Bill Rublee

Congrats - great looking car! I ordered an S5 Coupe on 2/20/17 and so far only have a commission #, an estimated delivery of 5/31-6/15 and a production start date of "sometime around the end of April". Does anyone know the standard lead-time on the build once it enters production?? 5/31 delivery to east coast seems sporty based on such a late production start? Anyone have prior experience??

JohnEnglish

My experience with previous Audis has been about 2.5 - 3 months from start of production to delivery.

hinckley

Glisse, your car is of course, gorgeous. Congrats.

I drove an S4 and S5 Coupe today and am seriously considering trading my S6 for a S5 SB. As a matter of fact, I place a tentative order and already have a commission number, but I think we've got a long way to go. I have a couple of questions that you may be able to answer . . .

On the TFT screen with the center tach view, can you customize both the left- and the right-hand portions of the screen? When I was playing with the car, I could only figure out how to change the left side.

I'd like Nardo Grey over Magma Red. Do you know whether Audi will paint an S5 in Nardo or do they consider that an RS-exclusive color?

I'm also going for a European delivery, so if they can pull this off, I could be in for a long wait . . . Thanks for your help.

Glisse

Hi Hinckley, I remember our discussions from a year or so back on the S6 and Jaguar XF-S etc.

The 4.0TT V8 and the DL501 S tronic is a pretty nice combination, more so than the new 3.0T(urbo) V6 and ZF8HP Tiptronic. But as I have said elsewhere, the new chassis and suspension in the S5 is a big step up, and the reason I did not go with an S6 is it felt too soft and ponderous for me. Of course, the new C8 series of the 6/7 will get the same chassis and suspension, but that is still a long way off.

Unlike the new Porsche Panamera, where you can change the screens on either side of the tacho (real in the Panamera), you cannot configure the right side of the screen in Sport mode on the S5. Which is pretty useless. And you cannot rotate between the 3 possible setups, Sport / Classic / Extended. When in the Sport mode, you can only cycle with Extended. The system has to reboot to Classic (takes about 5 seconds), which then cycles with Extended. I did consider not getting the VC, as I am not a huge fan of TFT screens as a complete replacement for real instruments, particularly at night. I did test the Mercedes-AMG E43, which seemed to have a lot more adjustments available. But I also found it very distracting, difficult to find what you were looking for, and ugly.

The single biggest improvement over the setup in your S6 is the ability to use the programmable * button on the steering wheel for Drive Select mode. It will cycle through the modes, which is less distracting than using the centre console buttons in the S5, and much more so than having to use the MMI controller to do so on the S6.

I believe Nardo Grey can be ordered, the paint code is T3T3. IIRC, one of Audi's S5 Sportback show cars was painted Nardo.

Personal opinion of course, but I think Nardo looks better with black optics trim than bright/chrome-style trim. Which isn't available yet on NA spec cars, although that could change at any moment.

Glisse

^^

Here is the S5 Sportback in Nardo Grey with Magma Red nappa S sport seats, 8:35 into the video. The 20" Turbine design (new Rotor style) wheels are not yet available for sale, in typical Audi show car fashion! Probably next year for 20" wheel options.

hinckley

As usual, thanks for the knowledgeable input, Glisse.

I happen to love the concept of the virtual cockpit and Audi has done a good job imo, but I agree that the VC on the new Panamera is incredible. I've wondered whether it will trickle down to the new A8 and maybe A6. We'll know soon enough.

I do love my S6, but it is big and heaaaavy. Admittedly, I've very much missed my S4 and I think the S5 SB gets me closer to the lithe, more go-kart-like handling of that car. But I've got a way to go before I actually pull the trigger officially.

I agree with you regarding Nardo and the Black Optic Package. Honestly, it's a must for me with any color, and it could be one of the reasons that I sit on my hands for a year so that all the NA options are flushed out. But I've got a great dealer who works hard for my business. The GM said if he can't get black optics from the factory, he'll get it from his own paint shop! We'll see . . .

I've done a bunch (five) of BMW EDs, but have never done one with Audi. BMW's program is just a machine. Audi, not so much. So if all this works, I doubt I'll see the car in Ingolstadt before September.

crueldeceiver

Wow! That's a very nice looking ride. It looks very classy!

CaptainK

Loving the car Glisse! Your spec is superb.

I'm right there with you hinckley. Don't mean to sound like a copycat, but the spec I'm craving for a S5 SB would be nardo/magma as well haha. Don't think I would be content without the black optics though, so holding out to see when the option becomes available.

Spartan-S5

From what they usually do it would be next year when the '19s come. It's kinda ridiculous Audi USA just didn't bring the optics over I mean it's available...

Glisse

^^
They usually do this when the supplier is running at full production capacity, and Audi are staggering availability across markets to manage demand vs the supply.