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The S4 has better throttle response and no lag. It feels snappier. A chip alone gets about 100 hp on the S4 too.
Give the new one a try, it drives differently than the old S4.
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Just got back from a nice quiet Saturday morning drive in my 335 Coupe. After nearly 3 years of ownership, every time I drive my car I still come away telling myself "I love the way this car drives". You know what? I'll bet the S4 IS also a fantastic car. Why shouldn't it be? Audi is a high end German car manufacturer with all that implies, and has been chasing after BMW for years. Working hard against such a benchmark is going to result in a very good car with very similar dynamics. Maybe the S4 is even better than a 335 in some respects, and probably not quite as good in some others. It weighs more (and our 335's are already porky) Steering feel is not as good, acceleration is about the same, and the shifter doesn't get very high marks. I'm also no big fan of forward weight bias, even though Audi has tamed this to a decent degree. But the slick quattro setup and the nifty rear diff make a difference at the track. No one will ever convince me that a V6 has the smoothness of an I6, but then again, the supercharger has better throttle response than our TT's.
My point: Congrats, Audi, but I don't care. If it's an improvement, it's an incremental one at best. . BMW made a nice leap with the E90/92 335, and every competitor has jumped into the fray. I've no doubt the next 3 series will go the Audi one better and redefine the benchmark. In the mean time, the wait will be totally painless.