New S5 Sportback...getting ready to press the button...
- Thread starter Joetidman
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Thanks mate, I haven't switched the dampers settings much to see the difference, but the comfort setting is defo more relaxed than the standard springs on the demo S5 I drove, and a lot better than comfort on my old S3 saloon. Dealer did apply a nano-coating, so we'll see whether it makes any difference on the body-work in 3 months!
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If you were to change one thing late I would have thought that one is the best, given it's just one simple part not related to the electrics or chassis etc, worth a punt?
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Having now driven in the dark, I can also flag how amazing the Matrix LED lights are compared to my previous 'full LED' on the S3. When I pulled back the full beam light paddle to flash someone across the road it was like the sun had risen early lol, I bet his retina is still burning
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Haven't noticed it but I haven't played much with Individual, given my car has only 3 settings with 3 settings (comfort auto dynamic) there doesn't seem to be a lot of point.
Why would you want to switch coasting off though? surely it has more benefits than
Much much better than the S3. It sounds properly raspy even under half throttle, whereas the S3 sounded reasonably deep and gutsy, the S5 sounds very sporty. I wound the window down in my work underground car park this morning, and engaged neutral and gave it a couple of revs and it was very loud indeed. A massive improvement for me, and very pleased as I thought my S3 was too understated in that department
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I never really like the sensation of it coasting to be honest, plus it changes the behaviour of the car as you don't have engine braking, which means if it does it when I don't know it is I'll have to brake much harder as the car approaches slower traffic...
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fair enough. to be honest it's my first auto and i've not really noticed any noticeable engine braking anyway. and the coasting isn't really noticeable but it is pretty clear when it happens (ie only when going downhill, cruise control is on (seems to be the norm)) the gear number disappears. plus with all the recommendations of taking your foot off of the pedal (green foot icon) to let you know that you could happily just drift to the next roundabout/traffic light etc.
Just found this under the 8speed ZF on Audi media centre
The new cruise control includes an impressive efficiency function: When the driver lifts his or her foot from the accelerator pedal in mode D or E, the transmission shifts to freewheeling whenever that would result in fuel savings. This coasting mode is possible between 55 and 160 km/h (34.2-99.4 mph). The function can anticipate even more effectively when a car has the optional systems predictive efficiency assist and Stop&Go adaptive cruise control including traffic-jam assist.
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The new cruise control includes an impressive efficiency function: When the driver lifts his or her foot from the accelerator pedal in mode D or E, the transmission shifts to freewheeling whenever that would result in fuel savings. This coasting mode is possible between 55 and 160 km/h (34.2-99.4 mph). The function can anticipate even more effectively when a car has the optional systems predictive efficiency assist and Stop&Go adaptive cruise control including traffic-jam assist.
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Absolutely loving it! Keep smiling whilst I'm driving, the sound is superb, and it's just a thoroughly amazing luxury GT imo. When I first ordered it I think in my head it was just a bigger, ever so slightly faster S3 and was just a logical progression, but it is so much more. It's far more composed, much better ride, and really effortless in making progress. I thought the S3 was amazing in terms of mid range grunt but this is something else. I was doing 20 mph in 5th today, the torque is incredible, and if you move your toe slightly it drops two cogs and you're off!
It's exactly what I wanted really. When I commute it's a long 100 mile boring drive for the most part, and for that it provides a really comfortable cruiser, with the cool jam assist (where it basically drives and steers itself), giving me a back massage and listening to my B&O, and when I take it out in the evening or weekends it's a sports GT, with the pace, handling and soundtrack to make you grin like an idiot. Honestly it think it's the perfect car for me, so far faultless, and a big step up from the S3. What I can't wait for is to get past 1000 miles so I can red line it and try out the sports diff in dynamic setting with a bit of silly-boy driving
It's no sports car though, it's too big and not focused enough for that, but if you buy an S5 thinking it's a sports car then your daft. Go and get your deposit back and buy a Cayman.
Only things that have annoyed/slightly disappointed so far....it's got a really aggressive stop start, which sometimes kicks in before the hill hold which is weird. In drive mode, it can be a bit lazy in some situations and then kick down too hard when you prod it (but this maybe me being careful to keep revs down and getting used to it). It go itself stuck in voice mode the other day and took me a minute or so to get the radio back on. Brakes can be a bit all or nothing, sometimes feel a little soft and other times bring me to an abrupt halt. It's probably bedding in tbh plus me adjusting. All in all nothing major
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Great feedback, sounds like it is more than living up to your expectations, I can't wait to get mine now.
Interesting how you feel it is more fast cruiser/GT than sports car, especially compared to s3 I guess. I am coming from the other way, current car is BMW 330d gt which is great crusiser, but far from sports car, very long and heavy and as its x-drive it just has standard suspension- I am expecting the s5 to be equally good as fast cruiser but much more fun when I want it to be
counting the weeks down now!
Interesting how you feel it is more fast cruiser/GT than sports car, especially compared to s3 I guess. I am coming from the other way, current car is BMW 330d gt which is great crusiser, but far from sports car, very long and heavy and as its x-drive it just has standard suspension- I am expecting the s5 to be equally good as fast cruiser but much more fun when I want it to be
counting the weeks down now!
Compared to a 330d it will feel very sporty I think. The power delivery is very different as well as the sound, it feels pretty balanced too, not front heavy like older S cars
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Absolutely loving it! Keep smiling whilst I'm driving, the sound is superb, and it's just a thoroughly amazing luxury GT imo. When I first ordered it I think in my head it was just a bigger, ever so slightly faster S3 and was just a logical progression, but it is so much more. It's far more composed, much better ride, and really effortless in making progress. I thought the S3 was amazing in terms of mid range grunt but this is something else. I was doing 20 mph in 5th today, the torque is incredible, and if you move your toe slightly it drops two cogs and you're off!
It's exactly what I wanted really. When I commute it's a long 100 mile boring drive for the most part, and for that it provides a really comfortable cruiser, with the cool jam assist (where it basically drives and steers itself), giving me a back massage and listening to my B&O, and when I take it out in the evening or weekends it's a sports GT, with the pace, handling and soundtrack to make you grin like an idiot. Honestly it think it's the perfect car for me, so far faultless, and a big step up from the S3. What I can't wait for is to get past 1000 miles so I can red line it and try out the sports diff in dynamic setting with a bit of silly-boy driving
It's no sports car though, it's too big and not focused enough for that, but if you buy an S5 thinking it's a sports car then your daft. Go and get your deposit back and buy a Cayman.
Only things that have annoyed/slightly disappointed so far....it's got a really aggressive stop start, which sometimes kicks in before the hill hold which is weird. In drive mode, it can be a bit lazy in some situations and then kick down too hard when you prod it (but this maybe me being careful to keep revs down and getting used to it). It go itself stuck in voice mode the other day and took me a minute or so to get the radio back on. Brakes can be a bit all or nothing, sometimes feel a little soft and other times bring me to an abrupt halt. It's probably bedding in tbh plus me adjusting. All in all nothing major
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Are the front seats any bigger compared to the s3? In sense of width etc?
I'm not sure without measuring, but you can adjust the side bolsters electronically which is new and really welcome as it provides much better side support for me
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That's rather surprising/disappointing. The small gap between activation of HH and SS is one of my criticisms of my B8.5 S5. I would have expected better on the B9, but from your description it seems like Audi have made it worse???
Yeah it's pretty weird. In my S3 it was very distinct and after practice I knew more or less how much to push the pedal to get one or both. In the S5 it seems harder to gauge but maybe it's just practice? ( I hope). I often just switch off the stop start because it ****** me off
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So as I'm just now at 1000 miles (the point where I am allowing myself to floor it when warm after run in) I thought I'd give a mini-review of my first few weeks of ownership. Coming from an S3 Saloon, many of my comments will be in relation to the S3, but is by no means meant to be a criticism of the S3 which I loved immensely and will fondly remember. However the S5 was bought intentionally as a 'stepup' for a number of reasons and I will explain reasoning as I go through.
The main reasons I went for the S5 after the S3 was to improve on the few flaws the S3 had (for me anyway). One was space (both rear seats and boot) and so far the S5 is much better. Kids have much better leg room (I used to have to adjust my seat when my kids where in the back for a long journey in the S3). I've also done a run to the dump, and I got a ton of stuff (very carefull placed) in the back, and the Sportback boot makes life a lot easier. Second was comfort, and refinement. I love a good blast in the car (for which my S3 was superb) but I also commute a decent amount, and cart kids and wife about. So far the S5 is a big step up. The seats are more comfortable (my wife commented as she hated the S3 seats), the wind and tyre noise is very good (biggest gripe about my S3 was excessive tyre roar), and the ride is far far better. I no longer get that ridiculous bounce into the air over small bumps that I got in the S3 and the need to apologise if I went over one above 2mph. It's not Mercedes floaty, but far more composed. The last is drama. The S3 was growly and I loved the 'farts' but imo it was no where near noisy enough (it was near-launch car). The S5 is much more of an event. Startup involves a deep growly exhaust noise for a few seconds before it settles down which makes everyone nearby turn their heads! The noise under load is raspy and almost V8 like, it still has upshift farts, but now in dynamic or sport mode it also bangs and crackles when down shifting which sounds awesome. I've taken to winding the window down a bit sometimes, and switching to manual so I can blip the gears and get loads of crackles lol, I'm such an child.
So all in all, it 'fixes' my main gripes about the S3 whilst at the same time my wife now approves of it (she used to moan about the S3 comfort and space), so the only way is up!
Other comments are that it does feel a bit faster than the S3. Not really 0-60, but more 30-90. I think the torque from the V6 seems to give it more midrange go. I love the new 8-speed gearbox. It's mostly more smooth than the dual-clutch and the extra gears have given me something unexpected...I can now use sport mode for normal driving! In the S3 sport mode was great when you were on it, but any other time made you look like a ****-head. You'd slow down for the lights and the engine would be revving like mad and if you tried and maintained 30mph in traffic you just sounded like a yob in a fiesta ST. In the S5 it sets the gearbox pretty sporty, and if you floor it it reacts swiftly, but it keeps a sensible gear when not under load, which means you can leave it in sport all the time if you don't care about fuel economy which is ace.
The tech is great, I love the VC, google maps and apple CarPlay, so I can actually text people using Siri now which is great. The automatic cruise is also very good, although I'm still getting used to it steering for me under 40mph!
Other things I love...the automatic boot opening and shutting, Matrix LED lights are so strong, massage seats very pleasant after long day at work, B&O speakers ace, sat nav seems better than in S3 weirdly, electric seat adjustment is great too.
Minor gripes are...overly aggressive stop-start function, applecar play sometimes gets confused and stops me switching straight away to radio, gearbox in drive can be a little lazy in certain circumstances, cruise control sometimes gets itself upset and overly brakes when not needed (but pretty much the same as in the S3 tbh)
So that's me for now, will do another in a month or so now I've run it in and update on the sporty side and the sports diff
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The main reasons I went for the S5 after the S3 was to improve on the few flaws the S3 had (for me anyway). One was space (both rear seats and boot) and so far the S5 is much better. Kids have much better leg room (I used to have to adjust my seat when my kids where in the back for a long journey in the S3). I've also done a run to the dump, and I got a ton of stuff (very carefull placed) in the back, and the Sportback boot makes life a lot easier. Second was comfort, and refinement. I love a good blast in the car (for which my S3 was superb) but I also commute a decent amount, and cart kids and wife about. So far the S5 is a big step up. The seats are more comfortable (my wife commented as she hated the S3 seats), the wind and tyre noise is very good (biggest gripe about my S3 was excessive tyre roar), and the ride is far far better. I no longer get that ridiculous bounce into the air over small bumps that I got in the S3 and the need to apologise if I went over one above 2mph. It's not Mercedes floaty, but far more composed. The last is drama. The S3 was growly and I loved the 'farts' but imo it was no where near noisy enough (it was near-launch car). The S5 is much more of an event. Startup involves a deep growly exhaust noise for a few seconds before it settles down which makes everyone nearby turn their heads! The noise under load is raspy and almost V8 like, it still has upshift farts, but now in dynamic or sport mode it also bangs and crackles when down shifting which sounds awesome. I've taken to winding the window down a bit sometimes, and switching to manual so I can blip the gears and get loads of crackles lol, I'm such an child.
So all in all, it 'fixes' my main gripes about the S3 whilst at the same time my wife now approves of it (she used to moan about the S3 comfort and space), so the only way is up!
Other comments are that it does feel a bit faster than the S3. Not really 0-60, but more 30-90. I think the torque from the V6 seems to give it more midrange go. I love the new 8-speed gearbox. It's mostly more smooth than the dual-clutch and the extra gears have given me something unexpected...I can now use sport mode for normal driving! In the S3 sport mode was great when you were on it, but any other time made you look like a ****-head. You'd slow down for the lights and the engine would be revving like mad and if you tried and maintained 30mph in traffic you just sounded like a yob in a fiesta ST. In the S5 it sets the gearbox pretty sporty, and if you floor it it reacts swiftly, but it keeps a sensible gear when not under load, which means you can leave it in sport all the time if you don't care about fuel economy which is ace.
The tech is great, I love the VC, google maps and apple CarPlay, so I can actually text people using Siri now which is great. The automatic cruise is also very good, although I'm still getting used to it steering for me under 40mph!
Other things I love...the automatic boot opening and shutting, Matrix LED lights are so strong, massage seats very pleasant after long day at work, B&O speakers ace, sat nav seems better than in S3 weirdly, electric seat adjustment is great too.
Minor gripes are...overly aggressive stop-start function, applecar play sometimes gets confused and stops me switching straight away to radio, gearbox in drive can be a little lazy in certain circumstances, cruise control sometimes gets itself upset and overly brakes when not needed (but pretty much the same as in the S3 tbh)
So that's me for now, will do another in a month or so now I've run it in and update on the sporty side and the sports diff
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Great review Joe - I get more excited about mine arriving each time I read your thread. Also makes me more and more convinced I made the right choice and the S5 sportback is going to tick all the boxes
Cant recall whether you have the adjustable dampers on yours? If so, do they make a difference?
Cant recall whether you have the adjustable dampers on yours? If so, do they make a difference?
Interesting to hear your thoughts on the over aggressive stop-start - seems like Audi have changed things around on the A5/S5 same as they did on the A4/S4. Coming from an A3 Saloon where I could control the stop-start easily (along with hold assist kicking in) I've found it incredibly annoying in my A4! Worst thing is definitely it kicking in before you even come to a stop and then you need to go again and engine is stopped!
Great review and lovely looking car btw.
Great review and lovely looking car btw.
Thanks. Yeah sadly the stop start is annoying. I just switch it off, so at least there is that option!
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Pretty much. I just switch it off as I don't really care about fuel consumption, but hey...
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Small update...my chrome tips were dirty when I washed the car yesterday, and soap, water and elbow grease were insufficient to the task. I am determined to keep them clean after failing on my S3 and always being annoyed at the ground-in carbon covering them. I've been giving them a wipe once or twice a week with a baby wipe, trying to keep on top of them which has helped, but as soon as you miss it for a few days, it starts to get harder. Anyway I bought some autosol on amazon prime on a tip off from a post on here and it arrived today. Results are astonishing. One quick wipe with some on a microfibres cloth and the carbon and muck came straight off! Can't recommend it highly enough, £9 well spent!
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A quick wipe over with some bodywork wax after the autosol also really helps stretch the intervals between cleans.
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yes, the dirty bakes on so any protection will help - wax or sealant then a regular wash and if needs be, Autosol or similar.
I just spent an age today de-tarring my car - there's been a spate of tar and chippings being put down everywhere near me so can't avoid them.
I just spent an age today de-tarring my car - there's been a spate of tar and chippings being put down everywhere near me so can't avoid them.
Great write up. Interesting comparisons between the two cars that I completely agree with. I also came from an S3 and I'm so glad I made the switch. There's something special about the new S5, to be honest the whole new A5 range is a lot nicer to the previous.
I'm currently in an s3 saloon and looking to move to an s5 sportback (if I can afford it!). Many of your points echo my thoughts on wanting to change. In particular about the rear leg size and room.
Are the seats any more comfy in the s5. My biggest gripe in the s3 is the hardness of the leather, there's such little give it makes long journeys very uncomfortable.
Are the seats any more comfy in the s5. My biggest gripe in the s3 is the hardness of the leather, there's such little give it makes long journeys very uncomfortable.
It does feel more comfy to me and my wife definitely thinks so
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Great Review, Is the ride quality substantially better? Also the massage function is that standard or an extra?
Ride quality a lot lot better. Massage function is standard on the S5
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I am possibly looking at getting an S5 as i feel the S3 is getting really cramped for my liking.
Looking at getting the following options what do you reckon?
Optional equipment
• 19" x 8.5J '5-arm turbine' design alloy wheels, magnesium look, gloss turned finish with 245/35 R19 tyres
• Audi Virtual Cockpit
• Bang & Olufsen 3D Sound System
• Driver Assistance Pack - Tour
• Driver assistance pack, city assistance package including Audi pre sense plus
• Dynamic steering
• Flat bottomed 3-spoke leather trimmed high multi-function steering wheel (and paddles for automatic transmissions)
• Inlays - Carbon atlas
• Matrix LED headlights with LED rear lights & dynamic front and rear indicators
• Adaptive S Sport suspension with damping control
• Extended LED Interior Lighting Pack - multi-coloured
• Panoramic glass sunroof
• Privacy glass (side and rear windows)
• quattro with Sports differential
• Smoking pack - cigarette lighter and ash trays
• Storage Pack
Looking at getting the following options what do you reckon?
Optional equipment
• 19" x 8.5J '5-arm turbine' design alloy wheels, magnesium look, gloss turned finish with 245/35 R19 tyres
• Audi Virtual Cockpit
• Bang & Olufsen 3D Sound System
• Driver Assistance Pack - Tour
• Driver assistance pack, city assistance package including Audi pre sense plus
• Dynamic steering
• Flat bottomed 3-spoke leather trimmed high multi-function steering wheel (and paddles for automatic transmissions)
• Inlays - Carbon atlas
• Matrix LED headlights with LED rear lights & dynamic front and rear indicators
• Adaptive S Sport suspension with damping control
• Extended LED Interior Lighting Pack - multi-coloured
• Panoramic glass sunroof
• Privacy glass (side and rear windows)
• quattro with Sports differential
• Smoking pack - cigarette lighter and ash trays
• Storage Pack
