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Originally Posted by Skhmund
Anybody own one? I would like to know member experiences/opinions of them. It's a beautiful car and I would love to buy one.
Also a curiosity, the Audi R8 comes in V8 form as well, is it the same V8 in the RS5?
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It is related to the Audi V10 (not the V8) but with 2 fewer cylinders. It has more power and a higher RPM redline than the V8 R8.
I have both a RS5 and M4. They both have their strengths and it really depends on what appeals to you. I promise you can't go wrong with either. I'm going to make a hunch that all-out performance isn't necessarily the biggest determining factor for you, so I think you'd really enjoy the RS5 because IMO it looks more special/exotic than the M4.
The whole experience of owning a RS5 feels VERY special. I still melt every time I lay eyes on her, when I sit inside and gaze at her R8-esque cockpit, and when I fire up the engine and hear her roar to life. Two things that for me are head and shoulders above the M4 are the gauge cluster and the start-up sound. Both of those are really uninspiring on the M4. The M4 is super quiet at startup (no roar) and the gauges (not the steering wheel but the gauges) are probably the most boring gauges I've ever seen on a modern performance car.
The RS5 also has MUCH better interior controls/navigation/MMI.
Here's a list of complaints of things about the M4 that I can do in the RS5 that I can't do in the BMW (or at least haven't figured out how to do after almost 2 months of owning it)
- A/C defaults on at start-up! no matter what! (probably the most ridiculous default setting in the history of cars)
- Can't mute the sound from the steering wheel with one button (and the volume adjustment are buttons instead of a scroll wheel even though the adjustments for channels/songs is a scroll wheel)
- Navigation maps look terrible and you can barely distinguish traffic flow from the color of the streets. Give me Google Maps that are in the Audi any day.
- No option to import only specific songs to harddrive - must import an entire folder and you can't store all your songs in one seamless folder...
- A/C on driver's side and passenger side can't be synced (i have to adjust both sides every time)
- Car defaults to its default car settings on startup everytime. You have to store your settings on the "M" button and click it every time. (For me I have to click twice because I drive in MDM mode with traction control semi-off)
- Using the interactive map involves clicking the click wheel, scrolling to "Interactive Map" , selecting it, then having a separate map pop out that's insanely difficult to use since the click wheel is also a touch pad. In the Audi, you simply move the clickwheel to move in the map....it's so easy, seriously wtf BMW
These are just a few of the many complaints I have about the BMW's iDrive vs. Audi's MMI.
The M4, however, has MUCH better steering feel and brakes.
As for the RS5, if you've ever played the F355 Challenge Arcade Simulator, I'm fairly certain that has more steering feel than the Audi lol. That said, the lack of steering feel in the RS5 doesn't bother me as much as you'd think, because the steering weight can be adjusted and it is at least accurate.
I'd also give a
slight edge in handling to the M4 but that may be more attributed to the M4 having Michelin PSSs vs. the lackluster Pirellis on the RS5.
Everything else is subjective or a matter of preference. That includes the power delivery. The M4 may be faster on paper, but I could care less about what the numbers say, because to me the RS5 feels amazingly fast when you're ripping up to the 8.5krpm redline and the Audi's DSG is just as fast as the BMW DCT but it's smoother.
If you like the way the RS5 looks then you should absolutely get one. And if my endorsement isn't enough here's what Randy Pobst (pro race car driver from Motortrend) has to say:
"The R8 should be half this good! This car is fantastic. I adore it. It does such a great job utilizing all-wheel-drive traction off the corner, with zero push. You just drive in there and you think it's too early, but you just floor it and you're like, man, I should've gotten on the gas sooner. And no push, no oversteer -- it just drives right out of there, beautifully carving an exit line, using all the power. The gearbox is also very friendly. I just got more confident with carrying speed in and trusting the grip."
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...n/viewall.html