2008 Audi S5 User Reviews

Great Power Delivery But Nonintuitive Interior Controls. — My father and I went to test drive this car as soon as we saw that the local Audi dealership had one on the lot. I was really impressed with how smooth the engine was on this car, but the clutch took a lot of getting used to as it engages about a micron off the floor but this was soon forgiven once you got out of first gear, but there is no feathering the clutch when trying to start this car moving! This leads to my first real complaint, when trying to start moving again after being stopped at a red light right outside of the dealership, I accidentally brought the clutch out a bit too far (1.5 microns instead of 1) and ended up killing the engine in the middle of Main Street. Not to worry I thought and touched the large "Engine Start" button. Nothing happened, I tried again, same result, I tried putting the car in neutral and hitting the button, nothing, put on the parking brake, nothing. Now I was a bit nervous, I started fiddling with the myriad of controls on the dash of the car, all while keeping my feet firmly on the clutch and brakes when i somehow managed to bump the key flob that was securely in its place in the dash, and lo and behold, the engine purred to life. For some reason, Audi in their infinite genius decided that if the key was in its spot that you had to press the key flob in to start the car, but if you left the key out of that spot, you had to push the "Engine Start" button, why they did this, who knows, but this wasn't the only thing confusing about the interior. When you sit down in this car, you are confronted with more switches and buttons than are equipped on the USS Enterprise and the dual screens (one in the instrument cluster and one in the normal sat-nav position in the dash) each with their own roller selector on the steering wheel, make even changing the radio a chore at first. Don't get me wrong, from a purely driving stand point, I loved this car, the seats were comfortable but supportive and communicative, the shifting was short and crisp and the ride quality was superb, however compared to the interior of a comparable BMW with their iDrive system, the Audi's extra switchery felt awkward and cluttered to the first time user. I am sure once one is used to this system, it would probably feel very natural but the overall first impression left me wanting something with a more minimalist control scheme. About the only other thing that I was disappointed with was how tall first gear was. With how the clutch on this car was, I expected first gear to be a little bit more forgiving, but even with this car's great engine, the all wheel drive system made sure that if you weren't within that small acceptable range on the clutch and the throttle, you either killed the engine or jerked off the line. With these few things aside though, I really enjoyed my test drive of Audi's new S5 and am looking forward to trying out next years model.

Beautiful — It is a fast car but also convenient for a family. It has the same huge engine as the R8

S5 — Performance: Audi 4.2L V8 is a great motor especially in this sleek looking car. It has the same base engine as the beautiful RS4 minus the few ponies and twist. Like most Audi the brake are great to stop a heavy car. Handling again like most Audi there is understeer on high speed corner thanks to the engine mounted sooo far up in the car Appearance: Beautiful timeless body match the almost perfect interior. The interior is nice and it make seem you're in some sort of space ship and your the pilot. The dash of the car angle most of the controls toward the driver. Fun Factor: 4 out of 5 stars

Practical And Thrilling — practical, but expensive when doing short journeys. always manages to get attention, LED LIGHTS!! freeview, bang and olfsun sound system, ipod interface and plenty of boot! gorgeous front with a chrome grill and mirrors, lil' V8 badge on the side just to be cheeky. its an audi so quality for the money.

Primary Use: Sport/fun (spirited driving, track racing, off-roading, etc.)

Awesome Car — This car has heart stoping performance and a very reasonable price.I have driven it and it feals soft but holds tight corners good. Brakes are very good, handlig the best with quatro. This car acceds expectations, you will not be disapointed at all.