral grey with the m sport plus pack , it's very understated and does actually attract a few knowing glances and nods . It's real world as fast as you'll ever need to go , returns an average of 32 - 33 mpg over the 20k miles it's done , actually managed over 40 mpg once on a camera disciplined run !
Spec one carefully and it does stand out but not to much , and there's always the performance pack to take it up to 360ish bhp if you feel it needs more . They make a great noise in sport or sport plus too .
Don't get hung up on figures , they don't really count for much apart from the salesmans bragging rights .

 

[Steve84N]

Thanks for the info, always better to hear from owners than reviews based on driving for a few hours.

I get 30-31mpg in my Z4 3.0si on my commute so I do tend to achieve towards the upper end of quoted figures. My journey is about 30 miles with 1/3 A-Road/Motorway/City so it seems like 20mpg isn't a bad guess. Our e91 330i often ends up mid-20s as it needs a lot of revs to go anywhere swiftly.

That is quite a voracious appetite for tyres as I get up to 20k on the Z4! They aren't a hideously expensive size though at least. Not too concerned with power when it's a minimum of 457 but a little more noise might be something I'd do.

Have you got the facelift or the original that has potential issues with the head bolts?

The interior on the W205 is far nicer and I've become a bit of a snob on that front when you realise that's what you're surrounded by all the time you're sat in slow traffic. I honestly can't see the point in a mapped W205 in this country as you're already traction and speed limited. I think there's more fun to be had wringing a car to the redline from time to time than having something so powerful that you're limited to literally seconds and a couple of gears of doing so before it's downright anti-social.

Consequently, I agree with you Paul that a 340i is as quick as you ever need in reality but I'd definitely add the MPPSK. It was a combination of factors like no properly sporty seats with shoulder bolsters, lack of flair to the bodywork etc. I can see me being interested in the next generation 3 series as they will be doing an M Performance version with more power as standard and a few sporting trinkets to lift the model above a 320d. Trouble is, that's not due until 2019. http://www.bmwblog.com/2017/11/22/video-2019-bmw-m340i-spotted-doing-the-rounds-on-the-ring/

I'm trying to replace the Z4 and a 330i Touring with one car as my wife would then switch from driving the 330i to an S3. She could do with something a bit smaller for parking at work and I'm looking for something comfier but still interesting. We don't need an estate but they are mighty handy, we do have a dog and I prefer the looks to a saloon. I see this as a chance to scratch the V8 itch before it becomes unviable to do so.

 

[Z4M-2006]

Thanks for the info, always better to hear from owners than reviews based on driving for a few hours.

I get 30-31mpg in my Z4 3.0si on my commute so I do tend to achieve towards the upper end of quoted figures. My journey is about 30 miles with 1/3 A-Road/Motorway/City so it seems like 20mpg isn't a bad guess. Our e91 330i often ends up mid-20s as it needs a lot of revs to go anywhere swiftly.

That is quite a voracious appetite for tyres as I get up to 20k on the Z4! They aren't a hideously expensive size though at least. Not too concerned with power when it's a minimum of 457 but a little more noise might be something I'd do.

Have you got the facelift or the original that has potential issues with the head bolts?

The interior on the W205 is far nicer and I've become a bit of a snob on that front when you realise that's what you're surrounded by all the time you're sat in slow traffic. I honestly can't see the point in a mapped W205 in this country as you're already traction and speed limited. I think there's more fun to be had wringing a car to the redline from time to time than having something so powerful that you're limited to literally seconds and a couple of gears of doing so before it's downright anti-social.

Consequently, I agree with you Paul that a 340i is as quick as you ever need in reality but I'd definitely add the MPPSK. It was a combination of factors like no properly sporty seats with shoulder bolsters, lack of flair to the bodywork etc. I can see me being interested in the next generation 3 series as they will be doing an M Performance version with more power as standard and a few sporting trinkets to lift the model above a 320d. Trouble is, that's not due until 2019. http://www.bmwblog.com/2017/11/22/video-2019-bmw-m340i-spotted-doing-the-rounds-on-the-ring/

I'm trying to replace the Z4 and a 330i Touring with one car as my wife would then switch from driving the 330i to an S3. She could do with something a bit smaller for parking at work and I'm looking for something comfier but still interesting. We don't need an estate but they are mighty handy, we do have a dog and I prefer the looks to a saloon. I see this as a chance to scratch the V8 itch before it becomes unviable to do so.

Non of the facelift cars have headbolt issues,along with some of the pre facelifts.

Mine happens to be a pre facelift that is out of the headbolt issue range by some 2000 engines..


The majority of people dont see the point of a 457 bhp RWD car...Especially when a 300bhp car will do a similer job,but then a 200 bhp car will do a similar job to that...

The minority that DO see the point will see every reason to have a mapped W205,can you have too much power ?

 

[Steve84N]

OK, I phrased it badly...

I can see the point but don't hanker after that much power.

 

[Z4M-2006]

Ahhh

Fair enough

Why not have a go in the C63 and Rs and see what suits best...

You may fall in love with one or none

 

[Steve84N]

Nice, I do prefer the look of the pre-facelift.

I'm keeping an eye out for cars close by but it needs to be dealer not private to get a test drive.

 

[ocrx8]

Ahhh

Fair enough

Why not have a go in the C63 and Rs and see what suits best...

You may fall in love with one or none

I love these, the pre-facelift saloon is the best looking of all. If only this engine went into the R172 SLK (not that the 5.5 N/A is to be sniffed at).

 

[Z4M-2006]

Yep

Agreed

I like the external look of the pre facelift..,

But like the interior touches of the facelift lol..

They are a handsome car in the rightcoliur though

 

[Steve84N]

So...

I had a day off today as I never work on my birthday and rather than spend it at home on the PlayStation I went out for a test drive in each of these cars. It was very conclusive and not hard to see which one was the winner for me.

- One had seats that hugged you lovingly and the other's were so open it made the Z4 feel like a race seat.
- One understeered badly at moderate speed on a roundabout.
- Both made dirty noises on downshifts in the sportier gearbox settings.
- One sounded very ordinary until way up the rev range.
- One had gloopy steering and the other was a delight.
- One was even worse on fuel than the other.
- Both had nice interiors and gizmos.

The C63 feels way more special and is of course the winner. The gearbox was nowhere near as good as the ZF in the 340i but I could learn to get the best from it and there is a full manual control mode. The sound is bombastic and worth the fuel bills. Given that a similar age/mileage C63 is notably cheaper than an RS4 it would offset the better economy of the RS4.

I saw a white car with a red interior and while I definitely want the red I think I'd prefer silver or the graphite colour. The previous owner had tried to make it look like the 507 edition and I didn't like it other than the alcantara wheel.

The hunt is on!

 

[Z4M-2006]

Common sense prevailed then......

2 great cars,but totally different.

The C63 being a more of an event everytime you turn the key.


What is the spec/budget you are looking for ?

 

[Steve84N]

- Facelift for no head bolt issues and better interior.
- Red leather interior
- Any colour but black and ideally silver or the graphite
- Harmon Kardon
- Ideally DAB and reversing camera but not deal breakers
- Not fussed about the Performance version as it doesn't need more power and the brakes are more expensive
- I'd prefer to run a Quaife than OEM LSD so not fussed if it's just an open diff
- 40k miles or less

This can be had for plus or minus £30k where a similar RS4 is £5-10k more for some reason. Probably the horrendous fuel economy but the price difference is a few years of the extra fuel it'd drink compared to an RS4.