S4Aero

Hello fellow fanatics! I'm a long time Audi owner ('01 S4, 03 A4, 2006 RS4, 2013 S4, 2014 RS5), the last two of which still reside in my garage. I am thinking about trading in the RS on a new RS5 - partly because of an ongoing "mystery issue" (see fuel pump thread) and partly because my lovely bride has given me "permission". Frankly, she's concerned about getting stranded. So, here's the rub; I really like my current car - I'm a bit worried about the reliability, too, but there's something about that 4.2L V8 that makes me smile every time I start it up (if it starts). So, I'm asking for opinions more than advice. Who's made a similar swap? Happy with the change? What do you think?

Sebastian3

Just for clarity: Your wife is concerned about getting stranded in a new (I presume 2019) RS5?

emacS5

No, his wife is worried about getting stranded in his current car with the fuel pump issues, which is why she gave permission for new car.

Ajax1900

If you really like your car then I would just stick through the diagnostic/repair process for a little longer, I’m sure they’ll get to the bottom of it eventually even if over the next month you have to deal with the anxiety until the techs finally put their finger on it. There probably shouldn’t be a rush to drop $90K + just because you might have to call an Uber.

S4Aero

Thanks to everyone for their input. Yeah, my wife is worried about being stranded in the '14 RS5. I absolutely enjoy my car. I am worried that Audi won't diagnose the real cause and that it will happen again. After all, this is their third attempt at the same problem in a period of about 18 months. What I'm hoping to learn here is what other owners of the B8 have done, and how they feel about their new B9.

Thanks!

ArvX147

I am not an rs5 owner of either generation, but from what other forum posters have said I think lots of the b8 rs5 drivers are sticking with the b8 or going to another brand (Merc)

I think there's a lot about the new rs5 that makes it
A) questionably better buy over the s5.
B) much more of a gt than the older car, I think a bunch of that comes down to the transmission.

heymoe

I think it comes down to what you really want out a car. As a new RS5 Sportback owner, I personally like the more GT nature it has. This will be a daily driver for me so I don't really care that it can't be driven like a hooligan sideways down a track that most reviews tend praise the M and AMGs for. Sure it doesn't have that deep roar of a V8 which I admit can be intoxicating but I find the sound of the new V6 to be more than acquitted for me and not be the annoying, look at me, sound that I know some people look for. That's not to say you can't get that with an exhaust change or what not. Also I'm still in the break-in period so I haven't had a chance to really hear the stock sport exhaust sing yet nor have I been able to really judge the transmission. I also find the Sportback version to be very practical with the hatch and extra doors while still having a sporty side (jekyll and hyde) which comes in handy if you can only have a one car garage instead of a practical + sporty 2 car garage.

There are plenty of threads that have discussed if the RS5 is worth the extra price over the S5. The S5 is a very capable car that is more then enough for most people. I was originally planning on getting the S5 Sportback before they announced the RS5 Sportback. For me, the RS5 looks better, is going to be more rare / unique / special, has the power I was really looking for, with warranty, even though I know I'll likely never fully utilize it and I always wanted an RS car and never thought I would have the opportunity. Also, if I did end up going with the S5, I would have sunk in more money into it to try and make it look and perform like the RS5 thus chipping away at the price difference even more.

From what I've read, between the B8/8.5 RS5 and the B9, the B9 is faster, has more torque, handles better, is lighter, has better tech, etc... While the B8/8.5 seems to only have the V8 sound and maybe a better transmission going for it.

superswiss

I have been in a similar boat. My RS5 had misfire issues and they eventually diagnosed the driver side high pressure fuel bump failing. I had trouble warm starting the car and had a couple of times where I thought I was stranded but eventually managed to get it started. It's pretty much fine since they replaced the fuel pump. However, I felt it was time to replace the car and had been looking for a new ride for the past 1-2 years. I ended up buying a 2019 C63S Coupe and picked it up in Germany 3 weeks ago. I'll be here enjoying it until July 7. I had driven the B9 RS5 Coupe extensively for several 100 miles on my typical roads and took it for a blast through the canyons. It simply didn't do it for me. Coming from the B8 it was a major disappointment. The tech is upgraded, but that's about it. The C63 is the same kind of beast as the B8 RS5. Looks and sounds menacing and goes like a rocket. What I didn't know until it got closer to owning the car is that the tech is significantly ahead of Audi. I decked mine out with almost every option, other than the HUD and CCBs. Out of the tech I'm enjoying the driving assist package the most. It's at the level of Tesla's Autopilot. For some reason MB doesn't really advertise it. This car is an amazing long distance cruiser and daily driver. It steers on its own, accelerates and slows down for other cars, exits, intersections etc., changes lanes on its own by simply engaging the turn signal, and it doesn't constantly yell at me to put my hands on the steering wheel. It has touch sensors in the steering wheel, so I don't have to periodically provide slight steering inputs to satisfy the software as is the case in the B9. The tech feels overall much better thought through and implemented than Audi's tech. This is my first Mercedes and I'm quite impressed. Thanks to the driving assistance tech, it is a much better GT than the B9 RS5, IMO. What it kinda comes down to me is that when driving normally, the B8 RS5 still feels special. At no point do I think I'm driving an A5 or S5. It feels and sounds different at any speed. Same with the C63. At no point do I mistake it for a C43, or regular C Class. With the B9 RS5, I felt like I'm driving an S5 or even an A5 during most of the normal driving. It did pretty well in the canyons, but if I spend that kind of money, I wanna get rewarded even just driving to the grocery store. I didn't get that feeling with the B9 RS5. It felt more like I could save a ton of money and just get an S5 and it would be 95% the same.

Quick pic of the car after the first wash at my parent's house. It's been mostly raining since I picked it up, so that's a bit of a bummer. I'll start the process of selling my RS5 once I get back.

S4Aero

Thanks very much for your thoughtful reply. Frankly, the C63S is one of the cars on my radar. Anything I buy will be a daily driver, and I'm a bit concerned about how it will act in an Ohio winter, but I'm definitely looking into it. Thanks, again!

superswiss

Yeah, winter and slippery road driving is the one thing the RS5 has going for it. The good thing about having all this rain currently is that I was able to experience the car on slippery roads. It came with Michelin PSS, which I'll be replacing with PS4S for even better wet grip eventually, but I was impressed by how well it does on wet roads. Certainly breaking traction is very easy with that much torque on the rear wheels, but the traction control regulates the power very well. The 2019 S has an all new traction control system with 9 stages (non-S doesn't have it). If you turn off ESP, one can manually dial the traction control up/down for more or less intervention. As opposed to previous RWD cars I owned, this one doesn't neuter the engine if the wheels lose traction and instead smoothly regulates the torque going to the driven wheels. It also has a new Slippery mode, which starts the car in second gear and reduces the power. I didn't really have a need to use it, but it's probably a good thing to have if the car is driven in the winter. Ultimately, winter driving comes down to tires. Too many people get AWD and then cheap out on the tires by putting on all-season tires. There are folks over on the MB forums who live in Canada and drive the C63 in the winter and don't really have any problems as long as they have a proper set of a winter tires on it. I've said this before, much of winter driving is about stopping the car and steering it on slippery roads, and that comes all down to tires. AWD won't help stopping the car.