I dont know about you guys, but that just makes me take a deep breath in seeing those, devil :king: or angeleyes coming out of the dark. Bloody perfect.
Great car and hope you have a lot of fun in it. Keep us updated with stories and things about it ! Beating M3's...you know
Dave,Originally Posted by +44 Dave
I dont know about you guys, but that just makes me take a deep breath in seeing those, devil :king: or angel
Great car and hope you have a lot of fun in it. Keep us updated with stories and things about it ! Beating M3's...you know
I am so smitten with the car that in a couple of week I intend to go to the BMW dealer where the M3 deposit is laid and get a drive in their demo M3, when I place my deposit it was back at the middle of October the only time I had driven the S5 was once in the summer. But now having driven the S5 for the last three days I can tell you that the M3 will have to be as good as I remembered to make me change because this car is brilliant in every way. The ride has been improved from the early examples and it now feels like a low sleek RS4, the steering is good, as good as the M3 in any case and the power feels a lot more than only the 10hp it has over my S4.
The only down side is economy, at the minute even driving easy it's hard to break into the twenties.:MTM: But everything else is better than I expected.
P.S.
The looks are to die for, seriously no photo shot you have seen does it justice and it does deserve the title of the classiest coupe in this sector.
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congrats.
did you get dynamic steering?
Standard in the UK.
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Very very good to hear Leadie! I totally agree on looks. I seen a black S5 at night and fell in love. I dont even like black that much because it hides a lot of bodywork and details. I can only imagine it in Sprintblue...I think the S5 looks better than the M3 even though it's not a direct competitor. S5 looks so much more exotic and aggressive.
HKS786
nice pics!
but your steering wheel is on the right side... i mean the wrong side. =]
just out of curiosity, is 1st gear still closest to you and away? (that is for you it would be all the way right and up)
No - first is left (away) and up. A while ago I drove in Switzerland and lost count of the number of times I went to change gear without thinking using my left hand and ended up hitting the door instead...
At least you didn't do what I did the first time I was in the States. I opened the right-hand door which of course was the passenger door.........what a dick.No - first is left (away) and up. A while ago I drove in Switzerland and lost count of the number of times I went to change gear without thinking using my left hand and ended up hitting the door instead...
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Are you 100% sure that Dynamic steering is standard in UK? I think it is not...
Or you mistaken Servotronic for Dynamic steering... Since Drive Select is mandatory with Dynamic Steering...
You are correct, I wasn't reading the question right and I know servotronic wasn't standard in Europe but was in the UK. Drive Select isn't even available in the UK as of yet but is in Europe, Audi UK at times as slow to react but to be honest the S5 drives so well that I find either the suspension or steering options would be money wasted.
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Congrats again Leadie! Nice plate too. It seems like you really enjoy S5.. I guess no plans for M3 then?
Thanks.
As for the getting the M3, it's deposit is still down at at present I am still getting one. Though driving the S5 has put some doubts in my mind which I will address with a drive in the dealer's demo car.
One thing is for sure, the S5 is brilliant in every way and the RS5 will be much more so..............I can't wait to get my hands on it.
Search and you will find the truth.
Rutkowsky,
To be honest with you the M3 would have to be shit not to change and I know that this isn't the case but the S5 is even better than I expected so I am interested to see if the M3 is as good as I remember.
Will post in a couple of weeks and give an honest verdict as always.
Search and you will find the truth.
As promised I went and had a good drive in the new M3 now that I have had the S5 for a few weeks, just to see if my opinion of the M3 was still correct.
Well to cut a long story short the answer was a loud and clear YES. The two cars are a world apart in driving feel which really surprised me but this is not to say that the S5 is bad only that they are totally different in their approach.
Handling: Where the S5 feels rock solid and takes every corner with confidence regardless if it's wet or dry that is not how the M3 feels, it's feels much lighter on it's feet regardless of what the scales say, this no doubt is down to only being two wheel drive but because of this the thing feels far more darty. Though it was still a bit cold the road surface was dry and it's nose is locked to the surface even better than the S5, where as the S5 you wait till the nose grips and then floor it, with the M3 you know the grip is there from the off but unlike the Audi you can't dump the throttle in the same way, well you can but the lights on the dash tell you that was a waste of time. In other words it doesn't have the same traction. I doubt I would have been as confident to have taken the DSC off and driven it in the same way as I would the S5, so to the unfamiliar I still reckon the S5 is the quicker car.
Ride: Sorry guys but the M3 with EDC is more comfortable in two of the three mode, the only one where it's plain hard is in sport. Even in comfort mode it doesn't lean in the corners as much as the S5, so anyone considering a new A4/5 and can order the Audi Select Drive suspension option take note, it's worth it.
Brakes & gearbox: I prefer the brakes on the Audi but preferred the gearbox on the BMW. The latter may be down to not having an awd system attached or that my car had less miles but on down shifts into second it didn't snatch the same. The brakes are stronger in the M3 but bite differently, maybe I am just use to the Audi brakes more but in normal use I preferred their action.
Performance: The biggest surprise was the performance difference or should I say the lack of it. The S5 in normal driving does feel stronger, I know the figure tell a difference story but on part throttle at 20mph in say 3rd gear (round town driving) the M3 doesn't have the pick up of the S5, or the 335i for that matter. It only when you are really stoking the thing does it feel like a true 420hp beast and this also applies to it's noise.
Interior: It's no Audi that is for sure but the example I was in had the full extended leather treatment and in it's Fox Red it looked way better than any other 3 series I have ever seen, it's a much better colour than Audi Red, well that is unless you happen to like a very bright red as Fox Red is not that. The double hooded dash isn't as pretty as the S5, in fact the Audi is in a different class apart from the fact it doesn't have as nice a colour as this in it's range, something Audi needs to look at.
Looks: This is one area that Audi have BMW well and truly licked. My S5 looks way better than any 3 series coupe and this includes the M3. Unless white makes a world of difference to it's looks and it's sitting beside a dark coloured S5 it's the Audi that will be getting all of the looks from passer-bys.
Finally, is there enough that is better than the S5 to make me consider the change. You will have to wait and see.
Last edited by Leadfoot; February 8th, 2008 at 19:54.
Search and you will find the truth.
We will stay tuned.
Great write-up !
Nice comparison.
Clearly the Select Drive Suspension is a must, I learned that from driving the TT and the R8.
Actually Magnetic Ride option on TT and R8 do not have anything common with Active Dampers on Drive Select option on A4/A5/S5. In fact I tested few days ago A4 3.0TDI with full Drive Select options(Active Dampers and Dynamic Steering) and hated it all the way. Why? First Dynamic Steering is pure POS IMHO. It is very similat to flawed BMW system in feel(it feels playstation like to me). Second, different throttle remaping is simply wrong thing(and I hate it on new M3 as well). I like singe throttle maping as on manual R8! You simply get different throttle travel with different setttings(BUT, available power is always the same). Third, Active dampers setup is in comparison with Magnetic Ride on TT or R8 pretty strange. It feels almost too soft in comfort but, overly stiff in Sport. In short normal S5(like the one that Leadie owns) is way better car then one filled with optional gimmicks, at least IMHO...
Not talking about dynamic steering, altough other people didn't complain about it, said much better than the bimmer solution. Doesn't feel disconnected, but now you are telling us something else. I guess I'll have to drive the car to see what I feel about it
I was only refering to the adjustable suspension setup, which I am sure it will be fine for me, I will find my own settings. Same for steering, throttle and so on ... adjust to what you like and just keep it there. But a soft suspension is a must when having "lexus" people on my rear seats (or my parents-old!) and I like having the option to switch from a soft ride to a more sport oriented one with a push of a button.
Different reviews said the car has a much better ride than current A4, because of the new chassis (with longer wheelbase) and of the new dynamic suspension.
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