ayap

Seriously contemplating jumping on an S5. I ordered an S4 and still probably have 1.0 - 1.5 months to wait for it. I just saw my Dealer has a Brilliant Black S5 on inventory now.

Have you guys been happy with your S5 ? What are it's advantages and disadvantages compared to the S4 ? What I gather is this (disregarding the $7K-$10K price difference) ..

Advantage over the S4
- Looks better externally
- Sounds better with the V8

Disadvantage over the S4
- Eats more gas
- Smaller space in the backseat
- Does not have the 7-speed S-tronic

JSH5

Do it!

MonzaA5

Looks much better externally.

Prone to carbon buildup.

Phantom BlacK

do it for sure. Unless you do need the extra space in the back for passengers.

mhblaw

Just picked up my 2012 S-5 last Friday. Wow! Traded in a 2009 A-5 3.2. I thought that one was a cruiser, but no comparison. Love the sound of the V-8. Dealer suggests that I get some all season tires for the winter (ND)so have that to hassle with over next several weeks. I am thinking of getting some all season tires and having the tire shop just install/remove tires by season rather than buying a separate set of wheels. Anyone done it that way?

JGA5Cab

you really are better off going down to 18s as well. the low profile tire and rim combo is so vulnerable as is and will be more so in the winter. I've hit potholes in the past in my SUV that I didn't even know were there because of the puddles. Also, you can keep the beautiful rims free of salt damage. Tirerack can advise you of what to buy and not pay Audi OEM pricing for rims. I've seen videos on youtube of someone trying to drive in the snow with the summer tires. Scary!

zeroka

One thing to consider is the S-tronic...

I've driven A6 with CVT multitronic, loved it ,very smooth, surprisingly good sport driving features.

Driven an S-tronic 2011 model, amazing!! The best gear I have ever seen in a car.

Currently driving a 2012 model A5 with tiptronic and I would really want to see Audi delivering it with an S-tronic.

Drive one with tiptronic and then drive one right after with S-tronic. feel the difference and make a decision how you feel about the car. It may be very important for you.

JBDinTX

S5. You will stand out from the crowd way better. The ONLY thing that keeps me in my s5 is the looks. In my eyes there is no better looking car out there in the price range.

NDdomer

You're better off getting a new set of tires and wheels. You can get a good set of tires and rims on Tire Rack for a little over $1,000.

uroplatus

NDdomer is right.
And you need to consider that if you simply swap tires back-n-forth on the same original wheels, there will be a cost (twice every season) to dismount tires, mount tires, and balance tires. That cost could range from $40 to over $100 depending on where you get it done and what kind of wheel balancer they have, etc. Again, that cost will be TWICE per season(!): once to put the winter tires on, and once to take them off. So thats $80 to $200 per season. If you keep the car for more than a couple winter seasons, it might have been cheaper to simply buy another set of wheels. Plus, when you sell the car, you can sell the extra wheels and recoup a few dollars.
Additionally, it takes no more extra space to store wheel/tire combos, as compared to storing just tires.
AND, as others have pointed out, if you get another set of wheels with tires, you can get a size that is different, such as an 18-inch diameter, or 17-inch diameter. And if anyone is reading this because they're concerned with cost, and if you have factory 19-inch wheels, you should take a look at the cost of winter tires in the original 19-inch size, as compared to the cost of winter tires in an appropriate 18-inch or 17-inch size. The 18-inch and 17-inch tires are a LOT less costly than the 19-inch sizes.
And yet another issue is the risk with the low profile factory size (if its 19-inch), because if you don't have sufficient tire pressure, its very possible that when you hit a pothole that you will damage the wheel and/or the tire.
Lastly, as some have mentioned, if you're in areas that get a lot of snow, and snow of some depth, the narrower tire sizes will work better in those conditions. I personally prefer something either in the factory original size or close to it, but thats just my preference. I've driven in lots of snow, and in tire sizes as wide as 245, and have had great success. But the reason I'd pick a size similar in width to the factory size is simply because much of my winter driving will be on roads that rarely ever have snow on them, and I'd like to keep the car's handling as close as possible to the original. That doesn't change the fact that narrow winter tires will do better on snowy roads. So think about how much snow your car will see this winter.
Hopefully this will help folks who had not yet made a decision on winter tires and wheels.