Auto Express Track Battle - Audi RS4 Competition vs BMW M3 Touring Competition
BMW's new M3 Touring Competition has been hogging the limelight in fast estate circles recently, so keen to show it up Audi have sharpened its RS4 to create its own Competition variant. With less power, but also less weight and stickier rubber, will Audi win retribution? You might think you know how this is going to play out, but the result might surprise you...
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00:00 Intro
00:15 Specs
00:44 BMW impressions
01:16 BMW lap
02:38 Audi impressions
03:32 Audi lap
04:40 Results!
Im an M3 fan boy all day had all versions, Although the B7 RS4 is still my favourite saloon car. The RS4 had been left behind in terms of dynamics over the last few generations and im so glad it has now caught up. Should keep them all at the top of their game 🔥🔥
I used to own a B7 RS4 Avant and to this day maybe the favourite car I’ve owned. I can’t put my finger on exactly why that is, it’s probably lots of little reasons really.
@@dutchschaefer5787 Im willing to bet it might be related to the cylinder count under the hood.
@@augustortiz your partly right, the engine is a masterpiece. It’s perfect for the car, how it handles, feels and the noise. A V8 revving to nearly 8500rpm sounds incredible.
@@dutchschaefer5787 Nothing like that generation of super sedans from 2007-2014 where all of them had N/A V8's/V10's that screamed. The Rs4 was a real beauty of a car and that engine really was amazing.
Jeremy Clarkson did say the B7 RS4 had one of the best engines ever made...
Steve testing: great. BMW fanboys melting down in the comments: Priceless.
Anyone would complain when their favorite car loses due to weaker tires. And this isn't even speculation, the M3 is faster on every other track I could find.
@@xIcarus227 because the BMW used semi slick cup 2's on every other track while the Audi has ran every track on street P Zero Corsa tires lol. Keep in mind we have yet to see a factory Audi driver take the RS4 Competition out on track with Trofeos or Cup 2s.
@@randyragy4592 I already answered somewhere else that the Nurburgring run for example was in damp conditions, where the Cup 2 are weak. And we've yet to see a factory BMW driver take the M3 out on track too, so what's the deal? We know how manufacturers like to bend the rules during those record runs, so what's the point? To do a proper comparison you'd need the same driver on the same tires in the same conditions which we're not likely to get.
@@xIcarus227 it was not a damp road it was sunny and 19 degrees outside the the track was 29 degrees Celsius.. read the sport auto magazine if you don’t believe me
@@randyragy4592 like I told you in the other comment, watch the video. Search for 'sport auto m3 touring' at the top, first video with the obnoxiously green car. Track is wet aside from a few portions. Quit coping and face the facts.
Rs4 looks waay better ..and faster 👌
Tyre choice never gets mentioned in car reviews. This test proves how important it can be
Michelin pilot sport 4s star marked are basically a cup 2
Bmw knows better, as the Audi, which tyres are better for their car... Especially when we are talking about M and RS models...
BMW knows better, as the Audi, which tyres are better for their car... Especially when we are talking about M and RS models
@@user-ym9ik9ow3rThey do, which is why they offer optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 for track work. I’d like to see apples to apples comparison. Tires are super important on such a tight circuit.
@@stefanomarcellino6701 not even close when you look at the tread block design, check out tire reviews side by side test and see the laptime difference between the both.
To put into context how much Audi improved the Rs4 competition - It's a full 20 seconds (yes, 20 seconds) faster around the Nürburgring than the regular RS4. That new $16k suspension setup they added to the car is magic.
To put it in context, the M3 is way quicker when the driver doesn’t sandbag. Its blatantly obvious his driving was erratic and scrappy.
@@stubones I don't think he sandbagged though. in this video, @2:07, he said he also tested the M3 sedan and got a 43.9 which is the exact same time as the RS4 comp. So are you saying he sandbagged both the M3 touring and the M3 Sedan two separate times?
@@randyragy4592I don’t think so either. Adding to that is the tire difference. I think it plays a huge role at a track like this one.
And this car wasn’t equipped with carbon ceramics
@randyragy4592 M fanboys are always gonna complain when they get beat. The simple fact of the matter is, BMW added AWD to the M3 and which added more weight than the already AWD RS4. So obviously Audi knows how to package AWD. The M3 having more power and more weight, results in pretty similar Power to Weight. So they were perfectly matched. Imo
The RS4 is now also fast in the corners and it's nice to see that the engineers have finally got this right.
I clicked on this without thinking and was created by the inimitable tones of STEVE!...yay! More Steve. Great review as ever. More please. I'd love to see a retrospective of the outgoing F Type (R), as there aren't any car shows left to wax lyrical about this beautiful dinosaur and they do represent the end of an era (especially for Jaguar).
The nostils weigh 150 kgs?
Ugliness adding weight would explain a great deal on BMW's entire lineup. Seriously, their cars are just porky this generation.
RS4 on looks alone
Bruh if u havent seen the new bmw m3 or m4 with an adro body kit and grille or the CSL one stop what ur doing and check them out. Ritta rides just reviewed the best looking M car ive ever seen in the bmw m4 csl. Other then that though i prefer the m3s look just need some aftermarket 300-800$ add ons and it looks super mean and aggresive. All types of stuff u can do to it. Performance wise i just couldnt go back to an older bmw too, these new xdrive M cars launch like a tesla plaid. With just 10k in tunes its faster then one too. I use to hate the grille till i saw the aftermarket options. It looks tons better then this fat wagon. Plus it'd faster from a dig a roll and around the track. But I guess ur just an audi owner
😂😂😂😂😂bmw fanboy sit down 🤦♂️
Well done Audi.
Not a fair comparison. Better tires make a lot of difference, since they connect the car to the road. Plus, in M3 there was a driver error at the chicane that costed extra time as well
Shocking that a bigger, heavier, and more powerful car would be harder to manage around a tight circuit.
We need more Sutcliffe content! Would love to see him and Harris together.
You’re not telling me he can feel 2 tenths. 😂. Also repeat the test over and over and they’ll probably keep switching results.
The actually do these tests several times and then pick the best lap time. The one where he speaks while driving, was not the actual best lap time. They shot another lap just to do the narration. It's impossible to get the best lap time if his main focus was to entertain the camera.
Steve is one of the few proper testers with real track skills, rather than some random boy wannabe racer - so yes he can lol!
I hate to say it but seems that for a first time Audi RS guys have beaten BMW M guys in suspension department. Perhaps learned something from Porsche...
Or perhaps when the host repeats for 3 or 4 times that the RS4 has better tires, it might make a difference.
Suspension compliance over kerbs has not much to do with tyres in this case. P Zero Corsas have much higher grip levels than PS4 but thats not really relevant here.
@@ilvesmannot really much higher
Well it's about time when they made the same car for 7 years.
@@Corvolet5 it's a great car so who cares? The longer they build it the better. Next one ain't gonna be an ICE
BMW fanboys crack me up 😂😂😂😂
Chill, tyres made all the difference.
😂😂😂😂....Bro they making excuses about tyres forgetting the audi has lesser power & bmw is just a fat pig
Great piece! Thanks.
I'm happy the Audi won. Imagine if Audi increased the power like we all wanted. It would be a M3 funeral.
Keep in mind the B10 will come out next year. RIP BMW
RS6
I'd buy the Audi for the wheels alone! They look fantastic!
Plus the fact it has a proper grill not that hideous BMW buck tooth thing 😂
Fun track battle really enjoyed this vid> Win or lose that RS4 Comp in this spec 2:48 is the winner hands down imo. Just look at it 2:57
Great motoring journalism! Lovely to see Sutters at the wheel!
I love both cars, however I suspect the times say more about the rubber and what looked like an autocross track. On a proper high speed track on equal tires I’d suspect the result to be different.
The best road tester out there.
My first impression was the Audi looks so much nicer than the BMW. If I was in a position fortunate enough to buy one, no matter what, my heart would always opt for the BMW.
Audi wins on looks alone 😅. I don’t understand why they called it competition tho
Completely different class of tires. I'd put my bank account on the BMW if they were on equal tires.
The fact that Audi beat bmw with less power is already a win in my books
Surely you want both cars on an even playing field for a timed track test. That rubber difference leaves so much on the table.
Does anyone know why Audi didn’t give the uk comp the carbon bucket seats
Did the Bimmer have carbon ceramic brakes? …noticed the Audi didn’t.
Based on looks alone, I would have gone Audi - the fact that it IS actually quicker, is just the most gorgeous, soft, moist, tender cherry on the top!!!!!
0.3 faster with r-compound tires vs street tires means the Audi is definitely slower. About the looks… they’re wagons so they’re both hideous pigs The BMW’s front half looks way better than the Audi bc the Audi has a grill worse than everything besides a Lexus.
I have a G80 M3 and I'd say the Audi is more pretty, the BMW is more aggressive. I agree that the Audi's stickier tires made a good difference but the M3 is also paying the price of its weight on the track
Quicker? Did you miss the like 4 occasions where the host said it's on stickier tires? 😂 Fastestlaps shows the M3 Touring at a fat 5 seconds faster than the RS4 Competition on the Nordschleife, so the RS4 far from being faster.
@@sportbikejesus6297 BMW front better than the Audi's...get off the crack pipe! lol
@@sportbikejesus6297I mean it is incredibly subjective but I bet if we polled 1000 random people on the streets most would find the audi to be more appealing. Again it’s a opinion
I’ll be honest I wasn’t expecting that result. I’m a fast Audi guy all day but I always know a BMW is quicker round a track. Then this result spun it on its head. 🤯
And my favourite, touge timeattack made by Drift King himself. BMW M4 0:27.98 A4 2.0 TFSI quattro 0:28.10 BMW M235i 0:28.21 Absurdly good.
I love what audi did with the competition. Made it exciting enough to compete with cars for people that don't prefer the audi way, it would have been perfect if they increased the power at least another 25-30bhp. Obviously a simple remap is enough to do even way more than that on these cars. The suspension setup makes it good enough to compete on a smaller track like this, but it will obviously lose on a track with longer straights. But still cool to see it beat the m3 comp, and totally destroy the standard rs4. I don't see a reason not to get the competition package on it. Wish they had them in the states. We're stuck with the sportback rs5 comp, which is cool, but I love the audi wagons. Would prefer this over the rs6 comp.
I have that 2.9L in my Cayenne S and it is a great engine!
That's a shock would never expect that
I'd take the Audi to be completely honest. It's fast enough anyway and well, the looks and interior are much better imo. That being said, im pretty sure the same tyre on both and the M3 would monster the Audi.
no
This is a small and tight track, so the suspension magic audi worked on is the reason it really shines here. Straights aren't long enough to show the m3's power advantage. Sure, the m3 would be a little quicker than the audi with comparable tires, but it would be pretty close. ps4s are 80-90% of the tire that the corsas are, I'd figure the bmw would gain maybe .3-.4 on it's time with the same tires.
Wow, I thought the M3 would wipe the floor of the RS4 Comp. I'm genuinely shocked. I'm sure on a track with more straights where the M3's power advantage, it would handily beat the RS4 but chalk one up for Team Audi!!!!
very surprising result. I wonder how much difference the tyres make?
Or better tires.
@@An.Individual I'd say that judging by Fastestlaps painting the M3 as faster on every other track they have, it's pretty clear the tires made a big difference here.
@@xIcarus227 Look at you commenting on all these posts, get a f#@kin life man...geezus.
I’m sure Sutcliffe kicked the tail out of the rear-biased M3 somewhere, hence the 0.22-second difference. A better driver would have seen the BMW win, not by much, but it would certainly have not lost.
130kg is a gigantic difference, especially on a track like this. I'm not sure why so many people are surprised by the outcome?
Mainly because and RS4 is not seen as a track car in any way. M3 on the other hand...
and 60hp more? (even more, if we would look on dyno)
Yep small track benefits Audi. Would have loved to see the results in dry conditions in RWD mode on the M3.
Audi all the way, saving got an RS4 at this very moment.
so cool these German wagons!
On this track yes, these cars should be driven on some longer faster tracks than this one to really tell the potentials and differences, M3 is still the benchmarks I guess.
This short track put in advantage the lighter car with stickier tires. On a faster and longer track the result could be different.
The lighter & less powerful car won ....The RS4 comp is a better in all aspects
Having driven both back to back I am not surprised the Audi is faster around LLandow. But for me I prefer the BMW because the driving position, interior and tech are light years ahead of the Audi B9 RS4 which is starting to show it's age.
Audi wins the beauty competition.
Impressive!
I've watched all videos on M3 Toruing on youtube and your review is first that says that RS4 has better handling LOL something is dodgy here !!
Too bad the EA839 is not that reliable and thus you don’t see any big power builds with that engine and Audi couldn’t even give it a power upgrade with the facelift😂. With the S58 we all know it’s a monster with stage 2 people running 9s without touching the internals. M3 CS and M4 CSl already comes with upgraded powers so we know how much more headroom the engine has. Good on Audi for tweaking the suspension and fine tuning on the Rs4 but the engine itself almost pays for the M3/4s
Go look gregor10 and stop spread myths. 2.9 V6 itself is at same lvl at s58, just aux is on lower tier, you have to stage 2 it and thats it.
How come UK-spec RS4 Competitions don't get the upgrades that Euro-spec cars get, such as the carbon seats, etc?
Current gen RS without comp, not a fan. With comp, awesome.
Ignoring BMW current lack of any styling capabilities it’s something they struggle with historically and current M3 M2 are top examples, the industry just shows how they are taking engineering down the wrong road, more weight just makes worse cars.. it’s literally a hole they dig and then spend years trying to engineer themselves out off. This test is one of those rare examples that proves it. At the end of day there is not much in it on the road with these two cars.. I find the EV future even more unattractive especially as you watch BMW putting every kind of colourful bling factor they can come up with to try and make their product interesting. 7 series being a top example.❤
You are right in general, but I suspect the tyres are much to "blame" for the result in this video. Set the BMW up with a set of Cup 2s or the same Pirelli the Audi has, and I bet the results are reversed, and then some.
I reckon the tyre on the Audi is worth about half a second on that short lap......still impressive though. Audis don't usually beat bmws or get that close on track comparison tests.....
The Audi has fixed sport springs, ceramic brakes, better tires, and less weight. Beats more power
I think Auto Express can capitalise on the end of top gear and The Grand tour. If they don’t it’s such a mistake. Great review , could have gone deeper into the full ownership profiles though
I approve more Wagon content!
Love the RS4. Looks way better than the M3 too
Bruh if u havent seen the new bmw m3 or m4 with an adro body kit and grille or the CSL one stop what ur doing and check them out. Ritta rides just reviewed the best looking M car ive ever seen in the bmw m4 csl. Other then that though i prefer the m3s look just need some aftermarket 300-800$ add ons and it looks super mean and aggresive. All types of stuff u can do to it. Performance wise i just couldnt go back to an older bmw too, these new xdrive M cars launch like a tesla plaid. With just 10k in tunes its faster then one too. I use to hate the grille till i saw the aftermarket options now the old bmws look old
Meh, all Audis have looked boring lately. The Beaver-W commands a lot more road presence no matter what.
Can't afford either or ever will, but I'd have the Audi, even the badge/drivers have a bad reputation. Great video, nice to see a presenter that's over 35 for a change.
Yes i been hit twice by Audi drivers.
Not that BMW drivers have a much better rep... (I have driven both - no offense meant)
Hard to take the result seriously given the Audi's tyre advantage.
Goes to demonstrate the fixation with power is often flawed
😅😅😅😅 Steve “ didn’t expect that.. nor the BMW 😅😅😅
tyre makes huge difference.
These cars will make history
As an owner of a B9 Audi RS5 and G80 BMW M3Comp, I'll say I love them both. Audi wins in the styling department for sure and in the winter months the quattro prevails over xdrive partly because of the front/rear bias of the two platforms. I also track both cars and am a bit surprised by these results. Over the few 2.5 mile tracks that I frequent, the BMW times are consistently ~3 seconds faster than the best I can muster in the Audi.
Tyres...
just chill for a second. They are Pzero Corsa's not fkn Trofeo R's. Just because Audi for ONCE put proper tires on their RS cars and they start Humiliating BMW's all the BMW fanboys need to start crying about tires. What about all the years gone by when M cars have been on Star marked PS4S tires vs the competitors on Hankook Ventus 3's LOL. I didn't hear any BMW fanboys cry about tires then.@@dlevi67
This is the RS4 Competition. They upgraded the suspension on the car to make it track focused. I take it you have a normal RS5 too and not the RS5 Competition either.
@@ellasOLE22 Nobody is crying or a fanboy - projecting much, kid? The lap difference was 0.3 seconds, which I would hardly call a 'humiliation'; Audi never fitted Hankook as OEM on this model, so try to calm down and look at the thing objectively. Given the two cars are fairly equally matched in terms of power-to-weight, it's not surprising that the one with the slightly better tyres is slightly faster around a tight circuit. The one who needs to chill is you...
I’m a fan of both brands but to add more context to my earlier comment. Yes, my RS5 is not the Competition, but it is on KW V2 coilovers and running Michelin PS4 tires. My M3 is on KW HAS and still running the stock Pirelli PZeros which are not great. Good to see Audi trying to close the gap
Audi should have upped to 500bhp for the runout special
Mickey Mouse circuit and the other car has sticky tires. What a great comparision. Omfg :D
where's Steve been?
Prison.
Two versus complex absolutely the new enginering auto in years.
No two laps can ever be the same that’s why to really see who’s faster you need a drag race , trust me the Audi is not faster , the m3 would beat it pretty badly
I think the same tyres on the BMW would see it marginally beat the Audi. Driven by the only journalist faster than Chris Harris also helps any car😊
Great performance from Audi! A car that was developed over 8 years ago destroys a new over-hyped M3. The M3 is also great, but it can obviously be even better.
On the same rubber, M3 will beat Audi big time.
The tires are among the most crucial part of this equation .... therefor meaningless race
wow
Worst still the M3 had ceramic brakes and the Audi has steels.
Sorry, but they are not comparable: the tyre-advantage of the Audi is too much on a track!
Bmw ❤
Well it’s not , you can only say that when you run them on the same tyre compound, tyres are everything 🤦♂️
I think theres a lot of journalism tropes thrown around about Audi, which just arent true anymore. They dont understeer anymore and they certainly go well.
They never understeered anyway. If there was limit, it was just case that Audi had too much grip on rear axle.
@@bapr3887you literally just defined understeer with word spaghetti. 😂
@@ukwan Problems with understeer, "cant turn" "audisteer" are not same, when car have too much grip in rear axle. Too much grip in rear axle is very easy to fix and in every audi there is 3-4 easy tricks to make rear slighty to a lot more loose. (but why anybody would do it, when there is literally no problem?) Audi just making rear axle more and more loose. People think, that they dont understeer anymore, when their front axle grip is still in same, record high level, rear axle just pops first, cant keep up with front anymore.
Fun to watch, but nobody can drive 10 laps with only 2 tenths difference per lap in the same car.
Get the comp M3, and the same tires as RS4, and compare again..
Easy 1sec between the Corsa and the PS4S.
Audi RS models are the better all around cars. I always preferred taking my RS6 over my M3, for any occasion.
'better all round cars'. On which planet do you live? Utter nonsense.
@@Chris-jt4ux I fly close to the sun, son.
yeah, la la land by the sound of it.@@doca8792
How and why is the BMW so heavy? The RS4 is no lightweight itself!
Surely the tire choice doesn’t play any factor in the result 🤦♂️
This is too close to call a win with different tires.
Tyres made a huge difference.
Not that much - those Michelins are a cracking tyre, would make VERY little difference on a track that small.
The michelins are known to suit the BMW very well and the Perelli corsa's work well on the lighter unsprung weight of the RS4 comp. So no it wouldn't make a difference. The M3 touring is not the the best mid size wagon the outgoing B9 is. It always was the better looker now its the better track and all road wagon too.
@@Gez492The M3 touring is without a doubt the best mid size wagon. Your assumption that an actual track Tyre on a circuit like that and with all the torque the M3 offers wouldn't make a difference is lunatic.
@@Gez492 if they didn't make a difference then how do you explain the RS4 being slower by a good margin on every other track could find aside from this one? I don't know why some of you people in this comment section are downplaying the importance of tires. It's the single most important mod you do when you're going to a track.
@PilotSuperSport I like the way you twist the narrative to suit your preference, this is a very difficult handling track, with lots of changes in direction, and it showed up the weight transfer issues with the BMW. something hitherto the Beemer fan boys would have been throwing at the Audi. So now you only want it to race on circuits with not too many corners or a dig because it has a bigger motor with more torque and much more power, lunatic indeed 🙄
I do love Steve but this test seems a little suspect. M3 Lap seems very sketchy, maybe trying too hard on less sticky tyres….
Think the BMW would look better in another colour.I wish Alfa did a Gulia estate.☘️☘️☘️
Put on the M3 Touring the same tires like the optional track tires and it will be faster than the RS 4 Competition. Not sure what this video wants to say by comparing two cars with different tire sets?? Just ridiculous
NIO ET5T....is th answer
Achievement by Audi finally being able to beat a bmw on a track xD Id still pick the M3 tho=)
He looked bored in the Audi. The BMW looked far more engaging and entertaining
Errrrr .... what?
Dont worry....BMW will release a M3 touring CS! This is confirmed from BMW...delivered to Aus mid 2025 and will be a great send off for the s58 engine before the electrification revolution ...
I know this is not the theme of the video in general, and here, I'm speaking broadly in general terms, but it seems that since the latest 5/7 years ago, from the all 3 big german names, AUDI seems to be sleeping in general terms. Merc has drop the competition for sure and threw themselves deeply into the electric trend, BMW has clearly stayed giving seriously sport models day in day out, and AUDI has kept more subdued with stagnated models with no update whatsoever since when they were lauched back in 2016/2017. Yeah, I know that just recently we got the new "Performance" variants of the RS6/RS7, but... Could that be too little too late...?
M3 Touring is simply too heavy for this tight track
Surprise from Audi, can't believe..
If audi put some more power ,for example 22hp more so both of the cars would have the same ratio hp/kg, the audi would be clearly ahead of BMW... Nevertheless Audi is the winner!...💪🔥❤️
lol no.
I’m a huge VAG owner/fan but I’ve never liked Audi exteriors except the R8 & TT. Their interiors are nice but I find Audi exteriors resemble VW! I might be in the minority here but the BMW just looks so much better/sinister. I’ve owned/currently own numerous VAG products but I’ve never owned an Audi. Enough said. YMMV…
Now let's imagine the Rs4 with the same power 😂
now lets imagine the M3 with the same tyres😂
@@Chris-jt4ux would probably still be slower 😂
@@lmtd4565stop kidding yourself.
Probably an aftermarket chip would do the work. If you decide to have it tuned by ABT to the same power output, you'e gonna have to invest 30k. Quite hefty if you ask me.
Audi guys thinking they’ve won and then the CS version arrives.
Need the same tires
I don't get what's "competition" stands for. Those cars do not compete anywhere (afaik) and you can't turn them in competition cars. Maybe it's a competition that only exist in german manufacturers's heads beetwen themselves.