Test Drive: 2014 Audi S4 Premium Plus 6MT

Some people look for pure speed when buying a car. Others look for nothing but total luxury and comfort. Others still want nothing but the ultimate driving experience. But what if you could find a car that combines all of these traits. Imagine a car that offers excellent power combined with superb handling and wrapped in a high quality leather-swathed package with room for 4 adults and their luggage. Even better if it comes available with a manual transmission. There are only a small handful of cars that fit such an exacting and rigorous set of criteria and the current generation Audi S4 is precisely one such car.

In the past, Audi's A4 platform offered many of the desired traits, but was too small to comfortably seat 4 adults for anything longer than a run to the local pub or organic grocer. The up-rated S4 models, which sported everything from turbo-charged six cylinders up to a high-revving V8, heaped on mountains of power and improved the handling, but could never address the fact that the backseats were nearly useless for anyone larger than a preteen. However, with the introduction of this latest platform, Audi took the extra measure to stretch the wheelbase enough to offer what is finally usable legroom for rear seat passengers. Add to that a typically Audi interior layout, the all new supercharged V6 motor, and, of course, the latest version of Audi's ubiquitous Quattro AWD system and what you have is one of the most balanced cars available on the market.

But, is it good enough to justify its nearly $60k pricetag?