[04lss]

I currently daily a modified 2014 audi s4. I recently purchased a 2021 camaro LT1 6mt.

I realize this is an odd comparison but they’re both performance vehicles and I have both.

The camaro is bone stock. The Audi has a trans mount insert, a cold air intake and supercharger pulley upgrades, along with the appropriate tune.



Interior:
Ignoring the improvements in screens, the audi wins this hands down. It should. Its a luxury marque. Cant really say much more.

Visibility:
again, no surprises here. Audi catches the win.


Gauges:
I think the audi wins this one. It has these nice silver backed gauges, and the RPM gauge isnt the traditional semi circle. The gauges are a good size, and despite the MMI being meh at best as a screen. the overall feel works better than the base gauges in the lt1.


Steering wheel:

This is tough for me. Both are flat bottom, leather wrapped. The audi wheel lacks some of the cheap plastic trim of the camaro, but the camaro wheel has softer leather. Tie I think.

Steering wheel controls:

I dont like the camaro wheel controls, especially the audio controls. But they are definitely better than the Audi, which only has a volume control. The other controls on the audi wheel are cumbersome and almost never used.

Cruise control (control) :
Giving this its own section as i want to seperate it from the above wheel controls.
The audi cruise control uses the VW stalk interface, and it remains to this day one of my favorite cruse control interfaces.


Audio:
Again, duh the audi. makes sense. The audi has the B&O system. Cant fault the stock camaro system for not being a luxury system. HOWEVER, the camaro gets a LOT of points here for being easily upgraded unlike the audi. If youre going stock to stock audi wins, but if youre going to replace speakers, etc. The camaro has way more attainable options for an excellent setup.


Performance:

Ah the meat of the thing now.

The audi weighs somewhere around 3800lbs and as it sits should be putting down 380 whp and similar torque. (modded) Its a supercharged 3.0 for those that dont know. Its also awd.
Around town, especially in the city the Audi is WAY more fun to drive, because the engine is super responsive in sport mode, and its got the traction to just scoot through an intersection or take advantage of an opening. The camaro is more fun on a back road, or sawing gears.


Acceleration:
This depends on where you are. On the highway at 70. I "think" The camaro is faster. (pending testing )
From a stop, i think the audi has the camaro to 60 all day long. The audi has launch control and with good weather, can net 60 in under 3.5 on all seasons. Theoretically the audi can manage a low 11 second quarter. But probably closer to mid 11s IMO. The AWD and instant torque from the SC defintely give it a solid launch. ive had a few passengers yell in surprise. The camaro takes skill to launch, which isnt a bad thing.


Handling:

Camaro wins here, its lighter, and has a better supsension setup. With that said, the audi running a rear swaybar feels more nimble. It feels a bit more darty and willing to change direction. I think this is due to me as the driver being closer to the front axle in the audi. Its also dimensionally a smaller car, and im sitting in a different position. I plan to do front and rear swaybars on the camaro which I imagine will help here. In turns, and other things the camaro seems to have more grip and stability. In short it feels more confident, but the audi gets the edge at aggressive city driving.

Bottom line: Audi = City Camaro =backroad or track.

Steering feel:
Camaro hands down. the audi steering is numb. Camaro has some of the best steering feel in a car ive owned.

Engine noise:
I acknowledge this comes down to the lousy stock exhaust the camaro LT1 non NPP has. Its too quiet, it doesnt provide enough tone. You have to be hard on the throttle before it really starts making that delicious muscle car roar.

The audi has a nice crisp European v6 sound from the exhaust accentuated by the DSG farts. Combine that with the agressive whine from the supercharger and you get an excellent sound track.
Supercharged, axlebacked camaro, probably better, but as it sits, id rather drive the Audi through a tunnel.


Maintenance and working on the car:

I havent had to do any work to the camaro, but i can immediately tell it will be far far easier than the audi.



Which one is my favorite:

Well the Audi. This isnt meant to offend anyone, but ive slowly modified the audi to my tastes. The camaro is bone stock. The acceleration on the audi is just Bonkers at low speeds. I can point it, hit the gas and KNOW im going where i want. part of the character of awd. its more comfy and draws less attention when im off the throttle. Also windows down, letting the supercharger echo off the buildings is superb.

With that said. The camaro has more potential. A lot more. The Audi can get an e40 tune and maybe make 450 wheel. Probably netting it a 0-60 in the 2 second range on a car with all the performance trimmings. Properly bonkers, and making a lot of boosted street muscle cars sad stoplight to stoplight. But put her on the higway next to those same cars and you get left in the dust. It fills the niche i wanted it to. The camaro fills the niche it wont. The camaro with full suspension will handle far better, and with a supercharger/turbo will be insanely quick at anything but sub 30 mph speeds. It just hasnt been given the treatment to become what i want.

I acknowledge that im comparing a modified car to a stock. I also acknoweldge im comparing a luxury sedan to a muscle car. This is not to say the camaro isnt great. Its just a comparison of the two cars currently occupying my key ring.

Also worth noting, both of these cars were dream cars for me about 10 years ago. I love them both, and I'm grateful to have them both.

[JamesNoBrakes]

If you want to accelerate from a stoplight and to generally-legal-speeds, an AWD FI car is usually going to be much faster. You can put down all of the LT1 power with warm tires and enough rubber, but the LT1-trim doesn't come with such tires and even then it won't guarantee you are at the right pressure and temp to really take advantage of it.

Most people only care about the launch from a stoplight and you don't really need a ton of power to do this if you have AWD and can get the torque working for you. As for the 1/4, chances are the Camaro would be taking down the Audi in the 2nd half, if not easily passing it. It's the top end where the Camaro will be less affected by drivetrain drag and the AWD will be a detriment to the Audi. The trap speeds are really what tell the tale, as you can still get a good enough launch with AWD to make for a deceivingly fast quarter time, but the car is out of breath and the rate of acceleration has really tapered off. The Gen 6 Camaro is really meant to be an all around sports car in the SS trim, but the LT1 trim is probably a decent attempt at a drag car. Needs a few upgrades to get there, but will never be the fastest off the line.

[04lss]

agreed. The audi does what i wanted out of it. It gives great 0-60 thrills. Once i go e40. i should be netting something in the 2 second range and its great fun to put someone in the car and use launch control. They freak out.

But on the highway, the camaro is king. My plan is BMR bracing, 1le suspension, BMR swaybars front and rear, and some wide sticky tires something like 295 front 300 rear.
Ill add some boost, and the camaro will be completely different. I went for the LT1 because it makes a great blank canvas. It has the right engine, trans and rear diff. Suspension, wheels, tires, brakes, all of that stuff i can get from the aftermarket and make the car truly my own. I just know, that as of right now, the audi makes me smile more than the camaro... but ill fix that. I hated my mustang GT when i first bought it, but 3k in suspension and an e85 tune later and it was great.

[Rayvan]

One needs to compare your $60,000 modified Audi with something in it's price range. How about a modified ZL1? Corvette C8?

[04lss]

I very clearly qualified what i said. Also, it was (and when new still is) a 48k car, which puts it firmly in line with the ss according to what dealers are charging right now. Ignore what i said about the interior, which again, I qualified by saying its comparing a luxury car to a muscle car.

Performance to performance is the point here.

[infinitereality]

I owned a lightly modified '14 Audi S7, CAI, VCD tweaks and stage 1 APR tune (563hp). Audi was a fantasic super sedan, but I'm extremely happy to be back in an american coupe.

The ZL1 wins for my favorite, hands down. For me, it is more fun as a daily. Few things I do miss about the S7 is entering/exiting was much easier, (thanks Camaro alcantera) better on longer trips and that air suspension.......not because of the ride, but because it was pretty awesome to put in dynamic and lower itself (or go higher entering/exiting places when needed). The whole car seemed overly complicated do modify or fix anything and while the ZL1 probably isn't as easy as SS/LT1, I'd bet it's not as bad as the S7 was.

[Malbjey]

Originally Posted by 04lss

Engine noise:
I acknowledge this comes down to the lousy stock exhaust the camaro LT1 non NPP has. Its too quiet, it doesnt provide enough tone. You have to be hard on the throttle before it really starts making that delicious muscle car roar.

The audi has a nice crisp European v6 sound from the exhaust accentuated by the DSG farts. Combine that with the agressive whine from the supercharger and you get an excellent sound track.
Supercharged, axlebacked camaro, probably better, but as it sits, id rather drive the Audi through a tunnel.

Sacrilege! How dare you prefer the V6! J/K

Great writeup overall. I moved from a 2019 V6 Camaro to a car that kinda competes with the Audi S4, but it more so competes with S5 sportback.

I absolutely loved the V6 Camaro with NPP. I wish my current car sounded as good.

I also wish the LT1 trim was available (or even announced) when I bought my 2019 V6. I would have waited to get the LT1. At the time, the SS was way out of my price range.

Once my current car is paid off I might look at a Camaro again for a fun RWD weekend car. Frankly, I'm at the point where I wonder if I even want any more power. I almost think I'll swing the other direction and look at a BRZ/86 or Miata instead.

[silstream]

Thanks for the post. I realize it's a couple of months on but I'm about to order a new SS 1LE to replace my 2013 S4. The S4 is a truly special car (especially with the 6MT as the B8.5 is the last manual S car Audi made) and I love the refinement, but I still miss my Camaro and with mileage getting higher on the Audi (114,000 now but still running perfectly), I'm ready to chop it in for something younger. It's probably a 4-6 month wait for a new 1LE so I have a few more months to enjoy the Audi but I'm ready to change.

I haven't modded the S4 at all and will definitely miss the B&O sound plus overall interior. It's a real sleeper car which has it's benefits but I still miss just looking at a Camaro on the drive...

Do you have the sport diff on the Audi? Sounds like you've done a lot to get it where you want it to be so appreciate it's not fair to compare your modded S4 to a new LT1. Both great cars so slightly curious why you need both as in my mind they tick a lot of similar boxes but if you can run both, of course do!

[sandm]

Originally Posted by 04lss

Once i go e40. i should be netting something in the 2 second range

this is something I gotta see.