 Comparison Test: 2013 Audi S4 vs 2014 Lexus IS 350. Click image to enlarge |
Ride and Handling
Going in, the Audi S4’s Quattro AWD sounds like a significant advantage, but on the day we drove, perfect weather and dry roads leveled the playing field for an evaluation of the vehicles’ more dynamic properties, perhaps favouring the lighter rear-drive Lexus. In our efforts to feel out the limits, we took them to the twistiest road we could find. However, being a public road, we were still limited by a measure of restraint and a healthy fear of law enforcement.
Within these constraints, I found the dynamic behaviour almost too close to call. The S4’s weight is felt in tight quarters, but Quattro shifts power to the back wheels when pressing out of corners, and the torque-vectoring Quattro Sport Differential will even push power to the outside rear wheel to counteract the S4’s innate understeer tendencies. The S4’s grip was tenacious, helped along by the 19-inch wheels shod with 255/35 R19 Continental ContiSportContact tires.
The Lexus IS features a traditional rear-wheel-drive setup, the chosen configuration of performance drivers (on dry roads). Lexus does offer AWD in both IS 350 and IS 250 trim, but at the expense of the eight-speed gearbox found only in the IS 350. The Lexus IS 350’s contact patches were 18-inch wheels with Bridgestone Turanza rubber – a slightly disappointing selection for a car with the F Sport package.
The eight-speed autobox is lightning quick and can be put on high alert in Sport and Sport+ modes, or dialed back for commuting in Eco mode. On our test route, the transmission kept the engine in the right spot every time, though you are welcome to try your hand with the paddle shifters in manual mode, or you can just grab the occasional gear change in any mode.
    Comparison Test: 2013 Audi S4 vs 2014 Lexus IS 350. Click image to enlarge |
There is no question that this transmission is fantastic (and a shame it is only on one out of four IS trims), but it still falls short of either of Audi’s transmission options. Granted, the six-speed manual transmission might be a legacy nod to a shrinking group of “God Save the Manual” aficionados, but it is brilliant. Engaging, mechanical, and yet without any punishing effort required, even when tootling along in stop-and-go traffic. Audi’s twin-clutch S Tronic seven-speed is also lightning quick, adaptable to daily driving or performance mode, if not as smooth as this Lexus auto.
The Lexus also trumped the Audi in its ride and handling compromise. While nearly matching the S4’s capabilities in the corners, there was no question that the IS delivered a more comfortable ride in normal or Sport+ mode, in which the Adaptive Variable Suspension firms up the damper response along with edgier engine, transmission and steering.
 2014 Lexus IS 350. Click image to enlarge |
Speaking of steering, Jeff found the IS 350’s noticeably lighter, even in its most aggressive Sport+ mode, and less communicative overall, while I was indifferent to the Lexus steering and feedback, and swear by the Audi’s precisely metered adaptive variable power assist, which always seems to be the right weight, from light and free for parking lot maneuvering to a firm tight resistance at highway speeds and in aggressive driving.
Perhaps a track would reveal the better balance of the RWD IS 350, but on public roads roads, and in our climate, the S4 would be the year-round handling champ and the level of engagement between man and machine, even if it does give up in daily comfort with its firm, unyielding suspension.
