It's the battle of the German performance wagons when the M340i xDrive Touring lines up against an Audi RS4 Avant in this drag race video from CarWow. In a straight line, they turn out to be surprisingly evenly matched.
The M340i xDrive Touring packs a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six making 382 horsepower (285 kilowatts) and 369 pound-feet (500 Newton-meters). The RS4 Avant rolls into the race with a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 with 444 hp (331 kW) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm). Both of them weigh 3,858 pounds (1,750 kilograms).
Just from looking at the numbers, you might expect the RS4 to run away from the M340i in the drag race. However, the BMW actually wins the first drag race because the Audi spins its wheels off the line.
When the RS4 is able to put down its power, the Audi wagon wins the race. For its best run, the vehicle covers the quarter-mile in 12.1 seconds, versus 12.4 seconds for the M340i.
CarWow finds something interesting when doing a race from a 50-mph (80-kph) roll. These vehicles apparently share the same eight-speed automatic, but they have very different calibrations. The Audi is slow to drop down a gear, which gives the BMW an edge.
In the stopping test, the RS4 Avant shows off its impressive brakes. Despite having the same weight as the BMW, the Audi's stoppers let it come to a halt in a shorter distance.
Unfortunately, neither of these models are currently available in the US. BMW doesn't have one left in the country. Audi still sells wagons but not the RS4. Instead, the Four Rings offers the bigger, more powerful RS6.
