mdrobc1213

That is your rub there...you've already named all the major contenders man in the category. Been there and done that. Came from '14 Range Rover Sport SC and ended up with my current '19 RS5 SB because to be honest it checked the most boxes for me. Major ones were





1) Performance - when I wanted it. Its all easily set up and just a setting away. I drive mine in Dynamic - Individual mode and it makes the car a much different car than just what many see in Comfort mode which may be what many unfamiliar with the car are given test drives in. M5's, M3 w/Comp package and Alpha Romeo Gulia all give good performance as do others. Only you can determine you needs. As my wife says...you can only legally drive the speed limit anyway and when guys really start harping on hp/torque and Nuringburg ring times that aren't tracking their cars and live state side I do have to pull the BS car as one who's taken BMW M course, Porsche Driving School and a few others and realize that in day to day driving in the US...none of us are really utilizing 1/10 of these cars dynamics/potential unless we're on a track! So its pointless really!


2) Exclusivity - RS Sport? Don't see them at all. Haven't come across not ONE RS5 on the road and only other RS5 SB I've seen has been on the show room floor. Nice. M4/M3 and the others I see often. Only other one I don't see much is the Alpha Guilia Quadr. Panamera's often seen. Mercedes a bit less but they're out there. Maserati Ghibili? Not seen that often but then again why get one? No review I've seen has recommended that car unless you just want the sound and that can be easily fixed aftermarket wise. Other options...open you wallet and say ahh. The new Mercedes AMG GT 4 door coupe is a looker and performance winner I think but they its almost twice the cost of the RS5 for the C63 version and even then the un-optioned C53 AMG GT 4 door coupe is gonna cross the $99k line I hear once released in the fall. Too rich for my blood!


3) Affordability - Panamera's? All new ones $140k+ for a 4S or a bit less for an S; CPO all were about $90k plus. Also the RS5 shares the same engine with the Panamera 4S BTW! My sales guy at Porsche was amazed when I brought the RS5 by to check on my Carrera in that aspect and the fact that it beat the Panamera 4S in price and performance with the same dayum engine basically! Said he needed to do some more 'research" on my RS5! BMW wise...you could go with a BMW M3 for same money yes, Audi S5 for about $10k less but less performance. Maybe you can get a Kia Stinger GTS for less money but don't think the same category either we're talking about here. Optioned out..the RS5 with Black Optics, RS Drivers + Dynamic package was all I really needed and even then at 8% off MSRP I got still beat almost all competitors! I wasn't trying to drop $100k+ on my next daily driver!


4) Options - Audi does packages better than many. Porsche always has you selling a kidney to get what you want and BMW often packages stuff you don't want to get what you do it seems. But then again what car maker now does not. Aftermarket wise there are ways around what the manufacturer doesn't offer. I swapped out Michelin PS4 SPort tires and HRE wheels and car is transformed with more grip than I need or can use 80% of the time. Shocks are out there and once they truly crack the ECU good lord. ABT has already done it and am sure someone like APR is close behind. AWE has airflow done and also an exhaust (you lose the valves - not what I want at this time) and MIlltech I hear has the best one out there) So there are options....

4) Sytling - was there and nice lines all around. Better than the Mercedes and to a degree the BMW which if I got a 4 series GC would just have M badges - mostly non functional. A7/S7 nice lines old versions and new ones but then too big. 5 Series BMWs maybe but then a bit big also and BMW cookie cutter.

Yep as I said above...do more homework and drive a few more cars! Never hurts anything but the tires! PS I originally wanted Nardo Gray but wife vetoed the color and not the car...ended up with Daytona Pearl Gray and love it! Besides it matches my '4 Carrera S color scheme wise!

Cv640pilot

Bleser

So many good comments / thoughts / suggestions - thanks all!

A second test drive is in order, with a thorough review of the drive modes (and even to setup the Individual mode) before I head out. As many of of you have pointed out, from nearly all angles the RS5 SB beats competitors hands-down, and I can't get over just how GOOD this car looks. I have 18 months to pick a color...

I will say that one of the things I didn't like about the exhaust was the lower-RPM sound (or lack thereof), but almost equally I didn't like the 'burping/farting' sound during shifts while accelerating. I'm wondering if this this is more of a feature of the sports exhaust, and maybe models without the dynamic package do this less? I know it is crazy talk to consider an RS5 SB w/o this package but I really do wonder if anyone test drove an RS5 w/o the dynamic package back-to-back. I'll have the time to do so myself I'm sure.

Thanks again all. And yes, things will change over the next 18 months, but really the MY20 cars are likely already in production (or will be soon) and I'm not sure how much will change for MY21 as MY20 should get the pending 'refresh', so the cards are mostly revealed at this point.

@mdrobc1213 - when you drive your 911 back-to-back with the RS5, does the RS5 just feel completely soft? Curious on that. Thanks!

Cheers!

msochemist

You should try and compare it to Mustang GT350 or GT500

m444

The RWD platform could be more exciting to drive, but AWD has less drama.

mdrobc1213

Bleser...no they are two different cars entirely. The 991.1 is a different drive and dynamics of performance and handling are different completely. RS5 does not feel soft or under powered when driven after or before the Carrera. Both are excellent vehicles and go about the same thing differently. RS5 more of a sport sedan/part GT while Carrera has more sports car/GT and both can easily switch between the two depending on the driver, road and also other performance enhancements can help that experience further. Think of it as having a set of high top Air Jordans and a set of low top/ankle cut ones. Both do similar functions depending on how you want to go about things on the court that day and who you are playing along with your skill level!

billrs5

I'll chime in here. I came from a 2016 BMW M4. I too had the same problem with the lack of sound at lower revs and idling, especially coming from the M4, which is one of the loudest stock cars - not necessarily a nice sound, but definitely loud. However, compared to the M4 and the C63s for that matter, you can exploit all the power in all weather conditions (my M4 was constantly losing traction with even partial throttle) and the RS5 is newer inside/out (both the M4 and the C63 are very old in its life cycle at this point). I get a lot more looks and attention in my RS5 then I ever did in the M4 even without the loud exhaust. But if sound and theatrics is your biggest want, I'd suggest looking at a C63s or just waiting a bit until the next generation of cars come out.

superswiss

I have to set this straight. The M4 is indeed at the end of its lifecycle. The all-new 3-series is already on sale in Europe. However, the C63 just had its midcycle refresh. MY2019 is quite a bit overhauled and refreshed. New front with new grill and lower area, optional areo package which makes the car look awesome and all new more aggressive rear bumpers. New multibeam LED headlights as well. It still has the same glorious V8 biturbo, but everything else from the suspension, to the cabin tech to the driving assist features has been significantly updated and refreshed. It has a digital dash (virtual cockpit) now, too. The tech is actually quite a bit ahead of the B9 at this point. For example, the driving assist features are at Tesla Autopilot level. The C63 autonomously changes lanes on the highway for passing for example. This may not be important to a buyer, but just to demonstrate the level of the current tech in the C63. The B9 is due for its midcycle refresh. It's actually quite a bit dated at this point even within the Audi lineup itself. The MMI etc. is 4th generation and has been on the market for quite a few years now. The virtual cockpit came out in 2014 with the current generation TT and what's in the B9 hasn't changed much since then. Compared to what's in the new A6,7,8, Q8 and the Audi e-tron, the B9 tech feels very dated. It is still due to lose Google Earth at the end of next year for example. Also keep in mind that the entire B9 platform is older than the model years suggest. It was delayed for over a year and it took another year before it was released in North America, so by the time it was for sale here, the platform was already 2 years old. MB releases their cars much quicker in the international markets. I'm just bringing this up, because I think not many keep up to date with the lifecycles of Audi's competitors, but I would seriously look at the refreshed C63. I just came back from my European Delivery trip. 2 months with the new C63S Coupe in Europe and it was awesome. Now that I've lived with it for a while and extensively driven several variants of the B9 before and my C63 is pretty much fully loaded with all the tech, I have to say the RS5 is the outdated one at this stage until Audi comes out with the facelift which I believe is due next year. The B9.5 is gonna get an all new dash with the new generation MMI from the A6 etc., so the current RS5 will look and feel quite old in a year or so.

billrs5

All good points, the refreshed C63 is no doubt a very compelling car. Perhaps I misspoke. What I was referring to in general is just the body style for the US market with the C-class coming out for MY2015 vs. A4/A5 cars for MY2017. I remember cross shopping the same generation C63 sedan with my M4 back in 2016 so the same generation C63, albeit with a significant midcycle refresh, just seems a bit dated to me in 2019. Also, just my personal opinion, Audi seems to come up with tech and design that seem a bit newer and fresher than their BMW/Mercedes competition, e.g. virtual cockpit, despite being from 2014, is still superior to the latest MB/BMW digital gauges imo.

superswiss

Yeah, personal taste and preferences play a role. It depends on what you are looking for. The digital dash in the C63 has many of the same features and the navigation system has satellite overlays now, too. The new system, just like with the newer generation system in the new Audis is now powered by the HERE platform that Audi, Daimler and BMW acquired from Nokia a few years back and as opposed to Audi's current system in the B9 can be updated OTA with new features to keep it fresh over the coming years. The AMG system has a lot more performance displays to see exactly what's going on with the car. It's pretty cool and it has a telemetry app built in called TrackPace to record all kinds of parameters, including 0-60, 1/4 timers. Most track layouts are pre-programmed and it keeps track of your track times and gives you an overview of the track so you know what's coming up. Was pretty cool to use on the Nurburgring and see how my track times improved from lap to lap and a detailed break down of where exactly I was on the track and where I was faster/slower compared to previous laps. The entire driver zone is a lot more driver and performance oriented if you like that kind of thing. I have yet to try out many of the features, because while I was in Europe, the data connection wasn't working as it is tied to Verizon. Also, no additional cost for all the online features for the first 3 years. You have to pay a pretty penny for Audi connect to get all the features.