V~SMOOTH

Arrived at the dealer today to take a face to face look at the A5 and was surprised to see an S5 on the lot. Needless to say I had to test drive both.

A5 thoughts:

The Bang & Olufsen system is the best I have heard in a long time. I considered a C300 coupe beforehand and really enjoyed the Harmon system. B&O system is in another league. I was very impressed with the A5's interior and exterior. The C300's interior feels very cheap in comparison to A5/S5. The A5 is very responsive and quick on the road. While it won't throw your chest to the back of the seat like the S5 it is such a tremendous drive with more than enough power for the average person

S5 thoughts:

The S5 has very good power, although I was expecting more. I think the A5's improvement performance wise is much more noticeable than in the S5. Power seems about the same to me as the previous generation. I was a little disappointed that Audi, doesn't offer more features and detail to differentiate between the A5 and S5. They look practically the same except for some very slight differences. If you de-badged them both I doubt the common person could tell on first glance. For 10k + difference I think it should be clear. The exhaust was very tame even in Dynamic mode. The Carbon fiber inlays are beautiful. The seats were very comfortable and the MMI works like a charm. I think Audi USA really missed the beat when they chose the rims for these models as I have been even more unimpressed with them in person.

Summary:

All in all, the A5 & S5 are beautiful in person. The pictures don't do them justice. If the rims were better I think the car would be perfect. Personally, I plan to buy a set of Vossen's as soon as I receive my A5 next month.

str8line

Good info, thanks. What color were they? Any pictures? What dealership?

Excited about the B&O system. Did you have a chance to see how fun they were? Does the A5 handle differently than the S5? Steering? Brakes? Back seat headroom check by chance? Anything you did not like? Thanks.

Audi160

Just saw this A5 today at a dealership in Ontario. Didn't test drive as I didn't have the time. Looks better in person. Now I'm thinking if I should change by order from Daytona grey to black!

V~SMOOTH

The A5 was Matador Red and the S5 was Ibis white. There was also an Mythos Black A5 that I did not drive. I took two terrible pictures because I was in a rush but I will attach them. Audi Memphis.

The handle was surprisingly about the same to me in Dynamic mode. The extra power of the S5 was noticeable immediately and suspension was a little stiffer but I'm sure that was because of the Adaptive Damping Suspension. Not enough to pay $1000 for in my opinion. Brakes were what you would expect from 50k + car. Very good although the S5 was a tad better with the larger braking system. I didn't care for the look of the A5's calipers but that is a simple change.

Both cars are very fun to drive. You can't go wrong with either. The A5 has very good power for a 4 cylinder. I prefer the previous model S5 over the B9 as the supercharger just feels much more responsive. The dealer offered to sell me the S5, but I just couldn't see enough to justify the 12k difference so I will instead wait on my A5. The backseat room isn't great but its much better than comparable models from Mercedes and BMW. I found several things I did not like about the Mercedes, but both Audi's appear to be great cars. The trunk space is excellent and it was nice to see the sunroof actually retract on this model

Emerson11

Thanks for taking the time to post this information. I agree about the wheels and the lack of visual differentiation between A & S. I'm tempted to wait (and hope) for an RS Sportback.

adg44

Interesting. What about the wheels don't you like?

Also, an A5 with S line and an S5 are going to look somewhat similar. That's why the standard A5 has a different look (grille, chrome trim, front and rear valance, wheels) than the S line so that it is further differentiated.

heisnuts

Thanks for the review.

I was able to drive the A5 last week, but our dealers have not received their first S5 Coupes yet. I too was impressed with how quick the 4 cylinder was and how comfortable the car drove even with the base suspension. However, being the power lover I am, I am sure once I drive the S5, my order will go in for the S5 with the prestige package.

I was also really impressed with the virtual cockpit display. This was the first time I had seen the display in person, and I was really impressed with the layout and how many different options there were. Between this display and the heads up display that comes with the prestige package, I have a feeling a lot of buyers will want the prestige package. It seems strange that most of the first cars arriving at dealers do not have the prestige package.

Since you were able to drive both, how different did the seats feel from the A5 to the sport seats in the S5? Our dealer did not have anything with the sport seats so I only have seat time in a base A5.

Wilsontour

Interestingly, I have quite opposite feedback from the OP. Again, just my personal perception of the two cars, YMMV. I tested A5 last Friday, to be frankly, not very impressed. The steeringwheel is so loose even in dynamic mode, and engine doesn't sound good when going high revs from a quick start at traffic lights. However the acceleration is fast enough for a four cylinder turbo engine.The suspension is way too soft and body roll is inevitable. My wife has a 2015 C250 coupe with AMG package, and I would say the C250 has more fun to drive than the New a5. So this Friday tested out the S5, huge difference. Powerhouse obviously is in another league, and the exhaust sound is so good on S5, suspension much stiffer, steering wheel much tighter under sports mode. Acceleration is super fast. Image wise, S5 looks much better from the end. Have to have the black optic package to compromise the front end brace grill. By the way the S5 I tested with the chair massage option which is very comfy. For $10000 difference, I will go for S5 with no brainer.

V~SMOOTH

Comfort wise they were both pretty much the same although S5 seats are a little more snug. In saying that, the S5 seats look amazing. The A5 sport seats just look pretty plain.

I'm with you, in terms of power, the feel of the S5 power is unreplaceable, but in terms of the speedometer and how fast your actually going, not much difference.

A Prestige package S5 will come very close to 70k range which is what I would go for if I went that route. I have an order in for a Prestige a5 for around 55k. Personally, I'll wait a few years and jump to an RS5 for that price. I drove a Premium Plus S5 that was 65k.

My dealer informed me that he has saw some aftermarket mods by APR that will really make the a5 move and sound even better than it does now.

V~SMOOTH

I don't have much knowledge of the c250, but the 2017 C300(AMG) was just not up to par. In terms of exhaust sound the S5 wins that notion hands down. If your comparing the two (s5 to a5) the s5 easily moves much better from a stand still. But, I will say that the last gen s5 (supercharger) feels much better from a stand still than the turbo.

In terms of looks, I just don't see much difference. The s5 has dual exhaust, different rear diffuser, and a little extra chrome on the front bumper. Unless your at an auto show, I'm not sure who would notice that as your driving around town. Hopefully in the next few years they will do a tad bit more to separate the models. To my knowledge there isn't a black optics package for either model in the US. That would definitely change my opinion!

In saying that, the S5 is a great car. You can't go wrong with it. This is more of a dissappointment with Audi than the actual car.

Did the a5 you tested have the sport suspension?