When it comes to transporting little ones and their equipment, the larger the vehicle the better. Does the RS4 fit the bill? James Baggott finds out.

People have different ideas of what makes the perfect parent-mobile – but for me, the criteria are pretty clear.

First, it needs to have plenty of carrying capacity, because babies come with more luggage than Paris Hilton. After that, it needs to be safe, stylish and above all else, really rather cool.

The last one is more subjective, but there would be few people that would argue the Audi RS4 is anything other than jaw-achingly cool.

Take the pensioner driving a Hyundai i10 who stopped me at a fuel station the other day to ask who made it. She’d never heard of an ‘Audi’, but did tell me it was ‘jolly good-looking’. And who am I to argue with what was clearly a very astute pensioner?

The RS4’s incredible performance is the usual talking point when I pull up at the pumps. I’ve been stopped several times now at the fuel station (a place I frequent rather too often these days) by Audi admirers. One had previously owned an RS6 and spent 10 minutes telling me how much he missed it and just how good it was at pretty much everything.

And he hit the nail on the head. While I understand an £85,000 estate car isn’t the most affordable family transportation out there, for those lucky enough to be able to buy one – or lucky journalists like myself lent one for a few months – it makes a compelling argument for the ultimate in family wheels.

Over the last few weeks the RS4 has been called upon for a variety of mundane family tasks and all of them it’s achieved with aplomb.

The boot has been packed with all sorts lately including equipment for a forthcoming work event, a life-size dummy for man overboard drills on the lifeboat (pictured) and even 25 bags of horse manure for my vegetable patch. Nothing says ‘middle aged man’ quite like a fondness for gardening, but I’ll move quickly on.

That latter task was tackled with incredible care for fear of recreating a scene from Back to the Future and earning myself the nickname ‘Biff’ for the rest of my life. Thankfully, the manure made its way back from the horse field and into the garden without incident.

On the rare occasions I do get to drive the car alone, I get the chance to marvel at its incredible turn of speed. For all its practicality and usefulness, the RS4 can still be classed as a true performance car.

The 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged engine produces 444bhp and 600Nm of torque – which makes it unbelievably rapid off the line. In fact, it’ll hit 60mph in just 4.1 seconds. That’s faster than some Porsches.

Over the last few months, I’ve loved the beautiful ride quality, which is supple enough to be comfortable but firm enough to inspire confidence in the bends. The steering is perfect and unlike any VW Group model with a diesel-auto gearbox combination, this petrol-auto match is sheer brilliance. Changes are rapid in normal mode and even quicker in sportier ‘RS’ guise.

It is very hard to fault the RS4. Yes, as I’ve pointed out in previous reports, there are a few minor annoyances, but they’re nothing that would put me off. I do still find the drum beat it plays every time I get out a bit strange – I think it’s supposed to be an emotive heartbeat, but it just sounds like I’ve accidentally turned Radio 1 up too loud. But there’s not much else to groan about.

The longer I live with the RS4 the deeper the bond grows. It’s sublime to drive, wonderfully practical and fits perfectly with my current lifestyle. Next up is a trip to the Alps for a little winter break, so I’ll report back soon on how it copes. Spoiler alert: I suspect it’ll be really rather well.

Facts at a glance

• Model: Audi RS4
• Price as tested: £85,000
• Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol
• Power: 444bhp
• Torque: 600Nm
• 0-60mph: 4.1 seconds
• Top speed: 155mph
• MPG: 28.5mpg (combined)
• Emissions: 225g/km CO2
• Mileage: 3,774

When powered boot lids first arrived on new cars I must admit I was a bit of a sceptic – who needed a motor to do something your arm could already do faster, I asked anyone who dared to listen.

Turns out, the answer is almost everyone. Powered boots that shut themselves at the touch of a button are now nearly as common as electric windows.

You’ll find them on everything from Bentleys to Kias these days, and my long term Audi RS4 is no different. So, it’s time to eat a slice of humble pie, because I must admit I’ve become somewhat of a fan.

You see, these days whenever I’m getting something out of the boot it requires 13 hands and a helper. Babies come with a lot of equipment and, add in a weekly shop to the mix, the chances of being able to shut a boot lid by hand without a return trip falls to zero.

Problem is, I’ve got an issue with our Audi’s boot and that’s its tendency to clobber me on the head. Twice now, I’ve been extracting baby paraphernalia from its deepest recesses to be surprised by a warning beep and before I know it the boot lid smacking the back of my head.

I couldn’t work out why it was doing it at first, until one day I realised it was my feet that were the culprit. The RS4 has one of those sensors just under the bumper that when a foot is waved underneath, it closes the boot for you.

My size 12s clearly protruded too far under the bumper and were inadvertently setting off the mechanism resulting in the boot-bonce interface. I was rather pleased with the discovery, thinking this would help my boot-emptying efforts, but can I get it to work when I want it to? No chance.

Despite whatever Michael Flatley dance moves I try to perform behind the Audi, I can never find the sensor when I want to. Typical.

Anyway, enough about bootlids. It’s actually a very minor gripe with what I’m discovering is a truly brilliant car. Fast estates fit my lifestyle perfectly, and the RS4 is one of the best.

In the past I’ve taken real issue with sloppy Audi automatic gearboxes, usually paired with their diesel engines, but there’s no such problems with the RS4. Changes here are brisk and without hesitation as it rapidly fires through the ratios.

Under the bonnet, the 444bhp 2.9-litre twin turbo engine is a delight. On the road it’s got power whenever I need it and the 4.1 second time for the benchmark 60mph dash is seriously impressive.

I am a huge fan of the ride quality too. I’ve mentioned in previous reports about the RS Sport Suspension with Dynamic Ride Control (£2,000) specified on this car, and the more I live with it the more I can’t recommend it highly enough. Yes, it’s expensive, but on our potholed roads it still manages to deliver a comfortable ride.

Over the Christmas period I was also very glad to find a first aid kit in the boot. First on the scene of a nasty road accident, where a car had knocked a pedestrian five metres down the road, I used the kit to patch up a poor woman before taking her to hospital myself, as an ambulance was a two-hour wait away.

The kit’s dressings, bandages and sterile wipes came in very handy and I was very glad to find it in the boot. I later found out she had broken her hip and shoulder, something the kit wasn’t prepared for, but A&E fortunately was.

And on a separate note, I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the compliments the Audi gets. At petrol pumps or from visitors who have spotted it on the drive, it often receives words of praise. People love a fast Audi, especially those with the iconic RS badging, and the RS4 is certainly iconic. After three months behind the wheel, I’m also starting to understand why people love them so much.

James Baggott has taken delivery of the long-awaited Audi RS4 long termer and has already fallen in love.

Britain’s love of a pokey-engine-in-an-estate-car combination could easily rival its affection for fish and chips or cheese and pickle sandwiches.

As pairings go, a performance engine with the space to carry large loads in the boot is hard to argue with and I’ll freely admit I’m one of the admirers.

So when Audi offered us the chance to take custody of a potent RS4 for a few months I elbowed my way to the front of the keys queue.

This current model has been around since late 2019 and still looks and feels remarkably fresh – but what I, and you probably, really care about is the monster under the bonnet.

The 3.0-litre engine is twin-turbocharged which produces 444bhp and 600Nm of torque. That helps this family-friendly wagon hit 60mph in 4.1 seconds.

With a three-month-old in the clan, the combination of boot space and comfort when I have the team on board, compared to the option for some fun when they’re not, really was one I was looking forward to.

It’s been a long wait to get it, though. Audi let me choose the specification for our car back in February and I’ve only just taken delivery.

New car order times are a lot longer these days, thanks to a shortage of chips (micro, not potato) and just like everyone else I’ve been waiting patiently for my car to arrive.

That gave me plenty of time to pore over the spec I’d picked. I really wanted a green one, but that colour had dropped off the options list when I played around with the configurator, but the Nardo grey option was a very acceptable second choice.

The base price for the car is a rather prickly £76,800, but I’ve added £8,200 to that total with a few options. Highlights included a head-up display for £1,095, 20-inch wheels at £2,000 and the RS Sport exhaust system adding a further £1,250.

The best choice was the RS Sport suspension with dynamic ride control. While it might have added an extra £2k to the price, I’ve already found it makes for a wonderful ride.

I picked the car up from Portsmouth Audi where salesman Drew Pilcher showed me around the car. The showroom has recently had a makeover and I must admit it felt quite special pulling the cover back in the handover bay, even if the car wasn’t really mine.

Still, that won’t stop me from enjoying it over the next few months. First impressions are this is a car that I will really fall in love with. It’s frighteningly rapid when it wants to be, but also incredibly comfortable.

The seats are brilliant – and have a massaging function too – and the steering is beautifully weighted. It makes a superb sound, especially on start up, with a deep, bassy rumble to that sports exhaust.

Pilcher helped set me up with the Audi app that connects to the car letting you lock and unlock the doors and a few other things too. I’m not sure it’s working properly, though, so I will have to investigate a little further before passing judgement.

I have also had to get used to frequenting my local petrol station again. The RS4 is, er, rather juicy. Around town, I’m getting about 18mpg if I’m lucky. On longer journeys, it’s more efficient thanks to 48v technology that lets it coast on motorways and an eight-speed gearbox – on one recent trip I got 33mpg, which for a performance car, is actually pretty good going. Let’s hope fuel prices don’t go up much further.

Facts at a glance

• Model: Audi RS4
• Price as tested: £85,000
• Engine: 3.0-litre twin turbo petrol
• Power: 444bhp
• Torque: 600Nm
• 0-60mph: 4.1 seconds
• Top speed: 155mph
• MPG: 28.5mpg (combined)
• Emissions: 225g/km CO2
• Mileage: 1,458

BMW is expanding its EV line-up with the i7 – an electric version of its 7 Series. James Baggott heads to California to put it to the test.

What is it?

BMW’s CEO Oliver Zipse doesn’t think the UK is particularly well set up for electric cars yet – but that hasn’t stopped his firm betting big on a zero-emissions future.

The chairman of the BMW board of management has taken a swipe at the UK government for its poor charging infrastructure and for moving too fast with a ban on combustion engined models by 2030, but despite the grumbles his firm is charging ahead with its introduction of electric cars.

This is the latest – the tech laden, gadget toting i7, an electric version of its flagship 7 Series.

What’s new?

It’s a clever new model with lots of tricks up its sleeves. Firstly there’s a new look to contend with – a gaping front kidney grille and refreshed headlights can certainly be described as, well, distinctive. Elsewhere there’s plenty of talking points including a £7,000 optional 31-inch rear cinema screen that folds down from the roof lining and turns the back seats into a movie theatre.

The doors are powered and can be opened or closed with a touch of a button and the interior features a striking new ‘interaction bar’ for some of the controls. But gimmicks aside, it’s what’s driving the wheels that’s really of interest as this is the first fully electric option for the 7 Series.

What’s under the bonnet?

While the new 7 Series is available with two plug-in hybrid options – sadly neither of which we got to drive at the launch – the big talking point is really the electric unit.

With a range of up to 388 miles, the car boasts 544bhp and a whopping 745Nm of torque. It’s an incredible unit that offers a huge range thanks to massive batteries buried in the floor.

Fast charging can be carried out at up to 195kW – which will give the car 106 miles of range in just 10 minutes. At home, where most people have 7kW chargers, a full replenishment of the batteries will take 16 hours.

What’s it like to drive?

On the road it’s incredibly smooth. The power delivery is linear and rapid, and like most electric cars, very rapid. With several different driving modes, piped in sound via the 36 speakers ranges from Hans Zimmer-like cinema scores to growling roars. It’s all rather dramatic.

The 7 Series has active steering and suspension which helps to offer the smoothest ride possible, even reducing roll to keep occupants comfortable. There’s a brilliant head-up display and augmented reality sat nav built into the dash that projects arrows onto a live video feed of the road ahead as well.

The car is full of clever tricks too. In countries that allow it, fully autonomous driving is available on motorways up to 85mph and it can even park itself. It will remember 10 different parking spaces in underground garages or similar and can take over and park for you.

How does it look?

The looks are a little controversial, but BMW likes to make a statement with its design. The new nose is the focal point but there are lots of additions to make it more aerodynamic and thus maximise its range.

BMW describes the new look as its ‘luxury class face’ and it’s also present on the new X7, so you better get used to it.

For the first time, there’s an optional two tone paint – with one colour above the doors and another below them. It’s all rather regal, but probably won’t be chosen by very many buyers.

What’s it like inside?

Inside it’s rather classy too. The new interior has had a lot of thought put into it including spacious, reclining rear seats and that cinema screen to entertain executives.

The screen is 31-inches and, although it’s rather close to your face, the 8K quality is stunning. It works thanks to Amazon Fire TV software and a 5G internet connection from the car, which owners will have to pay for separately.

In the back, speakers are buried in the seats to really give a cinematic bass-filled experience and the 2000W Bowers & Wilkins sound system does sound incredible.

The auto opening doors are a bit of a gimmick, though – they close or open electronically at the touch of a button, just like they do on a Rolls Royce, but it’s really no quicker than just doing it yourself.

What’s the spec like?

The spec is very high – as you’d expect for a car costing more than £100,000. There’s lots of kit included as standard, like a clever security system that records images around the car if it detects a break in.

The BMW curved dash has two displays – one 12.3 inches and the second 14.9 inches – which are angled towards the driver and are a brilliant addition.

The entry level Excellence specification has niceties which include 19-inch alloys, illuminated kidney grille, front and rear heated seats, adaptive LED headlights, head-up display, wireless mobile phone charger and much more. An M Sport specification (starting at £112,000), which adds things like larger wheels, is also available.

Verdict

Just nine per cent of global BMW 7 Series sales will head to Europe and in the UK a little over 1,000 were bought in 2021.

Add in the fact Brits have fallen out of love with saloons and it doesn’t really matter how many tricks the i7 has up its sleeves, as it’s unlikely many retail buyers will shell out for one. Far more of interest to them are the electric SUV models BMW offers, like the fantastic iX.

Most i7 models will actually find their way into the hands of chauffeurs and with much of the focus on back seat comfort – and entertainment – those who do get a lift in the new car are unlikely to want to get out at the end.

That said, the tech making a debut on the i7 is fascinating and (mostly) very well executed – what will be of real interest is just how quickly much of that trickles down to more affordable cars in BMW’s range.

Facts at a glance

• Model: BMW i7 xDrive60
• Base price: £108,305
• Model as tested: BMW i7 xDrive 60 M Sport
• Price: £112,805
• Engine: Electric
• Power: 544bhp
• Torque: 745Nm
• Max speed: 149mph
• 0-60mph: 4.7 seconds
• MPG: N/A
• Emissions: 0g/km
• Range: 367-388 miles