Updated 2020 Audi RS4 Avant revealed

The Audi RS4 Avant has been facelifted to bring it into line with the rest of the Audi A4 range. To tell the RS4 apart, it gets a muscular body kit and a raft of mechanical changes. Audi will show the 2020 RS4 Avant for the first time at the DTM Touring Car Championship decider later this week, and it’ll be available to buy from November.

Just as with previous RS4 models, the new car looks much more aggressive than the standard A4. Wider wheel arches and side skirts are fitted, alongside 19-inch alloy wheels and sportier front and rear bumpers. The front air intakes are larger, and the grille is flatter, frameless and painted in gloss black. Around the back, the rear bumper features a new diffuser and the two oval exhaust pipes that are typical of Audi RS models.

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The 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine is carried over from the pre-facelifted model. It has two turbochargers and 444bhp, which gets the car from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 155mph. An eight-speed automatic gearbox is standard, as is a four-wheel-drive system that sends most of the power to the rear wheels - although it can send up to 85% of the power to the front wheels when required.

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Audi has also fettled the steering, fitted lowered sports suspension and upgraded the brakes so that the RS4 corners and stops as well as it performs in a straight line. A set of 400mm ceramic brakes are optional, and you can also add adaptive dampers, 20-inch wheels, a sports exhaust system and Matrix LED headlights. You can choose to have the RS badges removed for added discretion, while picking the RS Dynamic pack increases the car’s top speed to 174mph.

Most of the interior is carried over from the previous car, so it still has supportive sports seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel, red detailing and RS graphics on the Virtual Cockpit. The most notable alteration is a new 10.1-inch touchscreen MMI infotainment system, replacing the previous screen that was controlled by a dial. Audi says the voice control function is sophisticated enough to recognise ‘normal’ speech.

Audi has taken a leaf out of Mercedes’ book by offering two versions of its performance cars but, unlike Mercedes, the two versions have the same power output. There’ll be a standard RS4 Avant and a Vorsprung edition with more standard equipment. We don’t know how much these will cost yet, but a starting price of around £65,000 is expected.

Read more about the Audi RS4 Avant in our review, or see where the Audi A4 saloon finishes in our guide to the best executive cars on sale.