Schumi_Tampa

I wish Audi would build the S5 with a hardtop!!!

sharding

I'll just say, if I could go back, I would not buy the S5 Cab again, and that is one of the factors, but far from the only one.

Tifosi

There are very few, if any, cabriolets that looks as good as their coupe counterparts with the top up, even the ones with hardtops. The reason is simple, these design started as a coupe first. But I must say that in comparison to many others, Audi has done an excellent job in building the cabriolet version of the B8 A5/S5. With that said, if you do not feel that the ability of top down motoring out weights the lack in looks with the top up, then a convertible is definetly not for you.

IMO, there is only one advantage that the 2013 coupe has over the carbriolet, which is the choice in transmission, where manual transmission is available for the coupe but not for the cabriolet.

nicoli

I'm curious - what do you guys think of this? It's the new 991 series cab -it has hard panels inside the fabric top..you can't knife through it and get in, etc. Keeps the lines nice huh? Wish Audi had this. I bet they will soon

a5sport

Absolutely. If you love to row the gears...there is no choice.

THE reason my wife went for the A4 over the TT...which she really loves. The woman refuses to drive an automatic. And no...a TTRS was not an option.

Toronto S5

People talk about that risk all the time with soft tops - the risk that someone cuts into the roof to break in. And I'm thinking you've got to be kidding me. What kind of thief would spend the time and energy into cutting into the roof vs. breaking the window? There are a lot of metal moving parts under the ragtop - it is not like cutting a piece of paper and I do not believe thieves think that is a viable way in.

nicoli

My dentist's 911 cab soft-top was cut through for an iPod that was on the passenger-side floor, not long ago, in his condo driveway. It set off the car alarm, but he simply reset the alarm thinking a thief would be nuts to try that in his driveway and it must have gone off from the wind or something.

It happens

Mike182

Cutting a top makes a hell of a lot less noise than smashing a window too. Also thieves like to hit a car during heavy storms, to mask the noise.

Tifosi

Audi had stated openly on the reasons why they did not chose to go with hard tops. One of the main reason is to still allow reasonable amount of cargo space even with the top folded, which is something that can not be said about the BMW, Lexus, Infiniti or Volvo. And with the insulated soft top that are currently in use, noise level is only a little higher than that of the coupe or the A4/S4, which is actually very remarkable. Also, weight saving is another factor. With the quattro, A5/S5 are already at a weight disadvantage when compared to their competition, and the hard tops would have made the car even heavier.

sharding

Funny thing is, when I bought mine, I considered the transmission on the Cab an advantage over the coupe. Heresy, I know, and I had owned only manual transmission cars before that (except the A6, which is mostly my wife's car). But I loved the S-Tronic, and the coupe didn't come with it. I got to the point where the annoyance of a manual transmission in traffic and daily driving outweighed the fun of it on the open road, and the S-Tronic kept just enough of the fun without all the hassle. (But yes, I know I'm probably the only person on this forum who feels that way. I'll keep going and say I preferred the V6"T" over the 8 also. Commence the flaming.)