Article Comments - 2008 Audi A5/S5 First Look and Full Test

46 messages, Last post on Jul 13, 2008 at 6:14 PM

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What is this discussion about? Audi A5, Audi S5, Coupe

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First Look: 2008 Audi A5/S5 - It has never taken more than a few miles with your hands wrapped around the husky steering wheel of any Audi sedan to get the feeling that somewhere within the discretely sporty quartet of doors slumbered a distinctly sporty coupe waiting to bust out. (more)

Full Test: 2008 Audi S5 - Beautiful, luxurious and desirable, this fast highway car takes Audi to the top step of excellence. (more)

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#17 of 46 stop the madness... by rydamee Aug 21, 2007 (2:33 pm)
why are there comparisons w/the s5 and m3? the 3 series competes with the a4 series, not the a5. heck, there are magazines testing the next generation m3 vs. the old rs4, right now. bimmer knows its days are numbered. the next generation rs4 will bring the competition to its knees. give me a break. you only get close comparo numbers on a perfect clear sunny day. real world testing where the pavement is not always dry and smooth will reveal the true winner. audi has the trickle down effect of winning technology from le mans planted firmly in the production line. bimmer is still lying to the public, its slogan should be "the ultimate driving machine when the road is dry". 0-62mph means nothing at le mans. winning it means everything. Replies to this message: sturgl (Aug 21, 2007 3:50 pm)
#18 of 46 Re: stop the madness... [rydamee] by sturgl Aug 21, 2007 (3:50 pm)
Replying to: rydamee (Aug 21, 2007 2:33 pm) I think the answer is: why not? Besides, the A5 is the coupe variant of the A4 (albeit on a new platform) - so it makes some sense to compare the 3-series coupes with the A5/S5. And sure, everyone knows that Audi's closest competition to the M3 is the RS4. Some argue that it is superior, even though it's riding on an older platform, grapples with AWD, and has four doors. Amazingly, it's lighter than the new M3 - and it has the added weight of Quattro - plus those extra doors. The RS4 seems to be the first vehicle where Audi has taken their all-weather drivetrain, and leveraged it into a serious performance advantage. It is simply impressive that the S5 - a vehicle that should be an inferior performer to the M3 seems to hold its own just fine. If that's the case, the upcoming RS5 will eat it for lunch.
#19 of 46 Saw my 1st S5 today! by bobp7 Oct 08, 2007 (12:27 pm)
Hi; Stopped by an Audi dealer today and saw the S5 in 3 dimensions for the 1st time. In a word; striking! The pics don't get the details that make this car special. Very agressive front end, subtle wheel arches and a little interest below the C pillar just sets the car off beautifully in my eyes. I am torn between this and the 335xi coupe. Seeing the S5 didn't resolve anything!!! While it costs a few grand more and gets 10 mpg less I liked what I saw to much to dismiss it... Replies to this message: rjlaero (Oct 09, 2007 6:07 am)
#20 of 46 Re: Saw my 1st S5 today! [bobp7] by rjlaero Oct 09, 2007 (6:07 am)
Replying to: bobp7 (Oct 08, 2007 12:27 pm) You have to see the S5 in person. As others have said, the pictures don't do it justice. This car is really low and wide. It's over 3 inches wider from the center of the front wheels compared to a 3 series. It's even wider than the 6 series BMW coupe in that same respect.
#21 of 46 Agreed (from a distance) by laurasdada Oct 11, 2007 (9:18 am)
It appears my local Porsche/Audi dealer has their first S5 on the lot. Driving by (will stop in soon or wait for New England Auto Show next month) and gazing, it does appear to look much lower, wider, sleeker and more curvaceous than it does in pix. Wow. I want one.
#22 of 46 Test Drove S5 by manybmws Oct 14, 2007 (4:14 pm)
Sweet ride and I agree that it looks more impressive in person than a BMW 650. The steering is much lighter at low speeds compared to the 650 though and it would be nice to have more heft in the S5's steering feel. But it does drive beautifully. Before you know it your doing 100 MPH. The ride feels planted like a Beemer. The shift lever throws are a bit long for my taste but I would be more interested in owning a automatic tranny which will not be out for 6 months. Mileage seems to be below par especially when compared to a 650. Front seats and seating position are in one word - Excellent. Back seats are pretty much not usable except for short trips - like a 911. So for $55K you get a lot of car even when compared to a $75K 650 coupe. Faster by maybe .5 second 0-60. And for $20K you can buy a lot of gas. I am guessing the A5 3.2 will be in the mid-40s and still do 0-60 in the low 6s. Still pretty good for a 4-wheel driver - coming in second to a 335xi - not bad. You will not believe the presence this car has in person - it is a truly legendary design that will endure... Replies to this message: byronwalter (Oct 15, 2007 1:08 pm) manybmws (Oct 15, 2007 3:13 pm) byronwalter (Oct 15, 2007 4:59 pm) bf109ace (Oct 16, 2007 4:23 pm) byronwalter (Oct 17, 2007 1:43 pm) rjlaero (Oct 18, 2007 5:53 am)
#23 of 46 Re: Test Drove S5 [manybmws] by byronwalter Oct 15, 2007 (1:08 pm)
Replying to: manybmws (Oct 14, 2007 4:14 pm) I have an Audi brochure that claims the A5 3.2 liter is a 5.8 sec to 60 car. This is important because that means the A5 is quicker than the Toyota Camry (I hate the Camry!: ). I hope to give the S5 a drive next month and, if it handles like a champ, order an A5. The price diff between the A5 and S5 is actually pretty modest but the A5 avoids the gas guzzler tax, gets better gas mileage, and puffs out a little less CO2. And the way the buck is tanking, it seems like ordering sooner rather than later might be an okay idea. Audi isn't going to be able to keep the price down for too long. Replies to this message: manybmws (Oct 15, 2007 3:13 pm) byronwalter (Oct 15, 2007 4:59 pm)
#24 of 46 Re: Test Drove S5 [byronwalter] by manybmws Oct 15, 2007 (3:13 pm)
Replying to: byronwalter (Oct 15, 2007 1:08 pm) I think I would go for the A5 for the same reasons. I will have to take one more look at the rear seats again on an A5. The wheels are very sharp on the S5 though Replies to this message: byronwalter (Oct 15, 2007 4:59 pm)
#25 of 46 Re: Test Drove S5 [manybmws] by byronwalter Oct 15, 2007 (4:59 pm)
Replying to: manybmws (Oct 15, 2007 3:13 pm) I think I would go for the A5 for the same reasons. I will have to take one more look at the rear seats again on an A5. The wheels are very sharp on the S5 though The rear seats are for enemy combatants so whadda yu care? And the wheels on the S5 are sharp indeed.
#26 of 46 Re: Test Drove S5 [manybmws] by bf109ace Oct 16, 2007 (4:23 pm)
Replying to: manybmws (Oct 14, 2007 4:14 pm) Is Audi out of its mind? An A5 3.2 in mid-40s? A previous generation BMW M3 with 333hp and a sportier chassis was only $48K. And a 335i couple with 300hp and 300lb torque starts at $41K. Did I miss something here? Both the new M3 and S5 are way overpriced. I would get a Boxster S or Caymen S or a base 911 instead. As you said, the back seats on the S5/A5 are not usable for long trip. Let's see how deep the discound Audi is going to give. Only time will tell. Replies to this message: byronwalter (Oct 17, 2007 1:43 pm) rjlaero (Oct 18, 2007 5:53 am)