Audi gives RS4 Avant a fresh face for 2020

AUDI Sport has foreshadowed a mainly cosmetic facelift for its RS4 Avant just 18 months after the current fourth-generation hot-shot wagon was launched Down Under.

 

The company has promised to ship the revamped version to Australia by mid 2020, following in the wheel tracks of the similarly refreshed A4 donor car that becomes available in the second quarter.

 

Now sporting a wider, frameless grille, redesigned headlights and other tweaks around the nose, the RS4 Avant gains the black-gloss-painted honeycomb grille mesh design seen previously on the recently unveiled RS6 Avant and RS7 Sportback.

 

The twin-turbo petrol V6 engine is carried over unchanged, delivering the same 331kW of power and 600Nm of torque to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and quattro all-wheel drive.

 

Inside, the biggest addition is a centrally mounted 10.1-inch touchscreen that takes over most of the functions previously operated by a round control knob on the console.

 

The screen, which is tilted slightly towards the driver, features a new sat-nav system that is said to be more versatile and user-friendly, with connectivity introducing new services such as car-to-X traffic guidance that takes advantages of “swarm intelligence” delivered by collective Audis on the roads.

 

In the Audi virtual cockpit, the driver can view tyre pressures, engine torque and power output, engine oil temperature, lap timings, acceleration times and g-forces.

 

A shift light display prompts the driver to upshift when the rev limit is reached. This display can also be shown on the optional head-up display.

 

A new RS Mode button on the flat-bottomed steering wheel activates two driving modes – RS1 and RS2 – which are displayed on the digital instrument panel.

 

Audi designers have also enlarged the steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles to make grabbing another gear easier in manual driving mode.

 

The latest RS4 Avant boasts more than 30 driver assist systems including adaptive cruise control with stop and go, intersection assist, lane change warning and kerb warning.

 

The paint palette of eight colours includes two new ones – Turbo blue and Tango red metallic. 

 

Pricing will be announced closer to launch date, but the current RS4 Avant sells for $159,529 plus on-road costs.

 

To the end of August, Audi Australia had sold 882 A4s, representing a decline of 17.2 per cent on the same period of last year.