Eli McCraig

Wow! They both sound like an angry puma at idle (in dynamic). Amazing.

Both beautiful. Both had 19" wheels, the S5 also had the Sport Pack and napa. The s4 didn't have either.

After this drive, I have concluded that for me:

The 19's are a must.

The Napa seats are a must.

The sport pack'd be nice, but isn't necessary--I only felt any difference when taking as S turn at ridiculous speed...then the S5 wrapped it self around the turn, like it was made of malleable metal. I'm not sure what it was doing, but some systems kicked in, and just wrapped itself around that corner. Unreal, but I'll never drive my car at the limit like this. I do like the red brake calipers on either the DG or NB colors with the 19" wheels though. Can live without, as the non sport pack calipers still have a red Sx logo on them.

Im also indifferent on the Tech Pack. I found the VC distracting, and couldn't figure out how to get a big speedo, and big tach to display- I really like that view, not sure if even possible. But if it's there, I'd set it to that and forget it. I don't like the single large digital speedo/tach/combo, and the small speedo/small tach with the nav in the middle are almost unreadable to me, and besides VAG's analogue gauges are, to me, best in class.

I am really torn between the S4 and S5. (I'm in an B8.5 A5 now, and stuck on the fact that the S5 isn't different enough for me, aside from the performance, of course) And the dealer didn't have an S5SB for me to test, so will need to do that before my final decision.

Tough decisions to make!

Any thoughts?
This is just me thinking this through out loud...

kstrike155

Just picked up my S4 yesterday.

Big speedo and big tach require the ignition to be on and the car parked. You can then use the arrange view functionality to switch to "classic" view. You can't change it while moving

If you need the space, S4. If you don't take people in your car, S5 (and also assuming you're willing to pay extra; the price of the car itself is more and they are less willing to discount).

Sport pack gets you the adaptive suspension, so ensure you take that into account.

Spartan-S4

I test drove both and went with the S4.

The S5 is just an upcharge on the S4. They are virtually the same car underneath and inside. The outside in terms of the design/doors are the differences.

In terms of the S5 I was originally looking at that (my tag was Spartan-S5) but after doing this research and looking at also the S5SB and the the S4 I came to the conclusion that the S4 was the way to go. I also think the S4 just looks much more aggressive with the hard lines/lights/etc where the S5 looks soft and I feel it's not going to age well. The S5SB I really think looks like a Fusion and the upcharges on it are just absurd to me.

If you go with the S5 you are being up-charged $3200 and for less doors, less access and less space inside.

And on top of that you don't get the Bang and Olufens included so that's another $950 out of your pocket for that.

So $4150 more for an S5 over an S4 and you will not get any discounts on an S5 or S5SB most likely. You can get 6% on an S4 with Audi Club and can usually get 5% for sure without it.

RE: the Sport package/Nav package. I think you made your decision on that and the those packages already. You are coming to the same conclusions I did and which is why I didn't order my S4 with either of them. I would suggest going into a dealer and asking to sit in an 2018 A5 (a lot of them don't have the nav/tech package) and you can see the gauges/screen/set up and use them because that is what would come on the S4. I also have a picture in there of what they look like with the nice center screen.

You can see my order thread here and I discuss both.

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/s4-.../#post25022126

-Spartan-S4

kstrike155

For what it's worth, here's the deal I just closed on. I had 3 or 4 different dealers willing to give me the same pricing. I am not an Audi Club member.

2018 Audi S4 Premium Plus
Daytona Gray
Black Nappa
Carbon Inlays
Black Optic Package
Navigation Package
S Sport Package
Dynamic Steering
Rear Airbags

Price
MSRP: $62,700
Selling Price: $58,519.63 ($370 below invoice)

Fees
AudiCare: $869
Tags: $335
Doc Fee: $300
Acq Fee: $895
Subtotal
$60,918.63

Credits
Audi Loyalty: $750

Terms
Term/Miles: 36/12k
Money Factor: .00124
Residual: 61%

Payment
$731/mo + $57 tax = $788/mo with first month due at signing

superswiss

That would be the sport differential in action on the S5. It gives the car RWD characteristics and reduces/eliminates the inherent understeer characteristic of the Audi platforms. You don't really have to drive at the limit to take advantage. If you've ever driven an RWD car and know how you can control your turning radius by giving it more or less throttle, you will appreciate this aspect of the sport differential even just driving around town. This is why I mostly keep my RS5 in Individual mode with the sport differential in Dynamic. It makes the car drive very different in pretty much all situations. Not to mention that the sport differential also provides safety features. It acts as an inverse ESP by controlling how much torque is sent to each rear wheel and thus stabilizing the car before instability can even be noticed by the driver.

The S5 is actually tuned differently and a bit more sporty than the S4. Audi made a particular point about this with the B9. Also the S5 is lower and has a wider track than the S4, which gives it slightly more grip around a corner and make it handle a bit better.

Spartan-S4

Hence why I said virtually (def: nearly; almost.)

But in all things, they are basically twins underneath and different in doors/looks. So in reality, it really is an upcharge on a curvy design, less doors a slightly shorter wheelbase & tune.

In terms of the S5SB I was at the dealer months back pricing mine out and a couple was looking at an S5SB & asked what I was looking at (while their salesperson was not around) and I told them the S4 and why I chose it over the S5SB. After they heard all the similarities & how they'd be paying a lot more for the S5SB which is basically the S4 they asked for an S4 to go out in. Never saw them back since I left but I think they probably went with the S4 because they really thanked me for explaining the two cars. Obviously the S5 is a coupe...but these 3 cars (S4, S5, S5SB) are all siblings & almost identical twins in underpinnings.



If you want a good review of each see this article. MT/AW and a few more took them both out at the same time.

2018 Audi S4 and S5 First Drive Review: S is for "Smoove" - Motor Trend

http://autoweek.com/article/drive-re...n-and-s5-coupe

Spartan-S4

You got around 6.5% off..which is good. Just FYI if you wait till almost a year is up, Audi will send you a deal on AudiCare for $769 or around that saving you $100 off it.

Man on the various fees in CT.

Eli McCraig

I hear you. The S5SB, equipped as I'd like is the most $, then the S5, the S4 is the cheapest, if 55k can be considered cheap.

markcincinnati

The S5 has a shorter wheelbase -- not a bad thing, but a more balanced comparison would have been the S5SB which has the same wheelbase as the S4.

The car comes standard with "torque management" via the brakes -- this standard feature does reduce understeer, however, the sport differential will do even more, but really comes into play at above 9/10ths -- most folks (me included) would be hard pressed, if blindfolded to tell the difference even at 8/10ths. In any case, at 8/10ths if there is a cop around, you're toast.

The ONLY real disagreement I have is that the 19" wheels and the tires that go with them are cosmetic. This doesn't mean they're bad, it just means the tire width (the contact patch) on the S4 is 245 x 40 x 18 or 245 x 35 x 19 and the 19's wear more quickly and are much more vulnerable.

I wonder how many folks would get the 19" wheel if an identical wheel of size 18" was offered?

Audi's wheel program is not as strong as other mfgrs.

I would say comparing an S5 to an S4 is -- to me -- odd due to the differences in size of the cars, and the differences in the number of doors.

I do, at times, wonder if the additional utility of the S5SB would not have made the $3K price difference easier to justify in the SB's favor -- speaking of someone who has had his last two door (unless I get a two seater, that is).

Even with the 19"s, both of these cars are fantastic -- I've had a bunch of Audis, the majority of them with the up-sized wheels and tires. My reasons for preferring the standard wheels are personal, of course, but the stock wheels and tires will last longer, be less vulnerable, be quieter and the overall experience will be less expensive, possibly by thousands of dollars. Again, personal reaons -- the one thing I like about the 19"s is their looks.

Call this a contrarian point of view. Most folks here seem to go for the 19"s -- a few of us have had experience with the other optional sizes over the years and are more likely to be of the "never again" crowd.

Best Audi, of 33, I've had.

kstrike155

Yes, but if you do that you don’t get to bump the residual value by 1%. AudiCare pays for itself on a lease.