This was peak Audi design for me, and VW followed soon after. I wish there were more old A4s than new A3s and A1s on the road: my eyes would be really thankful.

I have had my b5 Rs4 for 15 years now. It has been very reliable when used regularly. Only time it started giving problems was when I decided to store it for 2 years as I wanted to keep mileage down. Drive your cars regularly and they will love you for it. Don’t worry about putting mileage on, as that’s what they made for.

Not sure how many people feel the same way, but the B5 and C5 Audi designs have aged remarkably well.

I bought my B5 RS4 5 years ago a series of progressively more powerful B5s (1.8T, 1.8TQS, S4 saloon & S4 Avant) and it has been very reliable. . Other than the usual brake pads, wheel bearings, CV boots, track rod ends, the only other things I have had to replace are both EGT sensor circuit boards (DIY replacement with both PCBs costing £76 from Poland) and an alternator requiring removing the front bumper and moving the lock carrier to the Service Position. There isn't much space up front and to replace just the fan belt requires full dismantling of the front but with practice, you can get this down to c.30 minutes. It's an awesome car and probably one of the best looking estates out there. It's from an era where you had just the right balance of technology without being over the top. No silly over complicated computerised menus for everything and a proper manual gearbox.

My old car. Had it nearly 14 years. Gear knob was from esp engineering. Makes changing gear so much better than standard

Savage machine even to this day. In the early 2000’s in Dublin My neighbour and his wife were held at knifepoint, forced to get all the registration forms, spare keys , insurance certs etc. then tied up til their young kids found them in the morning. He had a tracker on it and it was found in a container in the docs, waiting to be shipped to Eastern Europe . Cops got it back and 3 lads were sent to prison for a long time. They boiled the kettle and threatened to pour it on a sleeping baby . True story

Never thought I’d say this. This early generation RS4 looks better than the RS2. Lot of love for this. Her front end just so pretty

I’ve owned a B5 RS4 for manyyyy years. Up to 330,000km now and it still goes so very well. It’s not cheap but the cost is mostly just top quality oil, tyres and the odd sensor or minor leak here and there. I was certainly surprised to hear you say many find them unreliable. My friend had a B7 RS4 and that definitely had a nicer chassis but the engine has so much less character! It’s fast, fun and can take the kids on holiday. I love the worst of air as the turbos spool up. I love how analogue it is. I love how understated it is. I love it, its worth every penny, it’s unlikely I’ll ever sell it.

A 1999 Ming Blue S4 B5 Avant has been my daily drive for the past 17 years! Now with 290k miles under it's belt, it has been totally reliable and I still love driving it.

I used to own the B7 RS4 for 5 years, but always lusted for the B5 RS4 - a true dream wagon especially in red ❤️❤️❤️

I drove one for 11+ years. I love the car, but it gives headaches. Wouldn't start quite often. Rims warp easily. Never nice to do major repairs, especially in the Quattro/RS drive train (all hefty custom orders by now). The rear spoiler flew off at 300 km/h. The side mirror started leaking some weird goo all right on the paint on the door... Things like that. Despite the negatives, the B5 RS4, to me, still is an extraordinary car. I have had great experiences with it and for some reason it just won't go out of style. The way it drives is utterly reliable and the force of the twin turbos never gets old. The main three pros are the understated styling, the practicality of a wagon and the performance... I am so happy to have owned it for such a long time. As with any performance car: as long as you have the funds to keep it pristine, go for it. PS: Go for the non-tuned 380 bhp standard one. It is down-tuned to make it last for ages, Audi found a great balance. O yes, mine had a sunroof, so it was an option back then.

I've had my 2000 model Nogaro B5 S4 for 16 years now and loved every moment. They didn't import any Nogaro RS4s into Oz, but if they had, I'd own one now. Re reliability - All of the big expensive bits have worn well - still on the original clutch at 263,000km, engine unopened. Little bits of annoyance are the front outer CV boots, coolant leaks and oil leaks from the back of the heads. Oh, and once you replace the front suspension bushes with quality urethane ones, steering response is sharpened significantly. This car has lived with five Porsches during my tenure - the Porsches have gone but this remains! Loved the vid, thanks!

Haha. My old car 👍🏼. Glad to see it’s still on its original plates too. Was mint when I sold it in 2005 and good to see it looking as good as it did back then.

I picked up a B5 rs4 in August 2020. Biggest issue was with the EGT sensors but it was a simple enough DIY fix. I was after a b7 rs4 as a classic for weekend trips etc but the more I read about the b5 the more I liked. I’ve really enjoyed owning and driving it so far. I definitely think it handles a lot better than the understeering lump that you always hear about in the forums and the automotive press.

One of my favourites. First gen A4 interior is solid and still looks good

Hi James, I think you are wrong re- running costs, I ordered my car in the summer of 98 when it was first rumoured and collected it 1st Nov 2000, Nogaro blue. I still have it and am probably the only "one owner car" left, it has done 138,000 miles and has had me smiling every one of them. It was upgraded to Stage 1 by MTM in 2001 420bhp and Stage 3 470bhp in 2003, it is not a garage queen, I competed in the RS4 challenge in 2002 and 2003 in Hockenheim and the car has been on the Norscheiffe many times and also many trackdays in UK and europe. I have found it to be reliable and I think cheap to maintain, was serviced by Audi for 12 years and then independents, regular oil changes and letting the car warm up and cool down properly I think helps to keep service bills down, It is not driven lightly and has been a daily driver, only being laid up for the last couple of years. It has had over 30 new wheels (all buckled and all replaced free of charge from Audi) I still have the change for free letter and video from Audi stating it is the crap roads in England as no cars had buckled wheels in Europe. It has had 6 replacement rear springs over my ownership (bad UK roads) the turbos and engine are still in perfect condition. It still averages 25 - 28mpg with normal driving and of course down to 6mpg on track. At 20 years old it is now starting to feel its age, the rear suspension is NLA so I have fitted H+R adjustable coilovers all round, it now has 19" BBS wheels I am trying to make a couple of headlamp adjuster switches which fit on the suspension as it will be an MOT fail and the parts are NLA!!! Apparently Audi keep spares for 15years. There is some surface rust on the underside and some bubbling on one front wing. Sorry mate but I think it is a great car and has relatively low running costs if you treat it with respect.

My B5 RS4 has 220k miles I’ve been one of the lucky ones when it comes to reliability but I’ve had some big bills ! ! Similar spec to this but I have Bilstein PSS9 coilovers and Wagner Intercoolers running 490bhp 702NM torque. I’m on original clutch and turbos ! But clutch does need replacement! Cam wear is also a problem on certain cars. I had my cams replaced at 145k miles. I bought my RS4 at Tonbridge Audi with 50k on the clock back in December 2006. I’ve taken mine on track to Castle Combe and also Spa ! it was surprisingly good for such a car but maybe down to the mods it has had. Great review James

Thanks for the review James… great fun to watch and a fair and honest review of an awesome machine. Here’s a list of most of the mods: MRC remap to 471ps 686nm Milltek cat back exhaust Eibach springs Hotchkis anti roll bars AWE drive train stabiliser Phaeton front discs This was an itch I had to scratch, a dream car of mine that I get to drive every day. Totally under the radar apart from those lucky few that know how special it really is. I was careful when searching for one and was fortunate enough to buy this beauty from a guy who owned and cherished it for nearly 14 years. It was in amazing condition and I fell in love with it the moment I saw it… then I drove it and wow, so much fun 🤩 It will want for nothing. Regular checkups with a trusted specialist in Camberley, who have taken care of the usual wear and tear which you’d expect to fork out on a performance car of this age… and an oh 5hit fund just in case. We love it 😍🚗

I really like these; I love the subtlety of the design which is sadly missing from modern Audi design. One of the partners at work had one for a long time and it always looked so tight even parked against modern cars.

Probably one of the more accurate reviews I’ve watched. Bad news travels fast and these can be money pits. I’ve owned a B5 S4 for 13 years and only just ‘garaged queened’ it this year due to ULEZ, it’s sitting on 197k miles, I’ve done 111k of those. I’ve also owned a B5 RS4 running 450 bhp. I find every 15-20k miles you’re looking at some expense. My first set of turbos went at 120k miles then 177k miles. I’ve had the engine out 3 times and pretty much everything underneath the car had been replaced at some point, I wouldn’t swap it for anything though, I’ll keep my S4 till I die …. Just awesome cars. James is wrong btw, the noise of a RS4/S4 at full chat is incredible, he just needs to get off the B-Roads. James, you’re more than welcome to try my B5 S4!

I have owned mine since 2002 with 6000 miles on it. It is now just coming up to 100,000. Had a replacement gearbox under warranty early on - a well known synchro issue. It has had a few oil leaks that needed fixing - cam chain tensioners and rocker covers, again well known problems. I had to replace the lambda sensors - issue found with VCDS which is a must have - which was a fiddle but not that difficult or expensive. The front suspension arms needed replacing at around 75,000 miles. It needed a new clutch when the release bearing failed at around 60,000 miles -the clutch itself was still OK but while you're in there, etc. I too had the dreaded bent wheel syndrome and after 10 replacements gave up and bought some BBS rims which fixed it properly. The biggest problem now is if you need body parts/panels as there are none. I had to chase all over the country to find a second hand front bumper to replace the one that got damaged in Sainsbury's car park! Many other cars , some very nice ones, have come and gone in the last 20 years but the RS4 is still here. That says it all really.

Always liked the look of these. A friend of mine has an absolutely pristine one with about 35k kms on it, he bought for a ridiculously low amount of money like 10 years ago.

A friend bought one a few years ago. A couple of days after he collected it, it was in his garage, engine out & he fitted two bigger turbos, the two small standard intercoolers were replaced with a single large intercooler. A trip to MRC later & it returned with a power output of 550bhp.

I remember seeing one of these in silver at the NEC motor show in October 2000 and thinking thats a nice looking 1.8T sport wagon...then when I read it did 0-60 in 4.9 seconds my jaw hit the floor! I just LOVED (still do) that "factory sleeper" character to it. It's a pity that Audi et all have totally forgotten how to do the whole understated/elegant/cool thing. Everything has to be so brash and obvious now, as the current RS models demonstrate! Every time I look at cars from the 1990s and early 00s, I can't help but conclude that tastes and fashions, particularly in Europe, were far more cultured and elegant than they are now. We have a surfeit of tech now but we've lost all semblance of good taste, and I think thats a pity. Perhaps one day we will find it again...

Still looks the part these days, subtle but with just enough clues its a bit of a beast. A Friend had one 15 years ago he also had a TVR though a Chimaera. Reliability was OK with only a problem with a leaking diff luckily the back one! In the end he went up a size of Audi to a A6 Avant as he was like me into mountain biking and it was just a bit too small for bikes in the back.

When working and selling Audi’s when this came out, I sold one of the very first RS4’s from Chelmsford Audi to a guy near slough. I drove it around the M25 with a driver to bring me back after delivery in an 225bhp S3. Needless to say we had some fun!

Happy new year. This channel can make any car interesting. The presenter has the knowledge and background to hold your interest on any car he reviews.

One hell of a motor car 🚗 20 years old and still a legend! One day.... Maybe!

~ I am obsessed with cars from the early - mid 2000s. It was the best of times...

I am a swiss owner of a grey RS4 B5, review is absolutely great, so great that even the part about costs is true. Every year i have at least one big bill, the biggest one is the one I am preparing at the moment which includes : complete original new brakes, two new camshafts, new camshaft chains, new camshaftchains tensioners, new camshaft cover, new original wheels, complete timing belt (includes water pump), polishing front headlights (they became slightly yellow with sun), polishing whole body, and probably some other things I have forgotten...otherwise, fuel pomp less than 100K Km, clutch less than 100K kms, I don't know how many sensors I already changed, drivers seat belt,... the problem is every part which is exclusiv to the RS4 is very expensive !!! I cross my fingers I don't have to replace turbos one day ...because it's around 4000euros/turbo. car is full standard 385 HP, original springs, original wheels, brakes, interior, ecu,...0 modifications.

I have to say I infinitely prefer the styling of both the B5 and B7 to the more modern RS4s. Audi design from this era is so distinctive for me, understated yet at the same time quite muscular. Interesting comment regarding reliability though. I never owned an RS or S variant B5 but I did own a regular saloon B5 A4 (first car actually) and it cost me a fortune to run. It was a high mileage car but lots went wrong on it

This design looks very fresh. 470bhp is just right for this B5.

One of my all time favourite cars. One of the best engines ever made!

I have had my Audi RS4 B5 same colour same spec (480BHP) as in the video. Owned it for well over ten years, loads of miles in it, no mercy either driving wise and it has been a rock solid very reliable car. I used it as my daily and for work long distance stuff. Only things needed replacing are tyres, bushes, oil etc.. standard fair for running a car. Car has done 130,000 miles and still is fine and drives great. I really don't get the unreliability comments, that's not my experience by a long chalk! In fact I would go as far as to say its never let me down.

I had a beautifuly modded one in nogaro blue running about 440 hp sat on bilstein coilover’s ( recommended on the b5rs )..on smooth tarmac it was epic !! … also very very good on the Nurburgring 👌.. Dunno why you think they unreliable… mine never skipped a beat in 4 years .. 4 track days 2 trips to the Nurburgring.

When I was 20, this was all the car I ever wanted. It looks stunning even today!

The ultimate Q car. Love that Calvin kept it looking stock.

This is the best Audi video you've uploaded all year.

Great video & lovely motor that still looks good today, This video made me realise how much am missing Summer !

I always the love the variety of cars you show on the channel

Owned an almost identical car between 2006-2013, with similar spec (MRC map/full Milltek/B7 brakes/coilovers/ARB's). As mentioned, very tuneable as nothing was needed with the engine's internals until >550bhp, but stage 3 seemed to be a sensible point to stop in terms of reliability. Did two of the common big ticket items on mine though, with the cam wear issue and 1st/2nd gearbox syncros needing attention, however managed to avoid having to replace turbos. Moved on to a 997 Turbo, but still miss the RS4..

That red is very nice colour. Nice video. Thanks for showcasing this car. Looking forward to the next video. Keep up the good work.

I have been waiting a while to See Jay drive another manual RS... What a machine. Really did like the steering feel description, so far one of the few I've not saying the word ''feels dead'', but instead indicating that you can do something with it.

You can hear the enjoyment in your voice while driving this car James. So, so different to having to keep pinching yourself to stay awake while reviewing the Tesla recently.

Love this design, really one of my childhood cars. But as always dont drive youre heroes. Great vid and btw, happy new year to you all :)

I have a few b5 s4’s and I owned a b5 rs4 for a few years I just sold in November. I’m obsessed with the platform and engine. Really not too unreliable as long as you keep up with maint, and use quality parts. Fun cars to tune and play with.

I owned a Nogaro Blue B5 RS4 for 2+ years and loved it. They are very rare, as you say, around 400 RHD. Of those, around 10 - 12% were apparently Noggy Blue. Mine also had the 'Hi-Tech' fabric seat centres and carbon interior trim instead of the usual piano black. Can't be more than a half dozen with that combo... Y593GDU, are you out there?! Not MOT'd since 2018, hopefully tucked up safe in a private collection. Regarding reliability - mine, though tuned to 440bhp, was as reliable as anything of similar age. Went through a couple of clutch cylinders and coolant hoses but never needed anything major. I think the horror stories come from folks who have had to replace the turbos - as said in the vid, they're a bastard to do and priced accordingly. Still, a 996 Turbo has the same issue. So will most current turbo'd performance cars when they're 20 years old! It's a very special car. The kind they don't make any more. Likes a drink and wet roundabouts are an understeery nightmare (even with H&R coilovers and bigger ARBs) but they will put a big smile on your face every day. 2,800rpm... zoom! And, just look at it!

Thorough and informative review, Jay. I loved this when it was introduced, a real wolf in sheep's clothing in it's day, and good for 165mph in original spec. I think we're going to see more manual boxes in the future, your demonstration of fun is not going unnoticed (I hope).

Lucky to have a good friend who owns one i was allowed to borrow. Stunning stunning car

I've owned a B5 S4 for the last 6 years. I adore it. I prefer it to my B7 RS4. Its never once broken down to the point of not being able to drive it. Most of the money I've spent has been upgrading and modifying as there is so much available for them. Most of the maintenance on it has been age related and previous neglect related. You basically need to straight pipe these to get the true proper noise out of them. Mine only has the cats and a backbox on it with a full 3 inch exhausts and 3 inch downpipes. Sounds glorious and gives my B7 RS4 a run for its money on the down low grumble tone.

I love this generation of Audi!

Ahhhhh, B5 contact. 🎊🥳 That engine bay and engine is the reason I went with the 1.8t. No where near the power but it's a great start to learning how Audi puts things together. Come take a look at what I have done with it 🙂 Thanks for the video.👍🏼

Very good review, thoroughly enjoyed!

This is 'the' RS4 for me , it just looks right , it sounds glorious for a V6 also. And how many big cars look good in bright red. All subsequent RS4 varients seemed lacking somehow.....8/10

That was suuuuch a fun car with a cool design. To me the successors incl RS6 never machted the design and rawness combination. Legend!!!

Absolutely loved my B5 S4 470bhp relentless power, I even done a trackday at croft and it was surprisingly good, it was on Eibach coilovers and big AP 6 pots which I cooked. I’ll be honest I sold it before it cost me an absolute fortune, the whole time I had it it was totally reliable.

I had the S4 of this model, what a beauty

Great review. I’ve owned one for 14+ years. I don’t daily it any more and I’ve put a fair bit of money into it over the years. It’s only ever broken down once - crank sensor. I think you need a good specialist who is familiar with them and/or to be very handy on the tools yourself. I don’t feel they need to be a maintenance nightmare at all.

Yep had one these. 2001 - Nogaro Blue with Factory fit sunroof, full silver grey leather, had her for 7x years( reluctantly sold her,for a larger SUV)☹ Fantastic Car, one of the best i've owned, MRC stage 2 upgrade, approx 440+, if i remember......, i've always wanted one ( bucket list), so purchased one.... it Never let me down,always spot on.... just the usual cam cover oil leaks, worn bushes, suspension upgrade etc...would i buy another one.... YES😘

Great, objective video as usual. The RS4 has always been one of the top picks for my dream garage. I never realised how similar that V6 sounds to the 5-pot engines.

These sound amazing with the right exhaust on it.

A so much better looking car than anything they make today .

Beautiful 😍... excellent content as always 👌

Last year I had to make a choice between a nogaro blue Rs4 and a sprint blue b7 rs4 avant. I ended up going for the b7. I’ve been thinking about having one of these as a weekend/show car. I love the styling of the b5. Someone I know had one and I can remember looking in my rear view mirror and seeing this low wide Rs4 avant pull out overtake 3 cars and sit behind me. I was in awe at the way it looked. I missed my chance on buying that car (prices weren’t what they are now) and in the end it was broken for spares. This is the year for it!

I'm a fan of wagons and would totally rock that as a daily driver.

Legend has it these were used to transport the happy stuff coming from Morocco en route to France through Spain. Being an estate looking like a station wagon they were the ultimate Q car...

Really enjoyed this video. I had an S2 Coupe back in the day so have a soft spot for blown quattros. I remember when these came out and we I5 owners were in awe of the progress but lamented the break with the rally heritage. Loved the V8 that came next and still in awe of the Top Gear video where Jeremy Clarkson raced Leo Holding up the rocks. RS2 test next James?

I owned one for 9 years and full restored it as a rolling project. It was very reliable but i did have to do the turbos but it was a reasonable £3500. The standard suspension is poor, wallowy and crashy at the same how??. A thick rear ARB transforms them along with bilstein pss9’s. What really impressed me was how it owned our works ranger rover sport in the snow!

one of my all time DREAM CAR

Lovely. Makes you realise how subtle styling is sadly a dying art as manufacturers try and out-bulge and out-grill each other. Out-bling too.

You would think Audi didnt change too much of the bodywork of the standart A4 but the bonnet and the roof are actually the only body parts the rs4 shares with the a/s4

Beast of a car in its time even in stock form

Audi mechanic, any gripes about reliability/maintenance are far overstated. They are extremely simple machines, major service is inexpensive and a breeze, and the last of robust audi era. Your muse, the b7, is far more of a nightmare. There is absolutely no room whatsoever in the engine bay of a b7, and they are more or less identical platform to a b5. More importantly, i am not sure you have ever mentioned this, but a major service on a b7, is an absolute nightmare, minimum 3,000 in anybodys currency, and thats just parts. The main issue is chain tensioners, at least in the US, they are ONLY available from VW, not just RS'S, any FSI 4.2, and they are $800 each. There is nothing special about them, they are maybee a $100 part, but VW has somehow has kept control of the supply chain. None of this really matters because both truly pale in comparison to contemporary audis. Even a basic 4cy a4 is an overcomplicated nightmare, let alone the RS models. As for reliability, there are more beat to death 2.7 a4s and a6s, some with well over 200,000miles, and some even with original turbos, than you can shake a stick at. And this is in the northern US where vehicles live a very hard life. In short, modern RS's would trounce a B5, as would any modern performance saloon, but the B5 is a truly simple and beautiful piece of equipment from front to back. It is the swan song for robust Audis.

I bought my 2000 S4 (same look and engine as the RS4 but in sedan form) about 5 or 6 years ago with 222k miles on it. I had no idea who’d owned it before me or how they’d driven it. The only clues that I had that it had been driven hard was that when I went to get the engine ECU tuned, they said that it had been tuned before and that the previous owner set the tune to stock mode before selling it. So they simply gave me the latest version of the tune for $150 and told me how to turn up the volume so to speak. That said, I’ve never found the car to be any more unreliable than any other high mileage car. I’ve simply found it more complicated. For example. It’s got two turbos. Thusly it’s got two turbo oil lines and two turbo coolant lines. Because of where they’re located right down in the armpits of the engine bay, they are incredibly difficult to change. I did change one turbo coolant line without pulling the engine out and it was the most miserably difficult repair job I’ve ever done. It took me 4 days and included specially grinding down an angled wrench to get into the tiny space where the turbo, transmission bell housing and firewall nearly collide. Anything to do in the front of the car and the front bumper must come off. Not just the plastic part, but the radiator and frame too. It’s also got a ton Of sensors and a ton of control arms. Since all of these cars are old. Ow, expect to have to change those out too. If you’re not mechanically inclined or have deep pockets, you will hate owning this car no matter how much you love driving it. That said, it has only left me stranded once. And that’s when the timing belt broke. But that’s something that can happen with any car With 100k miles. The best thing to do is save up for the repairs you know you’re going to have to or want to get done professionally and just be prepared to part with the money when the time comes. When they do that repair, do as many replacements and upgrades as you can when they’re in that particular region of the car, because you don’t want to pay to get in there twice. Two examples. When one control arm goes out, don’t replace just one. While it is possible to locate just one, the piece of mind you will have after someone else has replaced and is now responsible for the repair quality of all 50 of them. Timing belt gone out? Replace the water pump, drive belts, alternator and hoses so that you know you won’t have to see your car with the front end off for may years. These cars are more about preventative maintenance than anything else I’ve ever owned… but I can’t quite say they’re unreliable. Once you’ve fixed something, you’ve fixed it and it doesn’t break again. My wife’s R56 mini S on the other hand. That’s a very unreliable car 😂 Professional repairs completed - Timing belt and water pump replacement - Accessory Drive belt replacement - Front brake line replacement - All front control arms, bushings and linkages replaced - Tires Replaced by me - ABS control unit - Cam speed sensors - Left rear caliper - Valve cover gaskets - Ignition switch - Oil pan and gaskets - Turbo oil return line - APR stage 1 tune - Diverted valves to support tune - Custom exhaust to support tune - Upgraded intake to support tune - KW coilovers to support tune - Upgraded brake pads and rotors to support tune - Auxiliary water pump delete

I miss my B5 A4 1.8T...always wanted one of these.

I have owned my B5 RS4 for 7 years now serviced by myself and it has been utterly reliable contrary to your advice. The only issues I have ever had have been the EGT sensor PCBs I replaced myself at a cost of £80 (sourced from Poland) and the alternator involving slam panel to the service position. It doesn’t squeal, rattle or bang. It’s just a well made and great looking car built with the right balance of electronic sophistication and feel back to the driver. Yes it has some turbo lag but that’s what makes it a classic that will be sadly a thing of the past when everything goes electric.

More than this simple,lovely styling it was the sheet metal and build quality that stood apart in this cars.

Blimey, was that really Jay or a doppelganger? No attention grabbing shirt today.. As always a forthright review on an classic Audi. There's always something of interest to watch on Jay's reviews.

Great vid James - well-researched and nicely balanced precis of this car as it is today. Thanks for posting. Mine was bought at 110K, with the intention of keeping it for two years before scratching the 911 itch. I've had it six years and it's now sitting at 160K miles. Bone stock, but for uprated Bilstein B12 suspension and springs, re-bushed all-round and fitted with the OEM 'hard' wheels (a free upgrade from Audi UK) to cope with UK roads. Running stock, the power/weight ration s around 231bhp / tonne which for me is ideal for UK roads (such as they are). I dailied mine for six years, taking it on European trips (South of France, Lake Como via Germany), NC500 (twice) etc. on holidays. The Como trip yielded ~28.9mpg running 99-100 RON including some Autobahn pulls (max-ed out at 161mph) and handled long stretches cruising between 110-125mph comfortably. In my ownership, servicing and maintenance included a full cambelt & pulley service, new wheel bearings, cam cover gaskets (cams were fine), and some replacement ancillaries being the 'biggies'. Total maintenance and servicing costs have worked out ~£1k a year overall (for comparison, my B9 A4 has had £5K of warranty work in only two years...). The B5 RS for me has a real 'X-factor' - it's invigorating to drive, yet never tiring. It copes well with life - yet can frighten with its pace at times. So yeah, I love it.

Red B5 RS4 - they always make me think of a RS4 with large Cerwin Vega stickers which participated in US Gumball 20 years ago or so.

Nothing beats a good ol b5 avant ♥️♥️🔥🔥🔥

A Real Icon. ⭐

Owned a ~500bhp one of these for a few years and still own a fully standard B5 S4 saloon in a very rare colour. I really didn't like the gearbox though, a short shifter improves it a bit and maybe mine was just more worn out but it wasn't nice at all. I didn't have any big repair bills thankfully and reliability wise it never let me down. I replaced it with a very special B8 RS4 and compared to that the B5 really is a dinosaur. But having said that I do miss it and sometimes wish I'd never sold it...

This thing is super rare. Especially a clean one.

We had a yellow version of that when it was new. The Gearbox broke within one month. No warranty because it had ECU Tune days before that happened (even when it was known to fail in standard cars too). Car was than repaired and shortly after that we sold it. Beside of that it was fun, First car I jumped over a crossing trying to catch the green light. :-D

Had a lovely 1999 S4 B5 in Santorini Blue. In the 7 years, I owned her, had no reliability problems.

I didnt have a B5 but I still have an A4 B6 on 501.000 kilometers. Aged really well, consumption is really good (4-5l/100km). The style is still similar to the B5's, such a beauty

As a B5 S4 avant owner, these are reliable granted it is maintained well. Great video and hope to own an RS4 soon 😬

I really wanted one of those in the day. Wifey isn't keen on estates though so we went elsewhere. I left it too long to get a good used one at a sensible price. Bugger.

This video makes me sad. I ordered mine in the iconic metallic silver when I saw it on the Quattro 20th anniversary visit to Neckarsulm. Piano Black interior and Silver (cream) leather. It was stunning with its extended arches. I only changed it because the RS6 came out and the V8 engine got me but the RS4 was so much more refined. I learnt last year it got trashed which made it all worse. The centre console and seats were superb and the torque in 2nd and 3rd was immense. And to echo others on here I was followed home twice in 2001-2002 when they were being stolen to order, the same time that Paul Harris had his stolen from a local hotel car park near their offices. The spiritual successor to this car is the latest RS4 with the V6 biturbo engine

Chap just up the road where I work wheels one of these out on occasion. Sounds great and it doesn’t half shift for an old girl.

Currently own a B5 S4 Avant, as you say running costs are very high and will always work but is never quite right. There is always a problem but rarely something that stops you from using it if you really need to. But in reliability terms it has nothing on my V5 golf and I know which one I will be keeping in the long run as my toy (the golf)

Daddy Doug Demuro has a blue RS2 Avante. His favorite car. Those Audis of that generation are my favorite too.✌🏻🇺🇸

A friend has a 600hp s4 b5, its an animal. It rarely comes out, I think its the fear of it breaking. Another local chap had a b5 rs4 with a tow bar, he used to tow his other big power toys around with it. Both s4 and rs4 are a very rare sight here in Ireland.

I had a B5 TQS model many years ago and a number of friends have had/still have S4 and RS4 - james you are 100% correct - there is always something broken, and if there isn’t them it’s just about to 😂 but… there is something about them that makes you forgive them

If my numbers came up, I‘d probably get one. It‘s so decently styled

I still want one of these one day. Avus silver or green. Still the best looking rs model

245K MILES on my daily driven 2000 Audi S4 with full RS4 setup and APR tuning...it's been very reliable but I have done (and still do) much of the work and it would be more daunting if I had to take it to the mechanic.

B5 2.7 biTurbo Y reg .. Man that was fast !! 460bhp… Power like a mule …

Another quality and professional production 👍😎