Glisse

Re. the S4, no. The S5 arrived first, the S4 is 4 weeks late for some reason. Due next week, but the issue for me is that the temperatures have dropped to below 7C/45F, likely to snow this week, and the dealer will have put winter tyres of the car. The tyre difference will make a direct comparison less valid. But I will try the S4 - I was considering an S4 Avant before I knew the S5 Sportback would be arriving at around the same time.

The A5/S5 have lowered suspension compared to the A4/S4, but I am not aware of any other major differences. The A5/S5 have slightly wider tracks, but I suspect this is entirely due to the difference in wheel offsets, and the axle length is identical.

I have not driven an A5 252hp 2.0TFSI. I am still a bit confused as to whether the US and European engines are identical, although the power output is.

The Autogefühl video tube that MattMan3104 just posted is worth watching, as he drives the A5 252hp first, then the S5. It was obvious he thought the S5 didn't provide that much more rather than noise and some top end power, but he is a relatively sedate driver with little interest in exploring handling limits.

For me, the inability to order the Sports diff with the 2.0TFSI is an issue.

adg44

They are identical. The only difference is the body style. Both drive exepctionally well and are amazingly fast. The comments about the handling mentioned in the first post are spot on.

The new sport differential is a big improvement over the B8, and the sport adaptive suspension is excellent with virtually no body roll.

Yes, the engine has a different tone than the previous 3.0T, but it is butter smooth and has an amazing amount of power. No turbo lag either thanks to the twin scroll turbo sitting inside the V.