Muray

It seems to me that S4 beats S5 in acceleration slightly, but does it beat S5 in handling also? Honestly, they both seem to be so close in performance to matter greatly. But if two people were to race each of these on a road course, which one would win? And why? I have test driven a S4 already but haven't test driven a S5 yet so I am curious. I plan on autocrossing whatever I get in the future so this is kind of interesting to me.

aalui

S4 will win since S5 is heavier and the new S4 engine is better than S5 engine (old S4 V8 engine)

IAS5

S4 has been measured at .96g on the track.

with the supercharged V6, the DSG and sport diff, the S4 will cross the line first.

I have an S4, and had an S5- will attest to this.

adansirs5

Your full of it bud, the s4 is heavier than the s5 and will not leave the s5 in any exceleration run.check the numbers from car& driver for both cars.

Audi S5 TC

All of that will change in late calendar year 2011 for model year 2012 when the S5 coupe loses it's excellent but fuel thirsty V8 and dinosaur optional Tiptronic automatic transmission for the faster and much less fuel thirsty S/C V6 and optional S Tronic direct shift gearbox transmission.

At this time, the S5 coupe will be lighter than the S4 sedan due to having half the doors and a quarter foot to half foot shorter body and wheelbase. As a result, it will be the S5 coupe that will be faster and perform better all around than the S4 sedan.

ItsDubC

Not disagreeing w/ you, but let's not forget that while the A4/S4 is longer, the A5/S5 is wider along it's entire length.

Muray

How do they differ in driving feel and overall character since you've had both cars? Test driving one for a short time doesn't really get you to know the cars deeply. Do their steering feel the same? I was put off by the speed sensitive steering on the S4 when I test drove it.

IAS5

The S5, no doubt, feels more like a "GT"... great for cruises. Never get tired driving one- steering is good, ok feedback.

The S4 is more crisp in the acceleration department. The SC kicks in instantaneously, the 7-speed DSG doens't hurt either, since the shifts are "right now", and w/ 7 gears, you're going to hit the peak of the power curves more quickly.

The S4 also has Auto Drive select w/ the Sport diff too- handling is much better in this car as well. Feedback is very good, and the handling around the curves is excellent. It feels as if the car is throwing you around the cleverleaf.

Overall, you cannot go wrong with either car. I'd be curious to see a side-by-side comparo when the S5 (coupe) gets the V6T and ADS/DSG...

acadia

Exactly, the V8 is actually pretty much the same weight as the v6 (supercharged), and the S5 itself is lighter.

acadia

My S5 has drive select, the 2010 has drive select and sport diff, what is your point? None of these are exclusive S4 options.

To be honest I'd never have cared for the S5 if it had the v6t, it's the fact that it had a sweet sounding beefy v8 as a proper GT car should, that won me over.

As for acceleration, I've heard different results, The S5 has the HP advantage, the S4 has the lowend torque, if you look at their HP and torque curve, the S5 should start pulling away after 6000 RPM. But, the performance are so close that it's negligable.