doug_998

Longtime BMW owner here and yes, the easy answer is "go drive the car!" but that's a little more difficult these days.

and... one of those silly ads popped up and ... wow that RS 5 Sportback is pretty sweet. Haven't read much about and damn... that looks like an amazing car....

Truth be told, I love my M3 and it is manual which I really really love.

But I can't help but be enamored with the RS5 - so I'm looking for anyone that came from a M3 to provide some feedback - and yes, I'm interested in the 2019... I would NOT be interested in a touch screen.

JohnEnglish

I previously had a 2011 E90 M3 with the competition package and the DCT. Extremely capable car but the RS5 is better as an every day vehicle. If you want to regularly track your car and can only have one car, get the M3. If you're going to driving it on the street 99% of the time, get the RS5.

Rob O

I have a 2020 M4 and (2019) RS5 Sportback. I can tell you the RS5 is a thousand times more enjoyable to drive, in my opinion. Even lowered, it's more comfortable and feels more compliant than the M4 on stock suspension and in comfort mode. The interior feels more modern in the RS5, even as it's starting to feel dated compared with latest interiors from both Audi and BMW. The F8X platform is showing its age, the interior is showing its age, and even though ours is a 2020 it might as well be a 2014. The RS5 thoroughly modern, even if it's at the end of its life cycle with the 2020/2021 refresh. That said, the M4 feels more analog, which can be refreshing, and the driving experience more raw. There have been plenty of former M3 and M4 owners who jumped to the RS5, only to go back because they didn't feel like they were getting as much car, as much performance, as much driver-focused experience in the RS5 as they did in their M cars. So, with all of that said, it really is subjective. Some people are brand loyalists, and don't even recognize that until they've left the brand and miss what they love so much. Others feel like the F8X cars are for driver focused, and that the Audi is too soft or too much of an all-rounder. You really do need to go and drive one.

mdrobc1213

What he said here is true....coming from an M3 prior also 2015 M3 sedan then to a 2014 Range Rover Sport Supercharged and when time was to go back to a car I chose the RS5. To me the RS5 Sportback is the M3 Grand Coupe which BMW refused to build. Wanted an M5 before and came very close to one but didn't the like the reviews of the one just replaced and didn't want to "go there" and the cost of the new M5 just released. New Mercedes GT 4 door coupe C53/C63 just released is a beast but north of $120-150k..no thank you. So while looking at the Q8 last year happened to mention to the sales consultant that the best car I had but was disappointed in was my old 2012 Audi A7. Loved the look and design and tech but always felt it was under powered and a bit too big and always wished they had brought a smaller but more powerful version here maybe size of an A6. Didn't want S7 and RS7 was just a bit too much...although one of my favorite pics was the RS7 from the Seattle Auto Show in 2014 I took a pic with...wanted that car so bad and color I thought was just nice! Showed him that pic and that discussion lead to him asking me to wait a minute while he checked on something...and then he took me to the service delivery lane where he had a new 2019 Nardo Gray RS5 Sportback there waiting! I almost fell out! Size, shape, presence etc RS5 checked all the boxes. Interior design a cut above the BMW which trends more spartan unless you just aftermarket CF the hell out of them which some folks do also. Two more visits later including bringing my wifey back for.a test ride and final 2nd opinion (she vetoed Nardo Gray - said it looked like it had just been primed and was waiting to be painted...not me...too old for that color/look...needed to be more distinguished and subtle.) and a week after that once we settled on a price for my Range Rover Sport...I was the owner of a 2019 Audi RS5 Sportback in Daytona Pearl Gray....more mature and two thumbs up from my wife ( my college freshman son was thumbs up for the Nardo Gray one tho!). So far love the car! Real keeper and no need to upgrade to RS7 or trade it for anything Ive seen out there in the same price and performance point and range. See previous link addressing your same questions and my comments as well as others:

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...80-m3-2988277/

SO that is my journey and path in short....Ive had 3 M3's in my ownership history which includes a 2010 X5M and multiple M3s from a 2003 e46 M3, to 2008 e92 M3 to my last one a 2015 F80 M3 so I know the brand very well. RS5 and M3 are similar but different beasts and you need to both drive them both as well as really figure out what is most important to you. RS5 adds so much utility that the M3 did not offer...for just straight track work the M3 will always hold a bit of an edge but how many times do I go to the track and what is 99% of my daily use for? When I ask that question...the RS5 wins hands down. Besides I have a 991.1S for track work if I so choose! LOL.

-=Hot|Ice=-

The Audi is going to be so much more enjoyable to daily. That's the thing I've enjoyed most coming from a 2013 e92 M3 to my S5 Coupe. How compliant and enjoyable it is to drive when I'm out and about.

doug_998

Thanks for the above. It really helps (besides the obvious, "you need to drive it").

I was one of those people who strayed from the brand back in 2003 - got myself into a Lexus GS430 because C&D said it was basically the same thing as the 540i I remember the service guy at BMW asking "What are you switching to?" When I told him Lexus I will never forget his comment "You will be back". Arrogant ***. Sucks that he was right...and worst 39 months of my car owning life.... GAWD I HATED THAT CAR!

Anyway, love the RS 5 from the pictures and will make time to drive. Oh the CF front lip is sooo dorky - but that's just me, I'm old - and damn, dealers seem to LOVE to order this option... Reminds me of when I was looking at the S6 many years ago - the dealers kept ordering the CF engine cover for $3,000. What a waste (to me).

PS - dynamic steering sounds like the BMW Active Steering which I LOVED in my X6... thoughts on this?

Rob O

I'll add that, of the 50+ cars/trucks/SUVs I've owned, among them were 3 E46 M3s (all 2005-2006 models), an E93 M3 (2012) and the new F8x M4 (2020). The B9 RS5 is the first time across all three generations I feel Audi's M-equivalent is the better car. It will be interesting to see how the 2021 is by comparison (to both the outgoing F8x and the B9/B9.5 RS models). I think it's going to get BMW back on track in nearly every category ... Save for looks (the Sportback is near design perfection) and utility (the Sportback's hatch configuration makes traditional sedans archaic).

superswiss

I've never owned an M3/4, but I've driven them. I had the previous RS5 (2013) and I couldn't get on board with the B9 RS5. It comes down to the driver experience and driver focus. The B9 RS5 is a nice daily/commuter car, but unless you push it closer to its limits, it practically provides largely the same experience as the S5. The engines are largely the same just different power levels. The RS5 variant has a slightly shorter stroke to handle the higher forces, which is what makes it a 2.9l instead of a 3.0l, and a second turbo for the higher power, but the block and most of the engines are the same and pretty much have the same character. Transmission and drivetrain are also practically identical. The RS5 has a slightly smaller and lighter torque converter, and the different components are tuned slightly more aggressive than in the S5. You do have to drive one and while you are at it, I recommend you also drive the S5 to compare (make sure it has the optional sport differential).

I ended up with a 2019 C63S Coupe. Since you are coming from a MT, I have a suspicion that you might not like the sport tuned traditional torque converter automatic gearbox in the RS5. It was one of the big factors for me. I came from 15+ years of MT to the dual clutch in my 2013 RS5, which I loved, to now what AMG calls a Multi Clutch Transmission. The common denominator of all these transmissions is that they all use clutches between the engine and the transmission. I personally just can't get excited about a torque converter in a performance car. I miss the directness and responsiveness of the solid connection a clutch provides. The MCT transmission in my AMG is quite interesting and so far my favorite modern automatic/semi-automatic as at the core it's a planetary automatic gearbox with <100ms shifts and the ability to skip gears, but by replacing the traditional torque converter with a wet clutch it completely transforms the character and experience. Yes, a torque converter is more comfortable at slow speeds and in traffic, but that's not what I'm looking for in my cars. I'm fortunate that I don't have a car commute and don't really spend all that much time in traffic, but if I do, the adaptive cruise control moves the car pretty smoothly.

As for the steering, I had the Dynamic Steering in my RS5. I don't have experience with the BMW Active Steering, but the Dynamic Steering is a variable ratio steering rack. It changes the steering ratio up to a 100% depending on many factors. I liked it. It made the generally numb Audi steering more direct and sporty. In RS variant it locks the ratio in Dynamic mode, so you get a predictable response when driving in sporty fashion, but in Comfort and Auto mode, adjusting the ratio makes the car much easier to maneuver and park in daily situations and on the highway it provides superior straight line stability as it makes the steering more indirect. So minor disturbances don't make the car deviate from its straight line. The steering in my AMG is also a variable ratio steering rack, so I do like that. Having said that, though, the steering might be another thing that you may not like coming from RWD. As much as I liked the Dynamic Steering, there is no hiding that power goes to the front wheels. You will notice it coming from RWD. I started to get tired of it and I'm really glad to be back in an RWD. The steering is just at a different level if the front wheels don't have to do two things at the same time. I'm intrigued by the new AWD systems that both BMW and AMG are using now, which under normal conditions send 100% to the rear, so it drives/steers like an RWD and power is only sent to the front if traction requirements demand it, plus if you want you can also fully decouple the front axle and switch the car to pure RWD. I've come to the conclusion that while I liked Quattro a lot, it sends too much power to the front wheels (40%) under normal conditions.

Rob O

FWIW, I disagree the RS5 "provides largely the same experience as the S5." I owned a B9 S5 Sportback (from new) for 18 months before taking delivery of my RS5 Sportback. My S5 had the sport diff. I admit when test driving an RS5 Coupe the summer ahead of Sportback orders opening, I was left unimpressed ... and felt largely the same, that the RS5's *feel* from behind the wheel didn't warrant the premium over my S5 SB. Then I drove the RS5 SB when they hit dealers, and it was a totally different experience. Back to back with my S5 SB (which only had suspension, tires/wheels and AWE exhaust, no other performance mods), the RS5 was a totally different animal. The best way I can describe this is: The RS5 is a purpose built sports sedan with luxury bits, while the S5 is a luxury car with sport bits. The S5 really is just a more powerful and sporty A5. The RS5, with all it's differences, is beyond just a more powerful and sporty S5. Power delivery is better, the transmission algorithms are sharper, the handling is more crisp. That's my opinion, as the owner/driver of both.

** Forgot to include C63s observations **

I think the C63s is a great car, and the LCI updates to the interior recently make it even more attractive. That V8 is glorious, and IMO the C63s is the muscle car of the group, especially in coupe form ... It's like a German GT350 or Camaro ZL1 but with all the engineering, luxury and high quality materials you'd expect of Mercedes/AMG. And the driving experience is more muscle-car like than 911-like from my time behind the wheel. I drove the C63S a number of times, thinking that would be my next car because I really wanted a V8 back in my life. In the end, the AMG characteristics were a little bit more visceral and raw than I was looking for. Doesn't make it bad car at all, just makes it different. And I can see how driving one of those versus driving the RS5 Sportback would feel a lot different.

belzebutt

Why would you own 3 E46 M3s? Buying on impulse and not liking the color? Please explain how one goes through so many similar cars.