Audi S4 Avant: Driving Impressions – Passion. Some would say that it’s vital to living a happy and healthy life. It is not, however, necessarily restricted to the kind shared between two love-smacked adults. There’s passion for ideas, work, learning, food, travel, and of course, driving. Sadly, too many people in this world live their lives devoid of an inner desire to feed a need for any of the above, methodically drifting through each day behind a computer screen, eating bland meals while watching summer reruns, and getting from their suburban tract house to the urban office complex in a tan Toyota Camry sedan.

Don’t be one of them. Go skydiving, paint the living room bright red, eat out at an exotic restaurant, and trade in that PTA-approved minivan for a 2006 Audi S4 Avant. True, the price might liquidate the college fund, and with its stiff ride and tight interior this brute wagon comes up a bit short in the family-friendly department, but if the kids are small, out of the house, or of the canine variety, there’s plenty of room. And with 340 horsepower on tap, the all-wheel-drive S4 Avant just may unleash your inner passion for the road, causing you to finally realize that maybe it is all about the journey and not the destination. Or maybe it’ll just make the daily commute a bit more bearable.

Accompanying the S4 badges are what most enthusiasts would expect – a gutsy engine and some road-hungry hardware tucked in beneath a sleek German body. Most important among the mechanical bits is a 40-valve, dual overhead cam, 4.2-liter aluminum V8 cranking out 340 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 302 lb.-ft. of torque at 3,500 rpm, all working with a standard six-speed manual transmission to move the 3,979-lb. 2006 Audi S4 Avant most expeditiously. A Tiptronic six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters is also available, bumping the curb weight up to 4,057 pounds and allowing maximum horsepower to be reached at 6,800 rpms. Fuel economy is rated at 15 mpg city and 21 mpg highway with the manual, and 15/23 for the automatic. We achieved 15.3 mpg in mixed driving while cruising old-school style with a clutch pedal.

The V8 powertrain is just one of the all-wheel-drive S4 Avant’s critical parts. A sport-tuned suspension is comprised of a multi-link setup in front, a trapezoidal-link setup in the rear, and anti-sway bars bolted on at both ends. It’s all business with the brakes with large ventilated discs all around, ABS, electronic brake-force distribution, and electronic brake assistance. When road conditions are less than ideal or adrenaline takes over on curvy roads, the S4 Avant’s front, center, and rear locking differentials work to maintain forward momentum, while traction and stability control systems aim to get over-confident drivers home in one piece. Each 2006 Audi S4 Avant is shod with 235/40 Z-rated Continental SportContact 2 tires wrapped around 18-inch alloy wheels that are directed by a Servotronic variable-assisted rack-and-pinion steering system.

Impressive hardware is all fine and good, yet without some luxury the S4 Avant would be a track car and not a $49,820 luxury wagon. That’s the base sticker price with the manual transmission, including $720 for destination charges and $1,700 to cover a gas guzzler tax. Swap in the automatic transmission and the base price climbs to $50,620 (the gas guzzler tax with the automatic is only $1,300 in light of that model’s slightly improved fuel economy). For about $50,000 buyers of the 2006 Audi S4 Avant get the usual array of power items as well as headlight washers, power heated mirrors, high-intensity discharge headlights, dual-zone climate control, front power Recaro bucket seats, a 60/40 split folding rear bench with a center pass-through, leather upholstery, and alloy interior trim. There’s also a trip computer that incorporates a stop watch, a ten-speaker sound system, front-side and side-curtain airbags, and the added security of four years or 50,000 miles of free scheduled maintenance.

If there’s still some spare change in the kitty after the base price has been covered, buyers may want to choose one or more of the S4 Avant’s many options. Among them is a $2,900 Premium Package complete with a power moonroof, multiple memory functions, heated front seats, upgraded wheels, and rain-sensing wipers. An upgraded leather package that features Alcantara seat inserts is also available, as well as XM or Sirius satellite radio systems with Bose sound and Bluetooth connectivity for $1,500; heated rear seats for $225; carbon-fiber interior trim that goes for $300; rear-side airbags for $350; a $1,950 navigation system; and much more.

With that long list of available add-ons it’s easy to see how our test car, a 2006 Audi S4 Avant with the manual transmission, rang up at $56,945. Besides the $720 destination charge and $1,700 gas guzzler tax, that price included $475 for Dolphin Gray metallic paint, $2,900 for the Premium Package, $1,950 for the navigation system, $1,500 for the XM/Bose sound system, and $300 for carbon-fiber interior trim.

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