The Test Drive:
At 5pm today I met with the Sales Manager in front of the dealership parking lot. Parked just next to the main entrance is a Phantom Black S5 with Tuscan Brown interior. We discussed the performance, figures, had a look at the interior, under the hood and the trunk space. I sat in the back which I found to be modestly comfortable, however a tad bit more headroom would be nice. After 5 minutes he starts up the engine and give me the wheel. We drive out of the parking lot and do a bit of normal city driving. The engine is wonderful to say the least. They've bumped up both the BHP and the torque from the B6 S4, and it is very noticeable. You get the same engine tone as with the B6 and B7 S4, however there is a slight variation in tone, which can only be noticed upon comparison. After approximately 20 minutes of inner-city driving I was taken to the on-ramp where the Manager insisted I "have some fun". The gearbox is just as good as it used to be 2 years ago, and the responsiveness is amazing! I felt a much stronger pull from the engine going from 80-120kph. On the highway, you can really feel the difference between my S4 and the S5. There's more low end torque, and a few extra horsepower to give it a bit more "oumph" that I want. Overtaking is a breeze, and noise levels are kept to a minimum. I got off the highway after a good 15 minutes of highway exhilleration, as the manager insisted I get a feel for the handling. I didn,t do anything spectacular, as these are city streets, however on particular corners I was able to get a pretty rough idea of the suspension, and cornering ability. At 6:07pm I pulled back into the dealership, discussed options, pricing and left at around 6:30pm.

The Results:

PROS:
- More torque and added horsepower give it a litte more fun you want
- Beautifully crafted interior design, guaranteed to appeal to all
- Same smooth gearboth
- Impeccable daily driver

CONS:
- Rear seats not for the tall (lacks some headroom)
- Trunk space reduced quite a bit compared to S4 sedan
- Handling still not on par with S4, more body roll than on the S4
- With added power, car is very thirsty

VERDICT: Audi's new S5 is a thrill beyond comprehension, a definate step up from the B6 S4. 335i Coupe is in for some trouble.


Today I recieved a nice invitiation by the manager of my local Audi dealership, to go on a 1 hour test-drive of the new S5. As you guys probably already know, i've been debating the issue of switching S4 to S5 for some excitement and variability in my garage. I had recently spoken with the manager a month back while at the R8 Transcanada Tour. As of right now I have a personal 1 Hour Test-Drive sans-limite with the manager I guess it's because i've given them so much money over the past years I'll update you all with the results from the test-drive and my overall impressions. From the looks of the read, the S4 is more agile, and more responsive, however the S5 has a bit more grunt and low-end pull. We'll see howthings work out. If I like it i'll have on in my driveway next Spring/Summer.

Change your name. Motion to ban, if he doesnt comply within 24 hours.

LordOfTheRings FTW. NOW.

PD--have you test-driven an R8 yet?

If not, why the hell not? You're the target market.

I'd seen my first R8 a couple months back, but it whizzed by me so I never really got a good look. A couple days ago, some kid from university bought one, and it was sitting in the parking lot. He bought a red one, which doesn't suit the car IMO, but the car itself was gorgeous. It's so much more impressive in the flesh. It's also my new dream car.

And yeah S5>S4.

There are only two things which would put me off the A5/S5.

The first is the claim by magazines that despite the advantages of moving the front wheels forward, Audi tuned the handling to mimic that of the old cars, so as not to alienate the Audi faithful. There was some conjecture as to whether Audi would continue doing this for the more sporting models (S/RS)...so I don't know if the S is affected by this decision.

The Second is the E90 M3.

You are a doctor .. by law you are supposed to have a SLK in your driveway.

Everyone always bashes the SLK, but a coworker used to have one, and it was a real pleasure to ride in. I really liked it. It looked fantastic too.

And isn't PD a dentist, not a doctor?

[/tangent]

Dentists are doctors too
Unless you are insinuating that PD is a hack :o

Shoot, history professors at universities are "doctors" in the sense that they're "doctors of philosophy" (PhD). I myself have a "juris doctorate" degree, as do all lawyers. But I was using "doctor" to refer to people with MDs, not DDSs or PhDs or JDs or anything like that. In my experience, when you say that someone's a "doctor," you mean an MD. That's all I was saying.

That's a damn good reason.

The E90 M3 costs more than the S5 for sure...

Not to mention it's much more narrowly focused on performance and just performance. PD seems to enjoy his fast cars with plenty of creature comforts. The M3 doesn't seem like the right car for that purpose.

I would agree with you in terms of the E46 M3, but the E90 seems to be more focused towards the Grand Touring crowd...but I didn't know there could be as much as $10,000 between the two cars (based on an estimate of 62k for the M3 and 52K for the S5). That's a lot of money.

Yes, the E90 M3 is more expensive than the S5. From what I was told the S5 starts at $80,000 while the M3 starts in the mid $90,000 range. AWD is a must have for me, because living in Montreal without AWD is very hard, especially with commutes up and down the sloppy hills of city and the poorly paved roads. I'm not saying it can't be done because it most definately can, but i'd feel more confident driving an AWD vehicle like the Quattro or Subaru's Symmetrical AWD System. It's not a definite decision as to if I will buy it or not. That will come down to the test-drive next month. If I like the driving dynamics, the power and the overall comfort and appeal, I will most likely place an order and trade in the S4.

And yes a dentist is a doctor but the term doctor, as Mitlov stated, is very broad. Havin a PhD technically makes you a doctor, however most people think of doctors as people with an MD. I graduated from Dental School at McGill with a DMD or a Doctor of Dental Medicine.

90 grand for an M3? that makes no sense, an M6 is just over 100,000. I think it'll be in the sixties.

PD is Canadian and thinks in Canadian dollars.

basically the same thing....

Live rates at 2007.10.28 22:56:17 UTC
1.00 USD

=

0.961540 CAD
United States Dollars Canada Dollars
1 USD = 0.961540 CAD 1 CAD = 1.04000 USD

Yeah, but car prices in Canada are NOT equivalent. The forum at CanadianDriver has an entire subforum dedicated to Canadian versus US pricing.

http://www.canadiandriver.com/forum/index....rd,19585.0.html

The short version is, Canadians pay perhaps 25% more per car, on average.

sorry my mistake, I misunderstood your statement.

ohhh duh, didn't think of that.

No sweat, I could've been clearer.

My test drive is scheduled for tommorow evening from 5-6pm.

die and change your name

Lucky bastard.

I hate you so much.

The S5 is beautiful in dark colors. I'm kind of tired of every car being silver, but check this out:



Yummy...

Mmmm Can't remember where this happened, but the Audi A5/S5 was voted most beautiful new coupe of the year. I'm inclined to agree. In the pictures it has a sophistication that the 3-series coupe, G37, and CLK just can't match.

EDIT: I just came home from the Dubai Motorshow...that sophistication is there in real life too. PD, I'm telling you, you could buy the car based on its looks alone. The car is absolutely gorgeous, and really, really classy.

Review has been posted in first post.

I'm surprised that body roll has increased compared to the S4. Besides that, sounds fantastic. I see this as a half-step behind the 335i on twisty roads, but several steps ahead of it in quality, refinement, class, and uniqueness.

So, you gonna buy one?

Mitlov, I may be wrong in saying the body roll has "increased" per say, however I felt that when compared to my S4, the S5 did not feel as agile.

Moe, I'm strongly considering ordering one. If I do it wll be in Pearl or Phantom Black with either Tuscan Bown Nappa or Red interor.

Hawt. That + pearl black = awesome.

QFT.

The red interior is a bit much for me...maybe if the seats were two-tone red/black to tone it down but otherwise...

As for the agility, I'm sure it's just because the S5 feels different is what makes you compare it that way to the S4, and you're not used to that difference, because the design of the suspension and AWD system and so forth should (and does, according to test numbers and journalists) increase its agility over the B6/B7 S4. Edmunds says that it's roughly on par with the RS4, for instance.

Well the way BMW and Audi do it, it's quite nice, with the black dashboard, and red seats and leather inserts in various places. I usually love the black exterior, with the red interior. The way Porsche does it is repulsive though...seriously a full-on Carrera Red interior...

EDIT: Btw, I saw the B7 A4 at the Dubai Autoshow...one of the most underwhelming cars there, along with the Jaguar XF and the Infiniti G37.

I like the way Porsche does it because their red is more subdued than what you find in other cars.

The B7 A4 is rather underwhelming, at least until you give it the S-line, S4, or RS4 treatment.

Subdued? It's bright as hell.

PD, black with red seats ;-)

that car is flippin' hot.

I have to agree with moe regarding the Porsche interior, the Boxster Red interior colour is much more "in your face" than the Magma Red which Audi offers. The Boxster Red covers not only the seats but the carpets, dashboard and trim. The colour is also not pure red, more of a dark lipstick red. I really loved the Tuscan Brown as well. It was very calming and refined, I couldn't help but feel as if I was driving $200,000 luxury sedan, however if I buy the S5 it will be for pure/raw agressiveness. I would want it to look as in your face as possible, which is why I would love to have red. Just for a little comparison between interior's i've posted both the S5's Magma Red interior and Porsche's Boxster Red interior. In my opinion, nothing comes close to the craftsmanship and detail of th S5 interior.

The Porsche


The Audi S5

I know the Porsche has more red, but it's not red red like in the S5, and is more like a magenta or something...it's less fiery, in any case. I still think it's more subdued because of that.

I don't mind the fiery color as long as they don't use too much of it. A full red interior is a bit much for me, regardless if it's a bit subued.

Call me CPA-boring, but I hate both red interiors. What I really love is the light cream ("pearl silver") that Audi sometimes uses for interiors. That paired with the black exterior I already posted would be gorgeous:

I am with Mitlov on this point, and I personally like the brown-ish interior better for a luxury car like the S5. The magma red interior fits better a pure sports car in my opinion.

All red interiors are shit in my humble opinion

I can debate the pros and cons of every interior color, but there are so few occasions when anything is topped by just black IMO.

I'm still up in the air about the upgrade, i'm in no rush to switch cars, however it's always nice to see something new on your driveways every now and then. Speaking of new cars, my neighbour across the street just picked up his 2005 Lamborghini Gallardo last Monday. He chose to buy it in Bianco Cygus (White), which I don't understand. Still a fantastic car nonetheless.

I'm guessing you live in a very upscale neighborhood?

Westmount ?

Yup

I adore the Gallardo in white.