Auto News 5

I come from an Audi family, and spent the better part of a year driving a previous-generation 2007 S4 sedan with a six-speed manual. My mother also looked at the current S4 before ultimately buying a 2012 A4 2.0T, so I was elated when I was handed the keys to a six-speed S4 for the weekend. Unfortunately, the elation quickly faded after slipping behind the wheel. It was the same steering wheel from our old S4, but the car was nearly unrecognizable as an S4. Yes, it is still deceptively quick and can be a luxurious tourer when asked to be. But the new 3.0T supercharged engine (yes, it's supercharged not turbocharged, ignore what you think that "T" means) is too quiet and doesn't give the same kind of aural thrill that the old 4.2-liter V-8 gave even on normal acceleration. I've heard the 3.0T make good noises, but it was under full throttle in an S5 Cabriolet with the top down and equipped with the quick-shifting DSG gearbox. The S4 has lost its heart -- not just in the literal sense of Audi replacing the 4.2 with the 3.0T, but also in the sense that it is now just a cool and mechanical machine.

The BMW 328i has spent three months with us, and by this point we've already driven it across the country, sent it to a racetrack, and made a fair number of trips to the grocery store. In other words, we've already spent hours behind the steering wheel, in the leather seats, pressing buttons and shifting gears. After driving just over 10,000 miles, our editors have contributed their fair share of comments on the BMW's interior.

One year ago, Porsche chief Mattias Mueller let it known that a compact, open-top, two-seater would make a useful addition to the brand. Only nine months later, however, Herr Mueller stated that the time may not yet be right for such a new entry-level model. Misunderstanding, change of strategy, red herring? A bit of everything, it seems. Having spoken to the vehicle line chiefs from Weissach and to representatives of the supplier community, we are confident that proposed mid-engined project 551 has not been cancelled.