Car and Driver 2008 Audi A5/S5 First Drive, How Awesome is the A5/S5?

001: I have a suggestion, why don't you review the A/S5?
It would give a much better and balanced review of the car.

smirk smirk

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They're one of the best mags out there.

car and driver is not a good mag but they got it right this time :)

Car and Driver while a great magazine, are known BMW and Honda lovers. So, for them to give such a review to the A5/S5 speaks volumes to the vehicle.

Wow! I didn't expect such a glowing review from C/D. They made me want an RS5... maybe I'll have to re-think that Porsche thing...

I am also quite surprised!

no these cars are rear biast quattro cars sorry idiot

Why don't you try reading the article, "amazinBimmer?" Oh right, you're illiterate.

YOU CANT BE SERIOUS

Somewhere in a far, far parallel universe, I have to say that I would prefer the 3-Coupe over all.

The first review of the A5 posted on this website stated that it wasn't better than the 335i coupe. I love the 335 but i'll wait for the M3 to upgrade from the current model.

here is the article: http://www.autospies.com/news/Autocar-reports-BMW-335i-coupe-still-more-fun-to-drive-than-Audi-S5-14408/

I love the new G35 look but I would still take a 328i/335i or A5/S5 over an Infiniti. I have always enjoyed the thrill a BMW machine gave me. It was responsive for my liking. The suspension wasn't harsh but not too soft either to maintain a level of ride comfort. The luxury is still there as well.

The Audi looks great and should be interesting how many current G35 owners will be looking over to an A5 or 3-series coupe.

BMW_DRVR, the 335i (E92) IS the current model. I know what you meant, though- just pulling your chain.

(-;

Audi makes a better driving car than Mercedes in this class.

I agree that Audi makes better driving cars in this class and so does BMW. The way I look at it these 3 German brands have great offerings. If you want a good handling car but more luxury get a Benz. If you want a nice contemporary and sophisticated look get an Audi. If you want great handling/semi-good-but-controversial-designs/sport-luxury get a BMW. As for Lexus it is closer to what Benz has to offer but in a more understated way.

Denial in full effect here.

I think he's right. I haven't driven this car yet, but the other reviews on this say the A5 chassis has some major issues, and this car isn't as "up to par" with the A4 or A6 chassis.

The A6 chassis isn't very good- edges closer to the E's ride comfort than the 5's handling. The current A6 is superb from a design standpoint, but I wasn't impressed with driving it- and I am so glad I didn't buy an A6 4.2 quattro. The A4 is good, but any article says that the A5 is a big improvement.

Notice how BMW doesn't offer the Xi (AWD) on any 335 models, only on the 328?

This makes a lot of sense to me since most people that care about AWD don't care about the performance losses and loss of driving dynamics that having a heavy and less efficient AWD drive system in place brings.

Actually the 335xi just arrived at US dealers.

I believe he was talking about a 335xi COUPE. That's one coupe I would want, a lot.

No probabbly because X-drive isn't as fun as Quattro & therefore with the 335i they just stick to what Bimmers are most fun for, RWD chassis.

I also feel Audi should offer AWD as an option to a RWD platform & not FWD.

True- Audi makes better AWD cars, but BMW makes better 2WD cars. Very different philosophies and focuses with each company.

In fact, Audi top brass has considered switching to RWD in the past; when they discussed it with lower-tier execs and dealers, many felt that they would be alienating current customers and basically, conforming to everyone else. I wouldn't mind either way, because I love quattro, but obviously, they'd get better dynamics out of a RWD base model than a FWD one. Who knows- maybe under Porsche ownership, things will change.

While I agree that Audi absolutely offer RWD in their cars, I also disagree that BMW couldn't engineer an AWD car that equally, if not more fun to drive than Audi.

That market share is too small, and BMW will stay out of it until they cannot deliver enough horsepower to the two rear wheels.

At some point in this horsepower race, there won't be enough rear tire to get the traction needed and some of this will need to go to the front. But that's a long ways away.

^^ ^^
Actually most experts would say that production cars today are most likely the fastest they'll ever be. This is because of future regulations on emissions & other crackdowns that will prevent manufactures from creating another Veyron or Enzo.

not likely; technology doesn't disappear. if you have the money, no regulation is going to stop you from trying to push forth the performance envelope now and in the future. Supercars will always exist, and they will be more capable in the future.

That said, you are right, the other 99.99% of us will probably not have supercars in our garages. "ultimate performance machines" will simply not be practical for the average driver when gasoline continues its price increases and congestion in cities forces drivers to choose cars better oriented for urban driving. It doesn't take 300hp to haul a 90kg person to the office and back, especially in bumper-to-bumper traffic.