I know the General Manager at Hoen Audi in Carlsbad and he let me drive the S5 extensively. The handeling was way superior then my E46 M3. The power was smooth but pretty torquey. I did like the improvement over the b6/7 4.2 V-8. It is only 14 more hp but felt quite a bit more. The drive-by-wire was smooth but still has that delayed reaction upon acceleration. Everything pretty much felt like driving an S4 from the shifting to the handleing. When you get on it and turn is where you feel the main difference. Must be the awsome seats.


I love this car and would buy one in a heart beat. Can't wait for the Rs5. The car I drove was grey/red.

Justin

 

literally, the ONLY explanation for the S5 handling "way superior" to your M3 is that you are a REALLY bad driver and don't know how to drive RWD cars properly. i've driven it, completely unimpressed, and from as strictly driving stand point, i've read nothing but negative, or at the very least, lackluster, reviews of it.

 

I dissagree. I drove my M3 pretty much to it's full capability. I also took the S5 in some tight turns at high speeds in which I took my M3, and the S5 handled it much better. Entering and exiting felt more solid and in control. I have owned an M3 for over 2 years and know the difference. I am sticking with what I said on how I felt the S5 handled better.

 

I just want mine to get here already. I just found out it's delayed until late Jan!

 

What is wrong with you? First the M5 vs. S8, now the S5 vs. M3. Look buddy, there are MUCH BETTER and MUCH MUCH MUCH more pretty cars then BMW. Jeez, I just do not understand people like you. I think I'll start calling your kind of people "BMW ******"

 

no. it's just true. have you driven both? i have not but i believe professional drivers i have spoken to a lot more. i've driven the RS4 and was beyond unimpressed and the S5 can't magically be better than that? can it? every magazine says even the 335i handles better than the S5, so how is it that the M3 doesn't then? it simply comes down to driver ability. the RS4 i was speaking of was a friends who just traded in his 996 GT3 for one and then he drove my M Coupe because we got them right around the same time and he was like "****. this DOES handle better than my car" why? because he came from another RWD tail happy car, so he knows how to control it. but he was downsizing his garage and needed 4WD for winters. so yeah... i'm just saying, every VW products is excellent in my opinion, and audi's would be too, if they were 20% less than what they cost.

 

I picked up my S5 a few weeks ago and after 700 miles I have to say I am more and more impressed with it everytime I drive it.

I can't comment on the comparison between the S5 and the M3 since it has been several years since I had my E46 M3 but Justin's decription of the S5 itself is right on on.

Very nice everyday car.

Best,

Amir

 

Well ... the M3 is 7 years old ... I'm not surprised that the S5 handled better.

 

Ok, some points you made I agree with but some are absolutely none sense. First I'll start with the thing I agree with you is that a RWD does handle better than AWD, if not at least it "Feels like" it does. But I do not agree with you on the S5 since you have NEVER even driven the car. How could you say it handles bad? Let me tell you something, I drove all three (E46 M3, B8 S5, B7 RS4) extensively and I'd rank them out this way for actually handling: M3<RS4<S5 and for feel handling wise RS4<M3<S5. The S5 IS really that much better than the RS4 in almost all ways possible except maybe a more relaxed engine. The S5 is THE ONLY Audi that actually over steered on the street on me besides the R8(I drive them like I stole them). Another thing I'd love to mention is the price, right now a S5 is around $65,000CAD MSRP base and a E46 M3 used to be $70,000 and the new one should be at least $80,000. Considering a similarly equipped E92 335i coupe costs around the same price as the S5, believe me or not, but it is surprisingly CHEAP for what it is. I'm really happy to see where Audi has come to, and where it will go in the future. Prior to the RS4, there was really no Audi that was directly competitive to a BMW in handling and performance wise, but look at Audi now S5, RS4, R8 and soon to be S4TT, R8 5.2, RS6 etc. Looking at what BMW is producing, I can bet one day, Audi will have its fair share of BMW's market today.

 

I drove the S5 as well and hated the steering wheel. Did anyone else have this opinion?

 

Saw a white one on the road this past weekend, and they look nice.

 

saw and sat in a black one the other day, i like it. but id rather have the S6

 

 

i just test drove one too ... the car doesn't feel fast at all maybe because is so quiet ... doesn't feel like you are driving something special ... but the interior is very very nice ... it feels like i am in a kia when i went back in my m3 ... but i will still take my m3 over it anyday ... it just so much more fun to drive and the engine just keeps on pulling

 

Do you have a bigger pic of the R8 thats in your avaitor? Awesome pic...