SHOWDOWN: Audi RS5 vs BMW M3 Which Is The Better Street Rocket?

I don't know, and I don't care to get into an online pissing match about it. Styling-wise, I prefer the Audi.

Then why bother commenting?

SemperLexus, you forgot to mention that an ES350 can hang with these cars!

M3 it the best. @ 1:40 is epic.

If you want a softer car get a 335 or an s5. This class it about performance and the M3 is the benchmark. No excuses.

correction 2:03 is epic..

The M3 only over-steers when you step on the throttle, otherwise it is designed to under-steer for safety reasons. With that being said you never get into a situation on public roads where full throttle over-steer that breaks into a drift occurs. Ill take the M3. Its faster in the wet and dry, luxurious, and cheaper if you don't opt for that paint job.

Faster in the wet ?

WOW !!

Must be nice living on planet BMW FANBOY.

Suggest you do a youtube search for 5th Gear review on RS6 vs E63 AMG.

Everyone agrees on a dry track the AMG would beat the AWD RS, however on a wet track the RS comprehensively trashed the RWD E63.

Thats the difference between fantasy and reality, in Fanboy fantasy land the RWD vehicle will always win; while reality dictates the AWD RS will easily beat the RWD competition on any surface that is not smooth and dry.

BTW: Feel free to post some links to races on wet or cold surfaces where a RWD vehicle beats its similarly powered AWD competition.

I95, I hate to break this to you but there's no need to post a link to a video of an M3 beating an RS5 in the wet, because the link would lead right to this page -- IT HAPPENS IN THE VIDEO IN THIS THREAD. Scroll up, watch the 10 minute clip from Top Gear, and enjoy seeing an M3 beat an RS5 on a wet track. And in the future, perhaps you want to watch/read the content of each thread before commenting so you can avoid future embarrassment, especially if you're going to call someone ELSE a blind fanboy.

JRobUSC

You must live in Arizona or Nevada because on this side of the Atlantic we consider that track "Moist".

Hell the commentator even called it "Mildly Moist" which means it does not even qualify as "Moist".

So please next time LISTEN to the commentary and try to use a bit of common sense before trying to correct me. {I understand common sense is not all that common}

If you had bothered to look up the video i described earlier you would have seen what the rest of the world considers a "Wet" track.

Here, Ill post the link for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAynI7oC44k&feature=related

That is what a "WET" track is.

Funny thing is i never claimed one vehicle was inferior to the other. if i lived in California or Florida or any one of many mostly dry states i would choose the M3 in a heartbeat.

However i live in a part of the world where a 3hr journey is guaranteed to take me through 3 different weather conditions almost all year round as well as the fact that our engineers decided that straight roads were an engineers' nightmare, that combination of guaranteed rain/snow with thousands of curves and bends means i would favour the AWD vehicle.

See. Different vehicles catering to different needs. Why some people fail to understand this i do not know.

Hahahahah, so the RS5 is only (theoretically)faster within a narrow band of wetness? Ok Goldilocks. If you live where it snows a lot get the RS5. Or you could get a jeep thats better than the M3 in the snow..but does that make the jeep a better car? The rs5 can only drive in a couple inches of snow, and so could an M3.It not a fluke that it win almost every comparison test its in. The M3 is the better performance car regardless of any twist of theory you can conjure up.

I95, I'm not gonna get dragged into an argument with you. If you say that track wasn't wet enough, even though the commentators were surprised the M3 was faster on it because it was wet, then fine. You're right, if I need a car I can race in a torrential downpour or in snow then the RS5 is the car for me. Better? Of course in real life I would do neither of those things, and the M3 is superior in the dry and "moist" conditions I'd actually want to enjoy a car like that in, so I'd rather have the M3. But to each his own.

you hate your m3 because people post articles about it? you're the idiot. that's if you even own an m3. if i was you i would stop reading and went for a drive. very simple kid.

LOL...009 trying to find some bizarre angle in the story to shed a glimmer of positive light on audi. Truth is the M3s a better all around car.

The M3 is very very hard to beat.BMW just has this segment down right.

this is for i95speedingtickets who gives a rats ass what 5th gear shows on a comparison between the rs6 vs e63 . this is a comparison between the m3 and s5 those are 2 totally different cars in 2 different classes. apples to apples my friend.

i agree with pointatob i have an m3 too and its getting old now the m is getting phased out and audi is late and behind the OLD m how bad will it be drubbed with the NEW m?

clarkson flat out says get the m3

I loved the part where Clarkson says: C'mon turn!!! while driving the RS5...priceless...

I love both car and would be happy with either one. But if I have to pick between this two cars, I think I change my mind and get the BMW M3.

Careful with your statements, you are inviting de-boosts with such sensible observations.

Im just curious how many people drive flat out in the snow? Not to mention since when did a low riding vehicle with, low profile summer tires equal good in the snow? AWD or not, thats like saying a Murcielago is a perfect winter vehicle....lets use some common sense

I95, please read the above comment for an even better example of a sensible observation.

bmwdrvr

It has nothing to do with flat out driving in the snow. on an ICY road AWD allows you to progress with much more ease than a RWD vehicle, even one equipped with Winter Tyres.

I have driven a RWD vehicle {750li} in the snow and i know even with Winter Tyres and all the electronic aids it was not as easy to pilot as an AWD A8 or 4-Matic S-Class.

bmwdrvr & JRobUSC.

I will give you a perfect example of a journey {Real -Life} i was involved in recently that is indicative of the continent i live and have to drive on;

In dec 2010 i was part of a group of about 15 vehicles that went from London to Verbier {Switzerland}. Amongst our group were 2 M5s and 1 E63, 1 Quattroporte, 2 Panameras (Turbo & S),1 Cayenne Turbo and a collection of other vehicles, i was driving an RS6. All vehicles were 2010 models or newer.

Now we are talking over 700 miles through 3 different countries and varying altitudes and weather. some vehicles had Winter Tyres {M5s and E63} some did not {My RS6}.

All drivers on this trip are what i consider very competitive and eager drivers but with one eye on safety as we had passengers that we would not wish to endanger but we all drove as fast as we safely dared to go all the way to Verbier and then all the way back to london after our holiday.

The road conditions went from Very Wet in London to Torrential and then Freezing and then Icy then Icy Rain.
Only 3 vehicles were miles ahead of the rest all the time {Ill let you guess} and they only caught up when we phoned to let them know which rest stop we stopped at to refuel and buy some sacks, even the Cayenne was faster than the M5s and E63 in heavy rain and snow.

Like i said before, if i lived in an all year round warm place i would choose RWD any day, however i KNOW where i live and drive and KNOW it is not a sensible choice for an all year round vehicle.

Look at it this way. a 1,000 mile journey in the winter will see the AWD RS vehicle get there Hours ahead of the RWD M vehicle while the same journey in the summer will see the RWD M vehicle get there minutes ahead of the AWD RS vehicle.

I cannot make it any more clear than that, if you still cannot understand my point, you win.

Im not to sure how many people do 1000 mile tours through the snow and rain in sports cars. But the X6m/X5m, ML65 amg, or cayenne would be perfect for drives like that..

merce63amg

I agree with you 100%

However what if you are not wealthy enough to own a High Performance SUV as well as a Coupe ?

This is why fanboys are just that. Blind to the realities of life, they never let facts get in the way of a good daydream.

merce63amg

This is Europe, we do not drive SUVs unless we have families to cart around.

Most single guys buy Coupes / Convertibles as they are nicer to drive and chuck about.

I don't know why people think the whole world is exactly like their city, I simply say that the Audi is better for some folks, the BMW better for others.

just because you are considered a competitive and eager driver, does not make you a good driver. I have had to go to driving schools to become a better driver in all weather conditions. Just driving and saying you are competitive is Alot different than being able to actually know how to drive.

I promise you this, If I was in the M5 with snow tires and we were driving in the snow with the RS6, I would be right next to you.

I95(audi/vag fanboy)

Flip flop much? First you are on a 700 mile trip in 100K+ (gas guzzling) cars. Then all of a sudden the scenario is what if you cant afford them, and your single, and you need an awd coupe convertible.LOL.

94geo

You are a simpleton.

I spend over £50,000 a year on Rentals. I drive over 50,000 miles a year. I go on driving events at least twice a year.

Do I sound like the average guy who has to save up to buy a car ?

Audi needs to sell more than a couple of RS5s a year if they were targeting only people like myself they would sell no more than a couple hundred worldwide.

Lets do some numbers
RS5 AWD All Year Usability £55,000 approx {Lets say 90% summer road/track performance of M3}

M3 RWD Summer and Autumn Usability £50,000 {Lets say 75% winter road/track performance of RS5}

I only want comments from people who have actually driven RWD and AWD vehicles in the snow so are able to make INFORMED comments on this topic.

RS5 being driven in snow above 3 to 4" requires a very skilled driver or the addition of snow tires. Which is the same that can be said for someone buying a M3. I currently have a 2009 BMW 135 coupe and reside in Chicago. I do not have snow tires nor have I been stuck as of yet, knock on wood. But I consider myself a way above average driving as I attend driving schools yearly.

This being said, the M3 is a better overall car. It is better at what it is designed to do. Therein lies the issue of the RS5. All the audi people want it to compete with the BMW in performance and driving at extremes, yet it has failed in every comparison test. Here is 195speed arguing about "mildly moist", "wet", "snow".... Face it the RS5 is not as good as the M3.

Enough of the BullShit.

Pick a date or an event that occurs in the winter { You have till next winter to decide } ill fly to whatever country you live in or decide to do the comp in and we can see you keep up with me in an RS vehicle with your RWD vehicle.

I will make the time, you choose the Location.

Sick of all the armchair warriors on this site, probably a bunch of teenagers who will never get near, let alone sit in one of the cars they comment on.

CigarGuy, simple fact: in the snow/ice, AWD is only going to help with one aspect of driving, and that is scratching and clawing from stopped to moving. Once you are moving, however, there are two other functions the car needs to perform. Those are "stopping" and "turning", and they have absolutely nothing to do with AWD, they are almost exclusively a function of the ability of the tires to maintain friction with the road. And in snow/ice, you need snow tires for that. For both vehicles, not just the M3.

So if you think that RS5 with max performance summer tires on it is going to be some kind of savior in a snow or ice storm, good for you. You'd be wrong, but good for you. I'll be sure to wave at you as I pass the ditch your nose heavy super traction machine ended up in as you foolishly expected AWD to save you from driving like an idiot in snow/ice.

I let my girlfriend {Who has had no advanced training} drive the RS as well as other AWD Sedans/Coupes in more than 3 to 4" of snow with no Winter Tyres without a shred of doubt about her ability to pilot the vehicle. AWD vehicles go where you intend to go by simply turning the steering wheel and letting the drivetrain sort out the traction problems. RWD vehicles tend not to be so forgiving.

I cannot believe i am having an argument about the quite clear advantages of AWD over RWD on conditions that are present almost 3/4 of the year in a lot of countries.

Ok you win RWD is always superior. M3 is King.

Great video! The E92 is such a balanced car, BMW really did a great job! Even on a "damp" track the M3 is a second faster than the RS5, if it were dry no doubt the gap would have been greater.

-side note- 75% of the tests between these two cars take place in EUROPE(in the mountains, on race tracks, country roads, in the wet, and dry). This does not seem impact the reviewers(who live in europe)verdict on which is the superior machine.