B8 vs B8.5 A4/S4 Facelifts

Can you tell the difference between the B8 and B8.5 A4 and S4’s?

Well we are here to show you how you can

The Audi B8 A4 came to the U.S. in 2009 and Audi continued to make the B8 model until 2012 and then they came out with the B8.5 A4.

What is the difference?

First, let’s look at the difference between the B8 A4 and S4. Here you can see the subtle difference in the lower grills, the S4 having ‘fins’ coming out of the lower grills onto the bumper compared to the A4 which does not have this.

Now looking at the B8.5 A4 and S4. There is a lot more subtle change in the lower fog light grills. The difference being the ‘bend’ in the strip that goes horizontally across the fog light grill, is not straight. And in the bottom picture, we can see the other grill option for the B8.5 Audi being that it is entirely mesh versus horizontal slats.

Now for the big question. What is the main difference between the two?

The B8.5 models have a completely updated front end, including new headlights, new grille, new fog lights, a new bumper, a new hood, and new fenders.

Please note that the B8 and B8.5 front end parts are not interchangeable without a complete front-end swap.

Some other differences include the B8.5 having a newer, lighter crown-gear center differential, as well as having electromagnetic steering. While the B8 has hydraulic steering.

Lastly, the B8.5 has a slight redesign of various interior pieces including but not limited to plastic dash surround, climatronic.