[S5inPA]

Just thought I would throw a post out to say hi! I'm an older fart living in PA and have had my S5 since October. I am a car nut and enjoy driving. I own my own small business and I purchased the car as my company car.

Here are some random thoughts after 8500 miles:

•I have a squeaky shifter, just submitted separate post on that issue
•I purchased snow tires for the car along with 18” RIMs. I drove it to NH and had a chance to drive it in the snow and it was great.
•I am 6ft and about 275lbs, so my rear-end is just about as big as one would want to put into those seats.
•Gas mileage has increased to an avg of 19.6, about 75% highway driving.
•I hate the position of the clutch pedal. I have other manuals and this is the only car where I have to move my seat in to depress the clutch all the way. Its like the shifter is even with the gas pedal, unlike other cars where the clutch pedal is a little closer to you. So I end up driving closer to the steering wheel then I like. On long trips I will move the seat back since I am not shifting that much.
•I don’t like the clutch. It was very hard to shift smoothly and I have gotten better over time, but its just not right. My wife has an RSX-Type S, we have a jeep wrangler, a 68 corvette and non of those cars make you look like a newbie when shifting. Its just not right.
•I love the V8. It sounds nice, moves out well and it revs faster than even the RSX.
•I hate the gearing they chose. If I was racing the car 90% of the time and driving back and forth to the track, it is right on. But we drive these things and really don’t need a car that can pull away at low speeds in 6th gear. I would have preferred a little higher (lower numerically) final drive ratio. First gear is stout enough to pull tree trunks and gas mileage could be better.
•I love the large trunk.
•This is my first Audi, it took me a while to figure out all the console and dash do-dads. When I was in NH I tried to turn on the heated seats and kept turning the large dial by the shifter instead of the little dials on the dash. Drove around with a cold butt for two days until I broke down and read the manual.
•I wish there was a little more console storage space. I drive 40k miles a year and like to stash a little more stuff than they allow me.
•I love the bluetooth phone support. I use a Verizon Q and only after I upgraded the phone to the last firmware it started working well. I love driving down the road blaring the music and never missing a call now.

 

[aerodave]

Let me be the first to say welcome to the forums. You've got to have as many miles as anyone on here (or close to it, at any rate) so it's good to see the results of a semi-long-term relationship with the car.

I'm waiting on an A5, myself. So not everything you say will be important to me, but a lot of it will. And I'm sure many of the other forum members will find your insights valuable. I hope you'll stick around and become an active member. It'll be nice when more people get into these cars, and this place really starts hoppin'.

 

[Ebaines]

•I hate the position of the clutch pedal. I have other manuals and this is the only car where I have to move my seat in to depress the clutch all the way. Its like the shifter is even with the gas pedal, unlike other cars where the clutch pedal is a little closer to you. So I end up driving closer to the steering wheel then I like. On long trips I will move the seat back since I am not shifting that much.
•I don’t like the clutch. It was very hard to shift smoothly and I have gotten better over time, but its just not right. My wife has an RSX-Type S, we have a jeep wrangler, a 68 corvette and non of those cars make you look like a newbie when shifting. Its just not right.

I'm still waiting on delivery of my 6-speed, so I can't answer your concern about the clutch from any direct experience on the S5; however - I had virtually the exact same issue when I first got my '97 BMW 328iC, and I'm wondering of the same solution will work with the S5. Like you, I found it awkward to depress the clutch all the way to the firewall. But I learned that there is no reason to have to depress the clutch that far, and that there are after-market adustable cutch stops that allow you to dial out how far it protrudes from the fire wall, thus shortening the amount you depresss the clutch before it bottoms out. These clutch stops are designed as a direct replacement for the stock version. It screws onto a bolt that protrudes from the firewall - you simply unscrew the stock version and replace it with the after-market one. Works great - I've used it for 10 years now with no problems. I don't know whether the Audi clutch stop is designed like the BMW's, but it might be worth looking into.

 

[houseofg]

Good point. I've always complained about how long the throw is on Audi clutches. But thinking about this thread and driving my A4 this morning, I did notice that I didn't have to throw the clutch all the way to the firewall to shift. If the A5/S5 is similar, such a mod could be a great idea.

 

[doc7string]

I have to say, I have never pushed the clutch all the way in on any car I have owned and never had trouble with it and never had to replace a clutch with up to 65K miles on it (which includes a lot of down shifting for stops). Mine doesn't come in until April, but the tester that I drove was very smooth on take off in 1st gear. Maybe it is my shifting style, or maybe I take off more agressively than those here that have commented on having difficulty with this. I also have not driven it in stop and go traffic, so maybe that will make me feel differently. Anyway, welcome to the forum.

 

[S5inPA]

Regarding the Clutch...

I agree with doc7string that we don't push all the way to the FW. Let's just say the relationship to the gas pedal, the clutch pedal, the seat and the steerwheel are a little wacked out for my taste. I'm tall and on every car I drive I like the seat all the way back. this allows my arms to be a comfortable distance to the steeringwheel and more importantly, allows my legs to be stretched out so my right leg is not bent hitting the console. when all that is set right, I have to go to my tippie-toes to get the clutch in far enough. maybe its just an Audi or German thing. None of my American or Japanese cars has the problem.

 

[jedijasper]

.....I too received my S5 in October ( 7900 km )....I love it more than when I first took delivery. I really dont understand the clutch/gearing issues on so many threads on this site...I dont proclaim myself to be an expert driver-but have always driven 'manual' Audi's.....the S5 transmission is brilliant...( a little jumpy in first-but what do you expect with this much horsepower and a 4wd system!)....even then with the right pedal movement i achieve smooth take offs 9 out of 10 times.
In regards to the overall performance of the car...after 4 months I still get a buzz every time...i could go on....but quite simply its the best car I have ever owned.... sometimes these forums a are stupid place to hang around as we can all read too much into the the topics and get very paranoid about the NATURAL characteristics of our cars.

 

[boomer]

.....I too received my S5 in October ( 7900 km )....I love it more than when I first took delivery. I really dont understand the clutch/gearing issues on so many threads on this site...I dont proclaim myself to be an expert driver-but have always driven 'manual' Audi's.....the S5 transmission is brilliant...( a little jumpy in first-but what do you expect with this much horsepower and a 4wd system!)....even then with the right pedal movement i achieve smooth take offs 9 out of 10 times.
In regards to the overall performance of the car...after 4 months I still get a buzz every time...i could go on....but quite simply its the best car I have ever owned.... sometimes these forums a are stupid place to hang around as we can all read too much into the the topics and get very paranoid about the NATURAL characteristics of our cars.

Likewise, I have 8700 miles on mine (Oct. 31st delivery) and continue to cherish driving this car. No complaints with the clutch throw but this isn't my first Audi either. Initially car was a little jumpy in first (or I was) but now it is as smooth as silk (or I am ). Gear ratio is what I would expect and want out of the "S" series. Anything less aggressive doesn't deserve the badge in my opinion. Agree with lack of concealed driver storage space. The car remains at the top of my list of best cars owned as well.

 

[YelloJello]

2700 miles here (Mid December delivery)... agreed, I love this car that I barely give the e36 any time anymore. I say I'm gonna rock the e36 convertible during the summer... but its starting not to look like it. And, now, after 1" drop, it just looks perfect.

•I hate the position of the clutch pedal. - I wouldn't say all the way to firewall, maybe 95% down haha. But I'm 5'8, not that tall, but I, too, usually sit back further. For the first few weeks, I sat pretty close, and, later, I got comfortable, and now I'm almost tiptoed like most!

•I don’t like the clutch. - Yea, the anti-stall in first gear makes smooth starts sucky to do. (This hasn't been solved yet, has it?)

•I love the V8. - Strong but subtle! (However, those aftermarkets sounds sweet)

•I hate the gearing they chose. - You have good points, but I love the performance when you want it, and its a lotta times!

•I love the large trunk. - I enjoyed picking up my friends with 2 large suitcases and 2 snowboards at the airport... from the looks of people, they probably didn't think it was gonna fit!

- Ibis White gets dirty so fast

- Sirius radio is sweet, 3 months free, hardly listen to FM or Ipod anymore (CHILL mostly, other electronic, hip-hop, BBC Radio 1 FTW!)

- At first, I thought the Bass was a little weak, but now all digital through Sirius, it's definately perfect inside without disturbing outside. (My MP3's and FM were probably less quality)

- When you have large soda cup with straw in cup holder, kinda gets in the way of shifting

- I wish they put in the RS4 foot pedals or something similar, but I guess this is still an S... looks like I'll buy the RS5 just for the pedals ^_^

- The AWD controlled slides feels definately safer and more confident than rear end coming out from RWD, although I kinda miss the Oh Sh*#! factor

- Passengers (females) love the back seat =)

- I thought there was a governer at 155?

- Did anyone mention how effin' sweet this car looks?

 

[YelloJello]

I would have preferred a little higher (lower numerically) final drive ratio. First gear is stout enough to pull tree trunks and gas mileage could be better.
•I love the large trunk.

So you love your new tree trunk that you pulled out! I gots to get me one too.

 

[Colin]

Like jedijasper I’ve stopped reading this forum on a regular basis – when you are still waiting for your car there’s a real danger of mis-interpreting other posts, especially the negative comments and then wondering if you should start to question the wisdom of your order in the first place. No car is perfect in every respect and my criteria may well be different from other buyers anyway. For example I never even opened the boot (trunk) before ordering my car, nor did I bother trying to get in the back. They just aren’t important or relevant issues to me. Nor am I that concerned about the obviously poor fuel consumption because I will only do 8 to 10,000 kms (5 to 6,000 miles) a year in it so the incremental cost between doing 20 rather than 30 mpg is negligible especially when you factor in the real cost of ownership – depreciation. And as I commute to my office which is just 5kms away, on a Suzuki Burgman 400cc scooter that does 80mpg, even 30 mpg might be considered appalling! So what’s important to me isn’t necessarily shared by others here. But how it goes, how it feels and how it looks, especially the interior is very important. All of which (I hope) will make the 7 months I will have waited between my order and delivery, worthwhile.

And I’ve just read on another thread that someone thinks the new M3 is better. My response to that is go and buy one if that’s what suits you.