Audi S5 2 month review
09-11-2017, 08:29 AM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Audi S5 2 month review
Skip to + and - at the end for a cliff's notes.
I posted a long time ago that I was shopping for trucks, even duallys at one point. Since I have an eccentric taste in cars and car-shopping habits, I wound up with a 2016 Ford Focus SE with 5spd manual. I mainly bought it because the dealer listed the price wrong online and I saved a few thousand. This was to get rid of my aging Jetta (i5) that I was getting sick of. The Ford served very well for the time being, no complaints at all. But it was time to get my real DD. I posted the thread here asking about the 4 popular choices to get people's opinions on each one (having watched tons of youtube videos as well). I was very certain I was going to wind up with a Golf R. I could not find a decent lease deal on it, and it was just outside of my price range. I wasn't interested in used ones, not that there were many to choose from nearby as it was.
I was pretty sure I would get a brand new car, but decided to peruse the used car market for giggles. I was surprised to see a few S5s for sale in my price range, and one reallly nice looking white one that was at the upper end of my price range. Of course, there were 335xi's for days, but I am not interested in another used BMW. There was an Evo X, but the interior is so dated in that car. First I tried to snag a cheaper-priced white S5 with different rims, but when I showed up to take a look at it, the dealer said someone just left to test drive the car and to have a seat and wait. WTF? I'm not gonna waste my lunch break sitting and waiting while some person drives and tire kicks the S5 for over an hour, screw that. I immediately left that dealership and test drove the cheapest S5 nearby. It was a v8, black with red seats. It was decent, but I didn't really want a black car and the interior felt pretty dated.
Left that dealership and wound up at the last highest priced ($34k) 2014 S5 which I mentioned before. Had brand new tires, white on black, much sharper looking than the older black one, and the interior was much nicer. It had B&O stereo, and almost every option besides the adaptive dampers (kinda weird the previous owner left that out, they got the sport diff but not suspension?). White is exactly the color I was looking for, so I decided this would be the car for me. Of course while I test drove that one, the salesman was also in negotiations with someone else on the car who test drove it earlier, luckily they were not physically there so it was pretty much a done deal for me.
I've had it for 2 months now. Only mod I've done was add a 12" subwoofer, since the B&O one is lacking severely in the bass department. Intake will be done pretty soon, followed by coilovers (but not for several months later). I've always done exhaust first, but slammed S5s look amazing and coilovers are actually reasonably priced for these cars, and the v6 doesn't sound *that* great anyways, even with exhausts. The intake will provide good enough sounds as it is, since aftermarket intakes really let you hear the supercharge whine.
Interior wise I am really liking it, even more than my 997.2. The flat bottom steering wheel is thick and feels great in your hands (that's what she said). It's nice to have push button start again (though I prefer the s2000 method of holding it, in this car you just hit the button once). Sunroof is quite large. Previous owner tinted the windows so I don't have to take care of that
Performance is what you would expect from a fat awd car with 333hp. I'm coming from a 160hp Focus, so of course it's an improvement. The 997.2s definitely has more of a "violent" acceleration feel to it compared to this car, which is powerful but very smooth. But in the rain this thing is a monster. The 997.2 is worthless in rainy weather. However, a chipwerks chip is affordable and should boost the hp about 70 or so, not bad. Not sure when I'll chip it, I have a bad enough driving record, so I don't really care at this point (probably once I get rid of the 911).
I'll post some positives and negatives then the pics.
+Large sunroof, looks cool deployed
-Sunroof doesn't slide back, only vents
+Great sporty seats
-Seating position is a tad on the high side, especially for a sports car
+Stereo is crisp and clear even at high volumes
-Stereo lacks bass
++++You can disable the rain sensors!!! I HATE rain sensors!
-The audi MMI (fancy stereo name) can take a long time to connect to bluetooth and start playing music. Even my Focus connected way faster. I didn't think Bluetooth was much different between 2014 and 2016...
+Audi drive select is fun to mess around with, big differences between comfort and sporty modes
-Car really has no exhaust note
+Cool DRLs
-The hvac controls are awkward, you have to hit a button and then turn a dial to adjust fan speed. You also have to scroll through the vent settings, instead of hitting a button for each one.
+It has a great engine sound, ripping through a tunnel with the windows down has the same effect from an s2000, all engine noises
+70+ HP just waiting to be unlocked
+This one may be obvious, but is great in rainy weather.
I posted a long time ago that I was shopping for trucks, even duallys at one point. Since I have an eccentric taste in cars and car-shopping habits, I wound up with a 2016 Ford Focus SE with 5spd manual. I mainly bought it because the dealer listed the price wrong online and I saved a few thousand. This was to get rid of my aging Jetta (i5) that I was getting sick of. The Ford served very well for the time being, no complaints at all. But it was time to get my real DD. I posted the thread here asking about the 4 popular choices to get people's opinions on each one (having watched tons of youtube videos as well). I was very certain I was going to wind up with a Golf R. I could not find a decent lease deal on it, and it was just outside of my price range. I wasn't interested in used ones, not that there were many to choose from nearby as it was.
I was pretty sure I would get a brand new car, but decided to peruse the used car market for giggles. I was surprised to see a few S5s for sale in my price range, and one reallly nice looking white one that was at the upper end of my price range. Of course, there were 335xi's for days, but I am not interested in another used BMW. There was an Evo X, but the interior is so dated in that car. First I tried to snag a cheaper-priced white S5 with different rims, but when I showed up to take a look at it, the dealer said someone just left to test drive the car and to have a seat and wait. WTF? I'm not gonna waste my lunch break sitting and waiting while some person drives and tire kicks the S5 for over an hour, screw that. I immediately left that dealership and test drove the cheapest S5 nearby. It was a v8, black with red seats. It was decent, but I didn't really want a black car and the interior felt pretty dated.
Left that dealership and wound up at the last highest priced ($34k) 2014 S5 which I mentioned before. Had brand new tires, white on black, much sharper looking than the older black one, and the interior was much nicer. It had B&O stereo, and almost every option besides the adaptive dampers (kinda weird the previous owner left that out, they got the sport diff but not suspension?). White is exactly the color I was looking for, so I decided this would be the car for me. Of course while I test drove that one, the salesman was also in negotiations with someone else on the car who test drove it earlier, luckily they were not physically there so it was pretty much a done deal for me.
I've had it for 2 months now. Only mod I've done was add a 12" subwoofer, since the B&O one is lacking severely in the bass department. Intake will be done pretty soon, followed by coilovers (but not for several months later). I've always done exhaust first, but slammed S5s look amazing and coilovers are actually reasonably priced for these cars, and the v6 doesn't sound *that* great anyways, even with exhausts. The intake will provide good enough sounds as it is, since aftermarket intakes really let you hear the supercharge whine.
Interior wise I am really liking it, even more than my 997.2. The flat bottom steering wheel is thick and feels great in your hands (that's what she said). It's nice to have push button start again (though I prefer the s2000 method of holding it, in this car you just hit the button once). Sunroof is quite large. Previous owner tinted the windows so I don't have to take care of that
Performance is what you would expect from a fat awd car with 333hp. I'm coming from a 160hp Focus, so of course it's an improvement. The 997.2s definitely has more of a "violent" acceleration feel to it compared to this car, which is powerful but very smooth. But in the rain this thing is a monster. The 997.2 is worthless in rainy weather. However, a chipwerks chip is affordable and should boost the hp about 70 or so, not bad. Not sure when I'll chip it, I have a bad enough driving record, so I don't really care at this point (probably once I get rid of the 911).
I'll post some positives and negatives then the pics.
+Large sunroof, looks cool deployed
-Sunroof doesn't slide back, only vents
+Great sporty seats
-Seating position is a tad on the high side, especially for a sports car
+Stereo is crisp and clear even at high volumes
-Stereo lacks bass
++++You can disable the rain sensors!!! I HATE rain sensors!
-The audi MMI (fancy stereo name) can take a long time to connect to bluetooth and start playing music. Even my Focus connected way faster. I didn't think Bluetooth was much different between 2014 and 2016...
+Audi drive select is fun to mess around with, big differences between comfort and sporty modes
-Car really has no exhaust note
+Cool DRLs
-The hvac controls are awkward, you have to hit a button and then turn a dial to adjust fan speed. You also have to scroll through the vent settings, instead of hitting a button for each one.
+It has a great engine sound, ripping through a tunnel with the windows down has the same effect from an s2000, all engine noises
+70+ HP just waiting to be unlocked
+This one may be obvious, but is great in rainy weather.
09-12-2017, 04:03 AM
#2
Nice
Looks like a fun car. As per my used car value thread I have been looking for some used, fun, and with a stick. Never new this car had a manual. Merci buckets! S5 officially on radar.
Yours looks very sweet.
Yours looks very sweet.
09-13-2017, 06:52 AM
#3
Community Organizer
Love the interior. 
09-13-2017, 06:59 AM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
Thanks, for the price it really is a decent interior. Blows the WRX out of the water.
09-13-2017, 07:40 PM
#5
09-14-2017, 08:31 AM
#6
Registered User
09-14-2017, 09:22 AM
#7
Registered User
Thread Starter
Correct, the B9s don't come in manual. They are very sharp looking and have a nicely updated interior though.
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09-14-2017, 03:38 PM
#8
09-15-2017, 01:32 AM
#10
Glad you're enjoying it! I always worry about stateside motors not having enough power to keep up with the pack on the highway so cars like an old mk4 golf with 1.8 20vt (180bhp) struggling to keep up with the pack of V8s so I was surprised you went V6 - that said the 335bhp is more than enough in the real world and I bet a lot of fun!
Agree about the rain though, usable cars in those conditions can feel absolutely hilarious and put a huge grin on your face.
I am not usually a massive fan of the A5 - there's a V8 at work and one V6 (and a handful of boring 2.0TDI's) and the V6 does sound fruity but I presume it's had some exhaust work but I was always led to believe the interior looked ancient and yours looks like a more modern Seat LEON which is no bad thing!
Enjoy and exploit that power fella!
Agree about the rain though, usable cars in those conditions can feel absolutely hilarious and put a huge grin on your face.
I am not usually a massive fan of the A5 - there's a V8 at work and one V6 (and a handful of boring 2.0TDI's) and the V6 does sound fruity but I presume it's had some exhaust work but I was always led to believe the interior looked ancient and yours looks like a more modern Seat LEON which is no bad thing!
Enjoy and exploit that power fella!