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

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

You are in the Audi A5 and S5 Forum. Your Host is claires

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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#27 of 46 Re: Test Drove S5 [bf109ace] by byronwalter Oct 17, 2007 (1:43 pm)
Replying to: bf109ace (Oct 16, 2007 4:23 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. When I priced the E46 M3 I always ended up north of $52k (but that car is a classic). The A5 competes against the 328xi coupe which starts at $37,100 but a few options later moves right up to $44k (per the BMW web site) with the sports pack, prem pack and a couple of other options. The price now compares to the A5 but the A5 has about 35 extra hp (which should make it quicker) and a nicer exterior and interior (to me, at least). As for which is the better handling car... beats me as I haven't driven either. And the S5 actually comes with much of the A5 optional equipment as standard, which puts it around $53k... not too bad a deal if you like the looks and performance and don't mind driving a gas hog. The Porsche's that you mention are pure sports cars, rather than sporty grand touring cars, which is how I perceive the A/S5 series. Yeah, the Boxster S, Cayman S, and base 911 are great rides but they have little in the way of useful room (the A/S5 has a huge trunk). The Cayman S is one sexy little car but have you actually priced one? The base price is $58,900 and the option list is as long as the NYC telephone directory. Just select two or three options and you are above $70K... Yikes! And finally I wouldn't even count on discounting from either Audi or BMW. Both manufacturers are getting up the rectum on the weak dollar. I expect that sooner rather than later the prices on all Euro cars will climb. But probably the Bimmer built in the States will avoid the cost escalation. Have you considered a Z4?
#28 of 46 Re: Test Drove S5 [bf109ace] by rjlaero Oct 18, 2007 (5:53 am)
Replying to: bf109ace (Oct 16, 2007 4:23 pm) Your argument doesn't make sense. Audi and BMW are overpriced and you're going to get a Porsche? Good luck getting a Cayman equpped the same way as the Audi. You'll have to shell out over $70,000 to get a loaded up Cayman. And it's a small car with no back seat, and its rear wheel vs all wheel drive . Even the el cheapo base cayman is over 50k. And you're lucky you get a seat to sit in at that price. Porsche nickles and dimes you for every option. The S5 is actually wider from the center of the front wheels than a BMW 6 series. The S5 is a really wide car that has a menacing profile. It's 3.5 inches wider than a 3 series from the center of the front wheels The S5 makes a 6 series BMW coupe look really bad. You'll pony up nearly 80,000 for the 6 series, and you're 58-60k for the S5 with every option. Audi's S5 interior is gorgeous. The trim and seats will rival and feel better than many a 100k + price level 911.
#29 of 46 Audi driving event by dhanley Oct 30, 2007 (10:14 am)
Just went to an audi driving event outside chicago, and the culmination was a lead/follow session on the track in the s5. The s5 is a pretty good track car. Up until now, my impression of audis has been as numb/mushy but this was much better. I got it to go into a tidy four wheel drift several times. Turn in was pretty good, and the brakes were great. Replies to this message: lovemyclk (Oct 30, 2007 11:35 am) dhanley (Oct 30, 2007 12:30 pm) lovemyclk (Oct 30, 2007 2:13 pm) and 2 more...
#30 of 46 Re: Audi driving event [dhanley] by lovemyclk Oct 30, 2007 (11:35 am)
Replying to: dhanley (Oct 30, 2007 10:14 am) As a long-time BMW driver, I was intrigued by the S5 and went to see it in 3-D... magazine pics don't do it justice. Did not have the chance to drive it, but wondering how it might compare with the prior-gen CLK55? Interesting that the only transmission is the 6-sp manual, so really want to drive this car to see how it measures up to the BMW experience. I currently own a 2003 e39SP and recently sold my CLK. Drove the 335iC with 6-sp and loved the total performance package. The Audi "appears" to be more of an exotic, if I may use that word. Not necessarily better, but more of a unique overall package than the 335 (8 cylinders not withstanding). The S5 strikes me as more of a high-performance touring coupe - a nice alternative for a guy getting ready to turn the double-nickle in a couple of weeks Replies to this message: dhanley (Oct 30, 2007 12:30 pm) lovemyclk (Oct 30, 2007 2:13 pm) dhanley (Oct 30, 2007 3:28 pm) and 1 more...
#31 of 46 Re: Audi driving event [lovemyclk] by dhanley Oct 30, 2007 (12:30 pm)
Replying to: lovemyclk (Oct 30, 2007 11:35 am) Actually, i was wishing i could test a 335i back to back with the s5. I can't make any meaningful comparison, as i've tested one on the street, one on the track, etc. Actually, the one thing i can say is that the engines seemed pretty evenly matched There were automatic(dsg) s5's there, for what it's worth. Replies to this message: lovemyclk (Oct 30, 2007 2:13 pm) dhanley (Oct 30, 2007 3:28 pm) rjlaero (Oct 31, 2007 8:53 am)
#32 of 46 Re: Audi driving event [dhanley] by lovemyclk Oct 30, 2007 (2:13 pm)
Replying to: dhanley (Oct 30, 2007 12:30 pm) Really! I had read somewhere that the auto (DSG) cars would lag about 6 months after the initial S5 introduction. Amazing that BMW gets so much performance out of the straight 6, albeit a twin-turbo 6! Replies to this message: dhanley (Oct 30, 2007 3:28 pm) rjlaero (Oct 31, 2007 8:53 am)
#33 of 46 Re: Audi driving event [lovemyclk] by dhanley Oct 30, 2007 (3:28 pm)
Replying to: lovemyclk (Oct 30, 2007 2:13 pm) That lag in DSG introduction may very well be there--it was my understanding that these were special demo cars shipped here to show off audi's new hardware. Apparently, they had gotten a call from germany about the number of clotches they were going through. Some people burned them up on the first lap(!). My one dissapointment was that they didn't let is drive the R8 as the ad claimed that we would. Got to sit in it, at least, it's a stunning car. Replies to this message: rjlaero (Oct 31, 2007 8:53 am)
#34 of 46 Re: Audi driving event [dhanley] by rjlaero Oct 31, 2007 (8:53 am)
Replying to: dhanley (Oct 30, 2007 3:28 pm) There will be no DSG in the A5/S5. The automatics are coming shorty, but it's the regular 6 speed tiptronic.
#35 of 46 Test Drive by sturgl Nov 12, 2007 (10:34 am)
I drove the S5 yesterday. As several have said before, pictures just do not do this vehicle justice. The exterior is much larger than I'd anticipated; the vehicle certainly has presence. It is a beautiful, beautiful car. Every angle brings something gorgeous to the eye. The interior feels more like a cockpit than those of other luxury coupes might. While the exterior appeared quite large to me, the interior felt snug - not small, but intimate. I didn't have the chance to sit in the back seats - but my guess is that they're only good for children. This is the best-driving Audi I've ever been in (though I have not driven the new TT or the R8). Handling is just superb. The suspension allows you to whip around corners while soaking up road inconsistencies reasonably well. To me, it felt better than the RS4... which brings me to the motor. The engine has this wonderful, burbly V8 sound at ignition. It certainly moves the car, too. I did not, however, get a sense of neck-snapping acceleration. I didn't feel myself being shoved into the seatback as we accelerated towards 60. Maybe the car's too composed for that. Maybe I shifted out of 2nd too early. Speaking of shifters - the shifter had a longer throw than I would like, but the gates were obvious and shifting had a nice, mechanical feel. Clutch take-up was quick. The S5's combination of handling and that lovely motor sure put a smile on my face. The switchgear is also superb. All of it looks expensive and has this silky movement that reminded me of audiophile gear. The B&O stereo was as good as any I've heard in a car. The sound I can only describe as rich. Imaging was good, if not excellent. It has an in-dash CD-changer, as well as an iPod adapter. iPods can be controlled via the MMI interface. Overall sound was far superior to the Bose system in my current Audi. Function was just slightly more complex (thanks to MMI) - a fair trade-off for iPod integration. I'll need to spend some more time with this vehicle before making a purchase decision, but for now my impressions are almost entirely positive. Nice work, Audi!
#36 of 46 when does it show up? by emale Nov 24, 2007 (8:30 am)
does anybody know when the A5 is gonna show up at dealers? have a G35 with lease up the end of may, and this new audi looks very intriguing! Replies to this message: rjlaero (Nov 27, 2007 7:13 am)