LOVEMYGOLFR

Thank you to this forum for really educating me on my pending RS5 purchase. One question that i have after watching pretty much ever RS5 video is the suspension. It seems that there are only two modes- Comfort (soft) and Dynamic (Universally disparaged as too stiff in these videos) And a 5 minute test drive wont be enough to really let you know how the car drives. For instance- Mercedes C or E and BMW have like 5 modes and you can tailor the ride to your exact needs. The Audi seems to be less than this- and while there is an "Individual" mode where you can set all settings manually, however there are only two setting for each component? Steering - Comfort or Dynamic, suspension - Comfort or Dynamic etc.. While I want a comfortable daily drive- i want to open it up on the back roads- but don't want an M2 like ride, (My wife has one) with its excessively stiff suspension that is so hard it shakes your teeth fillings over bad pavement. Isnt there something in the middle between soft and (too) stiff on the RS5 ?

MRA5SB

There is a Auto setting but I am not sure if it truly is a middle ground between Dynamic and Comfort or just means that it will switch between Dynamic and Comfort as needed.

Xenny

Buncha softies those reviewers! I'm in dynamic all the time except for 2+ hour road trips, where I set it to individual mode and put the suspension only into Auto mode. In Individual mode you have comfort -> auto -> dynamic as the available settings, which each one being more stiff than the other.

Honestly the suspension in Auto mode is a truly sublime ride imo.

LOVEMYGOLFR

So this is what I have seen from other reviews and it is confusing to me- is "Auto" an actual "mode" or is it simply "Auto" switching back and forth between soft and firm in "real-time" as the car sensors see fit??

Xenny

i feel like i can feel a difference between the three, certainly dynamic to auto. i found this floating around as well

chicago_marketing

Recent audi models have four driving modes: comfort, auto, dynamic and individual. The differences (delta) between each method magnify the higher up the model chain you go: A-->S--->RS. The suspensions feel different between the RS5 Coupe / Sportback with audi re-working the suspension for the weight gain on the Sportback and subjectively has the better suspension (to accommodate the increased weight in the back). Auto is a real mode and a lot of forum users like this mode. I tend to drive either in "everyone is going to die" dynamic mode or "I'm so tired from work" comfort mode. In any case, you will like the different settings and will be able to play with it to your heart's content and customize around seven different areas in the individual mode. Audi was one of the first brands to offer this (along with the digital dash), and IMO is still the best.

LOVEMYGOLFR

Thank you very much for your input and clarification. I assume this is al available with the Dynamic option?

superswiss

Yes, Auto is a real mode. IMO, Audi poorly named it. Lot of people think it's switching back and forward between Comfort and Dynamic automatically, which is not the case at all. A better name for the mode is Balanced. It weighs all aspects equally and it is basically the normal mode with no particular emphasis on comfort or sporty driving. The three modes are also not some kind of a fixed setting. The suspension in each mode doesn't have fixed damping rates for example. The algorithms behind the suspension etc. are all dynamic and they adapt to the current driving situation and driving style, but the mode controls the overall emphasis of the algorithms. In Comfort mode, the algorithms try to provide an overall more comfortable driving dynamics, in Auto a balanced driving dynamics and in Dynamic a sporty driving dynamics. I think BMW and MB do it better by naming the modes Comfort, Sport for the middle setting and Sport+ for the most sporty setting. AMG S models have a Race mode on top of Sport+ for the most aggressive setup, similar to the R8 V10 Plus' Performance mode. What I also like much better about BMW and MB is that they have dedicated buttons for any of the individual chassis settings, so for example you don't have to change the entire drive mode just to make the suspension softer or stiffer. Both BMW and AMG have Individual modes, but at any time you can change individual components such as the suspension via dedicated buttons to for example temporary soften the suspension in Sport+ if you find yourself on a bumpy road w/o having to change out of Sport+ completely or change your Individual mode configuration. Gives more flexibility than what Audi offers.

LOVEMYGOLFR

Great information- and it seems that these 80-100k "mid range" "supercars" are attempting, with pretty good success, to be both "comfortable" cruisers and twisty road killer. And how the driving modes are switched and manipulated is very important- its not a deal breaker but yes how the individual components can be switched on the fly without having to expose the entire Drive Mode and "re save" is a huge plus. Like most who get a car in this price range, we have cross shopped C63/s, E53, M2/3/4. My wife owns and M2- wayyy too amped up all the time. But I am choosing the RS5 because I believe that it is the best of all worlds- maybe a master of none? But you get the best combination of Comfort/Sport/Speed and killer looks. The C63s is very cool and powerful for sure- but a bit too loud for me all the time- tight interior for the midsize car it is and optioned the way I want it- it is 95k. RS5 Coupe with my options is 8k less for what is a better car for me. But the LCI for the RS must revamp how the modes are switched- and maybe some lines of code to even make each mode "better"?

superswiss

Yeah, best to choose the car that checks most of one's boxes. I opted for the '19 C63S Coupe next. Taking delivery in a month and two days in Germany, followed by a two months stay. I currently own the previous generation RS5 and didn't find what I was looking for in the new one. I doubt Audi will change the way Drive Select works. It's pretty ingrained. I was hoping that they would move the engine start/stop and Drive Select button to the steering wheel like they did for the TTRS and R8, but it was disappointing to see that they left it in that rather inconvenient location. Having to cycle through to get to the mode you want is also pretty cumbersome. I don't change the modes very often in my current RS5. It stays pretty much in Individual mode most of the time, but that's to a big extent because the suspension is fixed and it always takes my attention away from driving until I found the right mode. I'm very much looking forward to how AMG moved all these controls to the steering wheel for MY19. Feels like a race car and very convenient to change things on the fly. One thing that helps in the RS5 is to program the * button to change the Drive Select mode, so you can at least do it from the steering wheel.