dmanikas

What do you like about the RS4 over the M5?

larryV

1) I need a lighter more track-oriented car and the RS4 and M5 are too similar (being heavy, powerful, and having 4 doors) and neither are ideal for regular track use unless I want to inflate my track budget even more for the high costs of tires & brakes that the M5 and RS4 require. I've ordered an Exige S due this spring which means I will need to free up a garage space.

2) quattro makes the RS4 a better year-round daily driver, considering the midwest winters.

3) the M5 is a year old now, while the RS4 is still very new to me... as much as I love the M5, it has become the odd man out

4) the RS4 is red. I like red.

5) the M5 gets 10 mpg on mixed city/hwy daily driving... while I don't seriously care about this, I figured I'd list it here anyway to justify to myself exactly why I'm planning on parting with such an awesome car. The RS4 gets 14 mpg avg daily driving.

6) the RS4 is a 6 speed manual. Makes it marginally more fun to drive than the slightly less-involving-but-still-brilliant SMG.


Bear in mid that the M5 is also better than the RS4 in many ways as I've mentioned in previous posts, and that is what makes it such a hard decision. For example, the M5 is larger, is more comfortable and luxrious yet can be dialed in to be sporty by the touch of a few buttons, has far superior audio sound quality, has the best seats I've ever sat on, and is the fastest accelerating car once past 80 mph I've ever driven. It will be a sad day when I have to say goodbye to it.

dmanikas

I know its hard to say but if you had to guess which do you think would be more problem free?

larryV

only because the M5's 7-speed SMG3 is not only very new but is such a complicated unit that I can't help but worry about it grenading in the future especially since it has to deal with so much power and begs to be abused since the rev-matched downshifts are not only so fast and effective but very cool to listen to that many drivers do it not out of necessity but because they like to pretend it's an F1 car. Also, there is a lot more electronic stuff connected to the powertrain and suspension with sensors up the wazoo that although everything has been solid so far, a few years down the line it might not be as peachy.

Then again, BMW is the only company of the big three germans that still offer free maintainace for the first 3 years/50k miles of ownership. They've been good about it too... even after I wore-out my front rotors after 10+ track days and going through 2 sets of brake pads, they replaced everything no questions asked.

dmanikas

Which car is more forgiving ride wise in everyday driving and which has the better nav unit?

larryV

it has 3 EDC settings (electronic damper control): comfort, normal, sport. Comfort feels like a luxury car and really smoothes out the ride, normal is equivalent to the RS4's ride (if not a bit softer than the RS4's), and sport is very firm and is suitable for the track (definitely more firm than the RS4). The EDC can be adjustable on the fly using a button next to the smg lever, or via iDrive, or preset via the M-button.

As far as the nav unit goes, I prefer the iDrive. People here knock iDrive based on what they've read on magazines but the truth of the matter is that BMW has improved the interface since the first version when the 745i was first released. The M5's nav is actually more intuitive than the RNS-E "MMI" that is in the RS4. Entering an address on the iDrive is much easier, while on the RS4, it is a very tedious task to use that stupid dial interface with letters so small that I sometimes have to squint to see them. Also, the actual navigation map on the iDrive has moving tags for street names that refresh and reposition themselves when the map moves so that you know what the names of all the streets and roads are. It's brilliant. The way the map zooms in and out via animated scaling is a nice touch as well. The only thing I like about the RS4's nav is the voice. The iDrive's voice sounds like a female Stephen Hawking sometimes.

dmanikas

But you have really gave me allot on insight being that you have had the car for an extended period of time. What don't you like about the M5? And aside from the technical aspect and personal preferences, which is the car you love more just for from a driving standpoint?

larryV

I have two answers

I like the M5 more when driven near the limit at the track primarily because it is more rewarding to drive when driven properly simply because it is a rear drive car with lots of power and throttle steering becomes a larger factor whereas the RS4 is almost too easy to drive fast. Also, the M5 laps faster around most tracks (at least the way I drive it) and it simply leaves the RS4 in the dust on longer straights. There is this straight at my local track where I can get near 130 mph in the M5 where the RS4 can only muster 115. Big difference. Both cars' cornering abilties are about equal but the M5 requires a bit more skill to get it right, which is what makes it fun.

I like the RS4 more when driven on the street, to work, to run errands, to buy milk & eggs. Around town, when driven normally and not at redline, it sounds better, behaves better, and the powertrain is more sedate and better suited to stop & go motoring. The fact that the suspension is stiffer and cannot be changed with a button press gives it a characteristic sportiness that I find enjoyable. The fact that I will be getting a separate lighter track toy makes the decision to keep the RS4 over the M5 easier since it makes a more enjoyable daily driver despite having the less compliant suspension.

To answer your first question, what I don't like about the M5 is the sound the engine makes an idle and especially during the first 5-10 mins from a cold startup. It sounds terrible, like a diesel motor sorely in need of a tuneup. But once it is revved up, you definitely know it has an exotic V10 under the hood. it's just too bad it doesn't sound exotic all the time.

Btw, a lot of the stuff Clarkson bitched about on the top gear show is total BS. For example, the Nav... it's very easy to turn off the instructions and voice if he would've just read the manual for 2 minutes. Also, he bitched about the turn signal because he had no idea that it had two detents, the slighter of which cancels the signal as needed, which he claimed could not be cancelled. Clarkson is funny but is such a tool.