WENR

Yes, most likely the second gear start caused the sluggish feel off line. Come to think of it, I had a 2008 535i before and it was almost impossible to have a smooth standing still start, when too little throttle was applied there is not enough speed, and press the gas pedal a bit more the turbo kicks in and the car would lurch forward. I suspect Audi may have programed it so the S5 would go off the line smoothly.

I should clarify that once the S5 SB gains speed and is driven aggressively, the car does feel very fast, faster than the B8 S4. And I just had an hour drive back home, I think either the engine is getting stronger after initial break in, or that I am getting used to the torque curve, the car feels quite lively today. And the new turbo charged engine idles a bit smoother than the old supercharged engine. I would take back what I said about not seeing any advantage of the new engine.

Stankia

I very rarely drive on the highway, the 14mpg is almost 100% of city traffic driving.

Yeah lol I know but one would think someone in the chain of command would have figured out that S/RS cars would be driven harder than your average Toyota.

superswiss

That's the thing with the car industry today. These numbers are completely arbitrary and don't reflect the real world. Car manufacturers are in a game to meet these artificial dyno numbers. Hence the move away from responsive, great sounding naturally aspirated engines to smaller turbo charged engines that show great fuel mileage if they are driven through the fictitious drive cycles that the EPA and others use. The VW diesel scandal I think woke many people up and now there is a push towards more real world testing. I think we'll see an awakening in the industry. Evidence is already starting to come out, that the real world figures look very different.