Pricing
Screaming fast. Fantastic fun
4th update: 49,000 miles and almost 7 years. Still love this car. 3rd update: Not change, but needing breaks at 38,000 seems too soon when virtually all the miles are highway miles. 4th update: 44000 miles. Still love this car. 2nd update: Just turned 36k miles and still love the car. Just replaced tires. I learned that Audi uses a bit of negative camber (helps with cornering) which causes the tires to wear on the inside at a faster rate than normal. Hence, be sure to get the treadwear guarantee and rotate tires to get a healthy credit toward the new tires. Update: After 4+ years of ownership I still love this car. Everything below is still valid. Total mileage after 4.75 years of ownership is about 32,000 I've put 12k miles on the car and have not had any troubles. The dealer support for a condenser that was perforated by a rock was above and beyond. The car is blazing fast. Way better than my G35 or 530 ever were. The S5 is also more refined than those cars too. Since I drive 80 - 85 on the highway, when I need to pass and punch the gas it jumps to 100 almost instantly. Acceleration to 60 is also terrific. Road holding (I have the optional split differential) is incredible. A corner that I could never get past 37 in the G35 I've already done effortlessly at 55 in the S5. I'd try it faster, but there is not enough road to get the speed any higher. I've taken the car on an 850 mile one day drive and found it to be extremely comfortable (I'm 6'0 and 200 pounds). Fuel economy on that road trip was 30 MPG. Around town which is a mix of city/highway mpg is 22. This is based on using mid grade fuel. In regards to the turbo lag, I have found it to be almost imperceptible when the transmission is in sport mode. I basically keep it in sport until I reach a road where I can cruise at a steady speed. Oh, and the car gets plenty of looks. Its a work of art.
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My First Audi. Glad it was the 2018 S5 Prestige!
This car is absolutely incredible. It drives and handles like a dream. The technology can be a bit overwhelming at first but once you get used to how things work it is great. The controls and ergonomics of the cabin are almost perfect. Great quality materials in the buttons, high-quality diamond stitched Nappa leather and a sound system that is fantastic. Everything is arranged within the cabin with the driver as the focus of all controls and electronics. The virtual cockpit is incredible to use as is everything else. Engine response is superb with just a slight turbo lag in the low rpm range below 1300rpm. Once past that line, the acceleration is incredible. The handling is so balanced with acceleration and cornering that is way out of its class. I could go on and on about what a great car this is but all I can say is this was my first Audi S5 series, it will not be my last.
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Fantastic Upgrade from 2015 S5.
The overall feel to me is a higher level of sophistication than previous generation. Audi has made a step up in overall quality of interior design, materials and switch gear. Suspension changes are quite noticeable which provides a more sure footed feel. Gone is the under steer tendency when aggressively taking corners. It feels much quicker with surges of power more instantaneous across the RPM band than the previous generation due to the Turbo providing low end torque where the 2015 Supercharged engine only produced that kind of torque over 3k RPM. Didn't think Audi could improve the interior but they did. Seats are more supportive and yet more comfortable, The changes to the MMI took a little getting use to but now it is second nature accessing information is faster with the new button layout. Input of information is easier too especially with the touch handwriting recognition. MMI\Navi computer is much faster. No lag time between screens and the navigation display is amazingly sharp and directions are accurate. The visual cockpit is a joy to use. Information right in front of you where it should be. Love the multi gauge setups. Even the B&O stereo system is a step up in sound quality. Very glad I upgraded to the 2018.
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Perfect blend of performance & luxury
Have had the car for a month and love everything about it. Just came off of a Mercedes C43 AMG convertible which was a much harsher ride with a more high revving engine sound. The S5 is more of the V8 rumble and feels more powerful even though the numbers are similar. Handles extremely well but also absorbs the bumps nicely. The layout of the interior is perfect. Really excellent car in every way.
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Possibly the best car I have ever owned.
Just took delivery of my 2nd S5 Cabriolet. The previous was a slightly used (5k miles) 2015 Premium Plus. This model is a brand new 2019 Prestige fully loaded. I could not find anything quite comparable to my previous S5 after test drives with BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Porsche, and even Tesla (albeit a completely different concept all-elec). Throwing in all the tangibles and in-tangibles (warranty, maintenance service support, handling, performance, versatility, wet-sexy looks, country-club street cred, durability, and price) I could not find any match. First, the new 2019 S5, although it looks similar, is a completely different car than its predecessor. Audi changed the body lines and design and added a ton of technology and improvements to the 2018 model. The new 2019 comes with a $10-15k higher price point, regardless of options, but I have to say...WORTH IT. The car is packed so tight with high tech customizable features and options, that it is overwhelming. On the Prestige model, there is almost nothing in the cockpit that is not customizable. For example, the stock Milano leather sport seat with quilted cross-hatch stitching have no less than 40 different possible settings. Not the least of which is the back and lumbar massage system which comes standard with three different pressure points with three different levels of intensity each. Not only can you customize the interior LED lighting system, which is elegantly tucked under the the seamless Atlas carbon fiber inlays, foot-wells, and cup-holders, to literally ANY color in the visible spectrum, you can even delineate the "upper" level lights to a different color than the "lower" level lights. The exterior camera system provides 360 degree "top view" of the car when parking and backing up. You can select any individual camera to view for tight-quarter maneuvers when needed. If that is not enough, you can even change the HUD system (Heads Up Display) to rotate up to 5 degrees R-L and position the projection higher or lower on the windscreen, as well as adjust the brightness and actual information projected to include turn-by-turn navigation, road sign information, and the active lane assist. The car is simply astonishing with advanced customizable features. One of my big disappointments in the 2015 was the lack of voice-command microphone for phone operation and other radio and climate features. The Audi (Volkswagen) engineers figured that out in the 2018-2019 model. The acoustic dampening convertible top is a feat of technology in itself. I can tell no difference in the interior road noise from my friend's plush Lexus hard-top sedan, and my sporty coupe convertible. The exhaust note on start-up turns heads. A friend of mine just said, "Whoa-that sounds like a Ferrari engine." Performance In the 2019 is much better. It has a touchy throttle, and when pressed, it sprints. The over-all 0-60mph time may not be significantly different, but it "feels" lighter and more nimble. The wide 19-Inch sport summer tires could probably hold a 1.1+ G lateral on a track, but I'm slightly disappointed Audi didn't recognize that most of us in the U.S. are daily commuters and not formula-one drivers. They should have installed all-season performance tires to hold up under the all-wheel torque and grind of the Quattro system such as Pirelli P-Zeros. Almost as good, with 4x the mileage wear. The dynamic steering is really necessary to avoid wheel rim rash. The rear wheels track far inside front wheels. This car is ridiculously good for what it is. A very high performance luxury convertible with the price tag of a loaded full-size domestic pick-up truck. Unfortunately they ain't making more. Audi has sadly discontinued the S5 cabriolet for 2020 and the foreseeable future. Go grab one while you still can!
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