Auto Trader Ten Point Test rating:        81%

When it went on sale in the summer of 2000, the RS4 was the world’s most powerful production estate car, with 380bhp available from the Cosworth-fettled 2.7-litre twin-turbo V6. Within 10 days of the car being announced, all 300 UK-market cars were spoken for, so Audi secured another 100 examples and those also went instantly. Drive one and it’s not hard to see why.

With Audi having produced so many great cars since the original RS4, it’s easy to think of it as a bit old-fashioned now. However, as soon as those cars were delivered to their eager owners it was clear the first-generation RS4 was something special, and that hasn’t changed. But the car isn’t perfect...

1: Looks
The Germans are masters of understatement and it’s no different here; this may be a phenomenally fast car but the average person probably won’t spot that the RS4 is anything other than a regular A4 avant. So if it’s a Q car you’re after, this could be just the thing you’ve been looking for.

Despite those low-key looks, only the roof panel and bonnet are taken from the regular A4, but those in the know won’t take long to spot the cues; the wheelarches which are a little more flared than usual, the discreet badging and the beefier front air dam which incorporates driving lights plus some cooling slots at its trailing edge, for the front brakes. Discreet, but effective.

8/10

2: Looks inside
One brief look at the RS4’s cabin and you know immediately that this is an Audi, as the architecture is carried over from the regular A4. As a result, it’s beautifully put together, extremely well laid out and everything works brilliantly.

The Recaro seats are as supportive and comfortable as they look, while  there’s plenty of headroom for all four occupants; the rear seat is designed for two people rather than three.

9/10

3: Practicality
With the RS4 available only as a five-door estate, decent levels of practicality comes as standard for all examples – but only compared with other mind-bendingly fast road cars. With the RS4 based on Audi’s smallest estate, the luggage bay isn’t as big as you might hope, with just 390 litres available with the seats in place. What’s worse, because of the four-wheel drive transmission below, the boot floor is set quite high, reducing the amount of space available.

The rear seat legroom also isn’t especially generous; put a pair of six-footers in the front and suddenly the back seats become rather cramped. However, if you’re looking for pace, space and understated looks in one package, the main rival is also from Audi; its RS6.

6/10

4:Ride and Handling
As a serious performance car, the RS4 should thrill with every drive – but it doesn’t. Sure it’s very fast and capable, but the chassis isn’t as involving as it should be; it’s no competition for the BMW M3 for example, which sadly isn’t offered in estate form. Hit a bump mid-corner and the RS4 gets ruffled more easily than it should, while the steering isn’t as involving as it ought to be for such a driver-focused car.

However, while the suspension settings could do with some adjustment to sharpen up the handling a bit, the ride is astonishingly composed considering the RS4 sits on 18-inch tyres shod with 35-profile tyres. That’s certainly a great compensation, but with the RS4 being the pinnacle of the A4 range, you can’t help but think that Audi should really have struck a balance skewed more towards sharper handling.

7/10

5: Performance
The basis of the RS4 is the S4, which has been comprehensively reworked by the Audi’s Quattro division. This is to Audi what Motorsport is to BMW or AMG to Mercedes, and the team’s efforts have produced some stunning results. The S4’s twin-turbo 2671cc V6 has been upgraded with a sportier exhaust, a stronger block, lightened crankshaft, reworked ECU and a host of other tweaks.

The result is an engine with a higher specific output than any rival unit, at 142bhp per litre. Unsurprisingly, the results are phenomenal, with massive performance that can be exploited in just about any situation. With 380bhp and 325lb ft of torque to transmit from a twin-turbo 2.7-litre V6, the RS4 needs its quattro four-wheel drive transmission in anything but the driest of conditions.

Thanks to massive grip and traction, the RS4 can despatch the 0-60mph sprint in just 4.7 seconds and 0-100mph takes just 11.2 seconds; those times are faster than BMW’s M5 and not far behind the Porsche 911 GT3. This is one seriously quick car!

10/10

6: Running costs
Of course there’s a penalty to pay for such accessible performance, and that’s some pretty steep running costs. The official combined fuel consumption figure is 23.5mpg, but you’ll be doing well to get 20mpg – and if you really cane the Audi it’ll return fuel economy into single figures.

Insurance will be steep too, as the RS4 is rated at group 20, while servicing is hardly going to be cheap. The service intervals are variable, but drive the car with brio and the car could be on the ramps every few thousand miles, with fresh brakes and tyres soon adding up.

With CO2 emissions of 288g/km, the RS4 also sits in the highest road tax bracket (for its age), so you’ll pay £210 each for for a disc. Still, after all the other running costs, such a trifling sum will probably come as a relief!

6/10

7: Reliability
For such a performance machine, the RS4 is amazingly reliable if it’s properly maintained. Aside from high oil consumption, the RS4 doesn’t suffer from any common failings. However, as these cars become less valuable and consequently less cared for, there’s a good chance that servicing will have been skimped while crashed and badly repaired cars are also about. Careful checks will soon make it clear if you’re thinking of taking on a liability.

10/10

8: Safety
As you’d expect for such a performance machine, the RS4 is packed with safety kit from bumper to bumper. However, while twin front airbags are standard, side airbags are a £470 option.

The massive brakes also boost the RS4’s safety credentials, as there are 360mm ventilated discs at the front, gripped by six-pot callipers; at the rear are 312mm vented discs with four-pot callipers. Unsurprisingly, anti-lock brakes feature as standard along with traction control, although there’s no electronic stability control, which is a disappointing oversight.

8/10

9: Equipment
Sitting at the top of the A4 range, the RS4 has a long standard equipment list. Climate control and leather trim are just two of the headline pieces of kit, and as there’s just one trim level offered it’ll come as no surprise that the RS4 does have an options list. Included on this are a sunroof (£801) and multimedia system including sat-nav (£3230).

8/10

10: X-Factor
If you’re looking for a seriously fast compact estate, the RS4 is a true masterpiece. For ultimate driving thrills it’s not quite there, but the Audi is hardly a dog; it’s more a case of being outclassed by less practical performance rivals such as the BMW M3. The problem is finding an RS4; it sold out as soon as it was announced and owners tend to get very attached to them…

9/10

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