2013 Audi S6 vs 2012 CLS63 AMG vs F10 M5

[soooma]

Well in just a few words
I have 550i Dinan stage 2 with many other cosmetic mods
And currently considering change and have been considering CPO CLS63 vs Audi S6 2013 or the F10 M5 and test drove all of them and wanted to share and ask for more insight into this tough choice...

And well
For starters

I did like the S6 more than my Dinan Stage 2 550i pretty much in every aspect including the smoothness of power delivery though may be mine felt a little more powerful.. HUD not that nice and award positioning on the dash! Sticks out badly! A esthetically not palatable -... I hated the Audi S6 shifter ... hideous ... Seat were good but nothing like the M5 or the CLS63 2012 ... I do agree that rear look bad on S6 though front with those LED is sweeeet though bot aggressive and those can cm be 2 different things... and I like aggressive more than sweeeet... fully loaded will be around 70k-72k loaded

CLS63 I test drove it with the performance package sticker price 122k launch edition ... I loved it but was to jarring yet super fast ... Nav was tiny and in general theme is older than I want it to be... though probably best material when it comes to interior over all and loved that MB new AMG hollow shifter... but no HUD option !!! R u serious MBenz? Stance is probably the lowest and the most aggressive amongst the 3 if these monsters... Best exhaust nkte amongst the 3 by far. The Alcantara wrapped steering wheel with flat bottom is A piece of ART!! ... Price 78k-82k used with performance package

Lastly but not the least the ANIMAL ... The beast .... The M5 ... too many things I lived... but overall it is the only car the felt at home to me ... and the most complete package... Can't imagine with the COMPETITION PACKAGE how better it can be!!!
Well acceleration is out of this world in delivery and you know what people complain about traction issues... well ... When u r driving 50 and stomp on the gas and you lose traction ... There is no better JOY ... hahahaah... intoxicating to feel this type of power... Surely underrated HP 560. . No way must be north of 600HP easy... by butt dyno - and he's felt more agile to me than CLS63 and easier to toss around and drove smaller than my 550i 2012 F10. .. SWEEEEEEEET steering ... I hate my numb electric eerie steering of my 550i 2012 F10 and M5 steering can be a little heavier or should I say appropriately so... tighter ! Yes but in a good way...
Instrument cluster is best in the S6 by far and hands down!! Wood trim is nice but better design in other 2... love it though when it is Carbon fiber. .. rear wheel need to be beefier?? Don't you think?? Exhaust note here is way better than my 2012 550i but nothing as glorious as M5 or the crazy CLS63 AMG which is the best....

Guys ... comparing Audi S6 to the M5.. please are gimme a break here... 2 completely different animals!! In everything...

What I agree on is that Audi S6 sits between my F10 550i and the M5 and yes I agree it is closer to the M5 than it is to my 550i EV - and I say that because my car is so silent in a bad way a boring way ... So fast and power is almost close to M5 level but with the wrong suspension and sitting higher and electric steering and 19" wheels with Dunlop RFT on my F10 550i they are world's apart... and please guys who are spending all the money in the world to turn F10 550i into an M5 with Dinan stuff... stop wasting your money even with stage 10 -; ) You won't be there trust me.. especially that Steve will never be able to touch your steering unless you have 550 Xi then you have the hydraulic steering and heard that the new sports 740 I believe that's what they call it the sports suspension it is a better LCI 2014 550i... but I rest my case I guess and no more chasing the M5 with my Dinan mods... which seem to be a waste of money...
The only thing I didn't like a bit the M5 is the cheap finish of the buttons around the shifter and this console could be a letter better ... take a look at the CLS63 console and you know what I am talking about.
M5 fully loaded sticker price 104k and asking price used with less than 10k miles on It 85k and I believe I can get it for around 80k.

Waiting for your input on this.
For now I am getting out of my 550i Dinan Stage 2 with 30k miles on it and asking price 49950$ and for now my next car is M5 unless someone here is going to be able to convince me otherwise.

On my 10/10 scoring system over all
My f10 550i: 5/10
Audi S6: 6.5/10
CLS63 AMG: 8/10
F10 M5: 8.5-9/10

 

[ElliotB]

What about RS6 in matte grey?

 

[BahnStormer77]

You're comaparing some VERY different cars there: e.g. it should be M5 vs RS6, not S6, etc...

What are your priorities? Size / space / outright A-B speed / driving thrills / range per tank / price / cold weather driving (i.e. below freezing / snow)?

Would you include "tuneability" in the equation?

Do they all need to be covered by one car?

Not sure where you're from? You mention $, I'm assuming not Singapore, but there's still a lot of options out there!

My personal preference, would be to go for something like an A6 Avant BiTDI (310hp/230kW), which will remap to 375bhp and still get you 50mpg(uk), (45mpg US / 20km/litre) if you need to sling the family in the back and drive a long way.... if you're in an area that is short of diesel pumps, then the 3.0 supercharged V6 "TFSI" is one of the most tunable engines Audi made since the 105PS 1.9TDI, so with some mild remaps, it'll keep up with the RS5. Alternatively go for the S6/RS6 if you want a turbo-charged V8 if money really is no object and you REALLY need >500hp, then go for it. Personal preference is for some balance between the power and the fuel economy and also I prefer superchargers to turbo chargers...

Again, not sure where you're from, but a decently spec'd RS6 will set you back about £105k-£110k in the UK.... and with that money you could get the same spec with a 3.0TFSI (£60k) AND have plenty left over for a small fun car too...

If I had £110k to throw at cars, then it would have to be the BiTDI/TFSI A6 Avant for load lugging and then I'd get something small compact and fast for the fun: BMW M235i convertible would be top of my list to check out... you can now spec it with a mechanical rear diff, it can be remapped to about 390bhp and with some significant tuning a LOT more and apparently the steering feel is a LOT better than most recent electrical systems.... it'll be tail-out and lairy, really good fun and you can just leave that at home on the cold and rainy days... yes the interiors are massively inferior to the Audi's, but you'll have the fully kitted out MMI, HUD, adaptive LED's, etc in the Audi and the driving thrills in the BMW.

Merc's aren't bad and apparently their electrical steering systems are some of the better ones out there, but I jsut don't like the design - they look really ungainly and the interiors are a weird mix of too much bling/chrome and not enough class and functionality - I know it's purely subjective, but Audi have had this design of the interior (and exterior) balance absolutely perfect for the last 10+ years....

edit: if you're after steering feel and nothing else, then the Merc's are apparently your best option... but that's not 1st hand (I've only driven the R500 and the C200CDI in the last couple of years, so I'm hardly in a position to comment on those!!)...