yeah it’s performance is not as good as the other luxury coupes in the market today, but who cares?? unless you are planning to pay for numerous speeding tickets, 265 hp is plenty of power for a coupe. most importantly, it’s a very comfortable ride with pretty darn good handling.

bimmers are strong performance cars, but that’s pretty much it. with it’s dull exterior and interior looks, it’s hard to feel excited when you see a 3 series on the road today. with the A5 and S5, there are plenty of “wow”s and “oooo”s to go around.

I drove the G37, but my head hit the sunroof, even with the seat lowered.

I liked the engine in the 335i, but the previous generation looked much better. Part of the appeal of a coupe is looks. The new coupe is, at best, acceptable but ordinary.

I still have the best looking BMW ever made – 95 850CSi.

this is a troll, right?

Certainly one might correctly flame the buyer of any “luxury” car, since they pay more for the same size car available in competent form from (in alphabetical order only) Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen; even Ford and GM sell some satisfactory cars in the mid-size arena. And, as beautiful as Audis arguably are, the styling does not make up for the weight bias of the front wheel drive chassis even in AWD format.

For some people, yourself apparently included, the appearance and styling cohesion offered by Audi is sufficient incentive to avoid the bangled but well-balanced BMW or the nearly-as-ugly but highly competent Mercedes. Other emotional choices about the car having to do with the perceived status it might impart or the owner satisfaction are highly individualistic. Some people buy an upmarket Hyundai in order to feel better than their neighbor who has a Malibu Classic. Some folks might buy a CLK-black series as a means to feel superior to the poor guy down the street who drives a Lexus IS250. And then there are those who know, simply by the pricetag, that their Rolls, Bentley or Ferrari places them near the top of the financial heap. I’d guess that most people are a little more complex and that perceived status is only a part of their car-buying decision.

You sir are a complete Luddite mascarading as an automobile expert.

The MMI is easy to use. The A5 comes with automatic temperature control. It is not the same as driving your 1986 Toyota pickup (tractor) with power nothing, no AC, and a hula hoop for a steering wheel.

This car was designed for the top 5%, not the sub-prime losers that will never be able to buy a 335 because their ponzi scheme financial products do not exist anymore.

Are you sure you know how to drive…do you drive a Merc in C instead of S and complain about performance?

I love the BMW fan boys that come out in full force to bash Audi. A Honda is a nice car if you cannot afford and Audi.

The bottom line is Audi sells more cars than BMW and Mercedes combined worldwide for a reason.

Rich people drive Audi and wannabees drive BMW and Merc.

Cheers!

While certainly not inexpensive, the A5 is a very attractive vehicle considering:

1) on all surfaces except a dry race track, it will keep up with the much-lauded competition
2) it is better looking in person than in pictures;
3) it holds its value remarkably well;
4) the interior is on par with cars costing much more (no, this is not getting too old, it is actually true);
5) the quattro AWD will be invaluable for any wet weather or winter adventure you care to take.
6) people won’t mistake you for being a BMW snob or a Lexus internet-bragging fanboy

Just FYI, even with $1.5k market adjustment (any greater can easily be bargained down), you can still get this car for around 40k bare. Add the fancy headlights, navigation, and B&O stereo you’re still around 45k, a number that you will easily hit with the IS350, 335i, G37, or any other “entry level luxury car” once you’ve given it even the most meager of options.

Ingolstadt should thank its lucky design stars that emotion trumps logic. The world is a better place for having A5s in it, but there are better places for an enthusiast to sit.

Any time you are spending more than 30k on a car, there will be decisions made that aren’t based on logic, since pure function can exist below that threshold. That being said, when you compare this car to others in its price range (IS350, 335i, CLK350, G37), it actually has one of the better interiors. It has arguably the best exterior; it manages to one-up the E92, which therefore makes the other cars look quite bland in comparison. As far as power goes, it’s definitely not as fast as the IS350 or 335i, but it isn’t a slouch either like the IS250 or 328i. It gets better EPA gas mileage than the others as well.

In other words, it’s hard to discredit this car based on performance alone, as it does have a lot of other things to offer. Given that I already own a modified Toyota Supra, all of the above mentioned cars are slow by comparison, so when I looked for a good daily drivable car to replace my old one, the A5 actually fit the bill quite nicely. If I were in a different situation, I might lean more heavily towards the Bimmer, or if I had kids, maybe the Lexus. But that’s why variety exists, to suit different people’s wants and needs. Money where my mouth is, I’ve placed my order and can’t wait for it to arrive.

I suppose if Rosie O’Donnell is your idea of sexy.

Phil

Similar logic is applied to other functions such as navigation (”NAV”), phone/bluetooth (”TEL”) etc.

Please don’t get discouraged – it’s not that hard. Ideally, it should have the ergonomics of a 1984 244.

Engineering by…American lawyers?

Nah…

BMW came up with it, and although it had its flaws, apparently Audi and Merc couldn’t come up with something better, much less something more modern.

However, they had to do something, because BMW said having regular buttons was 90s technology, so they couldn’t lack behind, otherwise their products would surely be perceived as outdated…right?

Hence, this might be a case of new technology because it’s new, not necessarily because it’s better.

Do all the german car companies share the same design studio? First, BMW grows a double-lump dash with iDrive, then Mercedes and now Audi. Even their HVAC stacks look the same now.

A5 4625mm in length and 1854 width
335i 4580 and 1782

Front seat space bimmer and audi are equal, but 3-series coupe has a lot more leg and headroom in the rear than A5.

I don’t get it, where Audi fanboys get their 6-series comparisons?

And if I may — not a single control on the A5 is where you would a imagine it to be.

Case in point — the volume knob is not on the stereo.

It’s not!

This function has been grandfathered from the Audi/VW trip computer. Maybe that computer should have been replaced by MMI, but the learning curve of the decade old compy cannot be blamed on the new MMI.

The prosecution rests, your honor.

Sounds like my ex-wife.

“Audi’s genius is in positioning the A5/S5 exactly where they are – they look much more expensive than they actually are.”

In the case of A5 the car actually IS as expensive as it looks :)

whatdoiknow1: If design is the only thing that matters then we would all drive new Mazda 6’s. At this price level and in this luxury sports-coupe segment there are numerous details that make the class leading car, design is one of them, but not the only thing. Handling, roadfeel, balance of the chassis, steering feedback, acceleration, engine and gearbox matching characteristics, engine’s powerband, sound of the engine, brake feel and performance, feel of the seats and steering wheel, interior design and quality – those all are very important details, and I personally think the 335i coupe is hands down better in all of them compared to the S5, not to mention the 3.2 A5. Considering all this the price of the A5/S5 is unbelievably high.

What the A5 will be to its owners is a beautiful, entertaining car, that is will also turn out to be one fine foul-weather commuter. The interior is also full of nice gagets to play with. This car is just the cup of tea that many, many ADULT men(and women) are looking for.

Just like many of you guys love to fall all over yourselfs making claims that you would prefer the less powerful 328i to a G35, I am sure that many folks will not think twice about choosing the far more beautiful A5 over a 3 series.

VW/Audi’s got the same problem as Honda/Acura; if you want to be in the same game with MB and BMW, a FWD platform is an enormous disadvantage, unless your driving is largely in inclement weather. In Finland, for example, this could be a huge hit.