RS3 8V vs S5

[AlexDR]

Anybody out there driven the new RS3 and an S5? As a pure driving experience question (disregard financials), what's the comparison? I'm about a week away from ordering a new RS3 having driven one but not yet the S5. Options appreciated....

 

[josedebardi]

I was very impressed with the S5 when I drove it last year.
I have to say, now you've brought it up, it's not an easy choice!
I wasn't expecting too much from the S5, but it's instant power thanks to the supercharge is addictive.
The RS3 has the 5-pot sound though, and is quicker.

If you need a big boot, go S5, if not, RS3 wins I think.

 

[AlexDR]

There is also the question of build quality (part of driving experience I think). I drove an A5 (not S5) and it seemed much better built than the S3. If I spent 50k on an RS3 and the windows rattled or the trim squeaked, I'd be very upset....

 

[josedebardi]

Build quality on the new A3 seems pretty good to me (experienced a few of them now), the A4/5 platform is about to be upgraded to B9 as it's seriously dated as well. Whereas the A3 platform is only 2 years old. So expect an S5 bought now (taking note of finances) to plummet in value next year.
Having owned an SQ5 (same platform as the A4/5) I can say it feels very dated compared to the new A3 platform.

If I was going S5, it would need 20%+ discount to make up for the above.

 

[AlexDR]

Thanks. I have a Q5 as well so see the difference in the old platform.

My S3 is a year old and it has trim squeaks and the dreaded window rattle which the S3 forum has plenty of examples of. Would hope the RS3 is better!

 

[josedebardi]

So you keeping the Q5? In which case the RS3 is a no brainer over the S5 as you'll still have a 'big' car on the drive for when needed.

RE squeaks etc - just get the dealer to fix them. My S1 had a passenger door rattle and they just sorted it.

The RS3/S3 will have identical trim so any general problems with the platform will persist. It's all luck of the draw though!

 

[AlexDR]

Yep, Q5 is my wife's daily driver and for family trips. The S3 is my get to and from the train station asap car. The RS3 is making sense, plus I loved the drive! Way better than my manual S3.

 

[Nimbus265]

Totally agree on the rattle; my Q5 had a rattly sunroof and it is now on it's 3rd pano roof cassete - but it is now fixed. I just kept insisting that it wasn't good enough, and if they took it for a few miles over rough roads (rather than around the ring road), they might find out.

Totally agree with Josede bardi when he says RS3 is a no brainer over the S5 as you'll still have a 'big' car on the drive for when needed. Thats exactly where we are.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

Well I've previously had a TT then a TTS and now had a supercharged S5 for over a year and a half .... and now looking to get an RS5 so I guess I can maybe help you a little.

Briefly .... The S5 is a super car. The engine is a peach with 'immediate' power which makes for very rapid straight line acceleration.

The cabin is a super place to sit - great seating position, top quality materials, feels very premium and the standard spec is very generous especially in black edition form.

It's fairly practical although rear seat legroom is a bit limited. Long distance covered with ease. Superb on motorway runs. Very quiet and comfortable. Makes a nice sound when you want it under acceleration.

Seating position is to my liking (will go low) and visibility is excellent.

S tronic is excellent. Smooth in D yet super quick in S.

It's still one of the best looking cars in Audi's range too IMO .... I love it !

Downsides (for me) are ..... Chassis is getting old now, it's a noticeably heavy car (coming from TT's).

It's a big car - seats 4 people 'just' but not 5 seats and only just fits in my garage width wise and length wise.

Although the sound is nice - its artificially enhanced which does pi$$ me off a little if I'm honest.

It's not as nimble as a TT - no where close - but never was gonna be and I knew that going in.

It drinks fuel !!!

As nice as the cabin is, it's a 7 year old design now.

Well that's about it for the minus of which there aren't many to be fair.

So I do really like my S5 but ......

I am looking to change to an RS3 next and believe that will give me the best of both worlds ..... TT handling and S5 performance - well enhanced performance - plus it's an RS, has the 5 pot engine, sounds awesome with NO ARTIFICIAL ENHANCEMENT, is practical and is a brand new car on a fairly new platform.

I haven't test driven the RS3 yet but don't for one minute think I'll be disappointed.

Hope that helps you a little.

 

[AlexDR]

Great to hear from an S5 owner, look forward to reading your thoughts once you've driven the RS3.

Thanks to all, seems this is going one way...

 

[CraigI]

Haldex v Torsen.
Only one winner in that battle, by some margin too.

 

[45bvtc]

Them four rubber rings on each corner will say so much more than Haldex vs Torsion that you'll not know exist...

The S5 is a great car; as is the S3, RS3, S4, RS4, S5, RS5, and on and on and on...

Our personal favourite is our 1.4 90-bhp diesel Audi A2: what a manic machine it is on the right tyres for the occasion...

But our Audi RS3 and Audi TT are sweet too - on the right day and in the right weather conditions, of course...

Get over them differences...

 

[ChinsTTS]

As already pointed out the S5 is very dated now and will be replaced next year. That will signal big depreciation and driver envy when you see the new lighter, more modern looking one. Not the right time to be buying a new S5 IMHO.

 

[CraigI]

As already pointed out the S5 is very dated now and will be replaced next year. That will signal big depreciation and driver envy when you see the new lighter, more modern looking one. Not the right time to be buying a new S5 IMHO.

By the same token, it's exactly the right time to be buying a S5 - you'll never get a better deal with dealer contribution, freebies etc thrown in as you will right now.

A5 platform remains the best looking (non R8) Audi, who cares if it's a few years old, still looks great IMO.

Every Audi has something in the class that's lighter and better, so I don't think that's a real life issue.

The cockpit of an A5, despite being older technology, is a much better place to be than a 8V A3. Some people place high importance on being able to sent texts via the car, having new sat Nav maps and connecting to the Internet etc, but that's overshadowed by the vastly superior seating position and to a lesser extent the integrated screen (I'll never like the pop up screen effort) for me.
B&O in the S3 is way better and I assume the RS3 will have the same system, so that's a definite plus point.

I'd suggest drive both. S5 with differential is a competent car to drive and will have better quality, albeit less modern feel to it. RS3 I expect to be a bit more brutal acceleration wise,
Driving the RS3 on Thursday, so will let you know how and if it compares to a S5.

 

[Snake Pliskin]

By the same token, it's exactly the right time to be buying a S5 - you'll never get a better deal with dealer contribution, freebies etc thrown in as you will right now.

A5 platform remains the best looking (non R8) Audi, who cares if it's a few years old, still looks great IMO.

Every Audi has something in the class that's lighter and better, so I don't think that's a real life issue.

The cockpit of an A5, despite being older technology, is a much better place to be than a 8V A3. Some people place high importance on being able to sent texts via the car, having new sat Nav maps and connecting to the Internet etc, but that's overshadowed by the vastly superior seating position and to a lesser extent the integrated screen (I'll never like the pop up screen effort) for me.
B&O in the S3 is way better and I assume the RS3 will have the same system, so that's a definite plus point.

I'd suggest drive both. S5 with differential is a competent car to drive and will have better quality, albeit less modern feel to it. RS3 I expect to be a bit more brutal acceleration wise,
Driving the RS3 on Thursday, so will let you know how and if it compares to a S5.

Be interested to hear your thoughts on the RS3 Craig wth you having owned an S3 before.

 

[DAYTONA 500]

I'm waiting to try the new RS3 having owned a mk 1 RS3 and currently have a B8.5 with ADS ,rear sports diff and virtually every other option and imo you can't compare the the two cars are they are totally different in every way but are both very capable cars in their own right and I'm saying this without even driving the RS3 yet.

 

[ChinsTTS]

By the same token, it's exactly the right time to be buying a S5 - you'll never get a better deal with dealer contribution, freebies etc thrown in as you will right now.

A5 platform remains the best looking (non R8) Audi, who cares if it's a few years old, still looks great IMO.

Every Audi has something in the class that's lighter and better, so I don't think that's a real life issue.

The cockpit of an A5, despite being older technology, is a much better place to be than a 8V A3. Some people place high importance on being able to sent texts via the car, having new sat Nav maps and connecting to the Internet etc, but that's overshadowed by the vastly superior seating position and to a lesser extent the integrated screen (I'll never like the pop up screen effort) for me.
B&O in the S3 is way better and I assume the RS3 will have the same system, so that's a definite plus point.

I'd suggest drive both. S5 with differential is a competent car to drive and will have better quality, albeit less modern feel to it. RS3 I expect to be a bit more brutal acceleration wise,
Driving the RS3 on Thursday, so will let you know how and if it compares to a S5.

Sorry but going to have to disagree to an extent

I've driven the S5 a few times and I'm the fleet manager at work. End up driving the current A4 quite a bit and recently replaced an A3 8V.

Just don't see how the S5's interior is a nicer place to be. All the switchgear, Sat Nav binnacle etc are dated. Not sure what parts are nicer than the 8V ? The S5 really feels it's age when it also comes to driving. The RS3 is in a league above it if driving is a priority. That said the RS3 certainly with std exhaust was way too sanitised for me and more like my old 335xd than current S1

 

[CraigI]

Sorry but going to have to disagree to an extent

I've driven the S5 a few times and I'm the fleet manager at work. End up driving the current A4 quite a bit and recently replaced an A3 8V.

Just don't see how the S5's interior is a nicer place to be. All the switchgear, Sat Nav binnacle etc are dated. Not sure what parts are nicer than the 8V ? The S5 really feels it's age when it also comes to driving. The RS3 is in a league above it if driving is a priority. That said the RS3 certainly with std exhaust was way too sanitised for me and more like my old 335xd than current S1

Seating position is vastly superior in the 5 to the S3 / RS3.
You feel like you are in the 5, whereas you feel like you are on the 3.
I'm hugely surprised they didn't do something to remedy that in the RS3, but no changes compared to S3.

I also prefer the wrap around enclosed feel of the 5, which you can only really get from a coupe.

No arguments on the switchgear, Nav system or interactivity, but since you are talking about driving being a priority, all that matters interior wise is seating position, linkage to the steering wheel and ability to get comfortable with the pedals.
I think this is better in the S5 than it was in the S3 (so also the RS3 as no changes have been made).

 

[T-800]

It tickles me how people can say 'switchgear is dated' you make it sound like it's from the 1980's or something.

 

[SilureMark]

Anybody out there driven the new RS3 and an S5? As a pure driving experience question (disregard financials), what's the comparison? I'm about a week away from ordering a new RS3 having driven one but not yet the S5. Options appreciated....

I've driven both (drove new RS3 last weekend) - RS3 EVERY time. S5 is like a big boat with wheels - although I did like it in a strange kind of way and agree that the driving position is way better in the S5 than the S3 and RS3. It's the one thing I don't like about my S3. God knows why Audi made such a **** poor job of that.
The new TTS is however VERY good. I haven't made my mind up on one of those or an RS3. IMO the TTS was the better car to drive, had a better interior and looked way better. But, I may still need the rear seats and boot space if the missis sticks with her car, so scratch the TTS if that's the case. They cost about the same optioned up to a decent spec. But S5 vs RS3, no brainer that one.

 

[Ebrahim]

There is also the question of build quality (part of driving experience I think). I drove an A5 (not S5) and it seemed much better built than the S3. If I spent 50k on an RS3 and the windows rattled or the trim squeaked, I'd be very upset....

i had a a4 2.0T quattro for a year and traded it for a new s3 sedan. The build quality in the s3 is much better imo. Plus its newer technology.. its funny though when i bought my a5 i ordered a s3 sedan as it was not yet available. Then when i bought a q5 6 months later i said i was going to cancel the s3 order, however the dealer decided to keep the s3 on order and when it arrived i traded the a5 immediatley. Before i saw a s3 in person i was worried about the interior because i always sat in the normal a3.. but now if i compare the q5 to the s3 its worlds apart. When i drive the q5 it feels old to me.. also performance wise the s3 has better performance than the s5.. so imagine the rs3. All audis suffer from rattles luckily my s3 hasnt started yet.

 

[Ebrahim]

i had a a4 2.0T quattro for a year and traded it for a new s3 sedan. The build quality in the s3 is much better imo. Plus its newer technology.. its funny though when i bought my a5 i ordered a s3 sedan as it was not yet available. Then when i bought a q5 6 months later i said i was going to cancel the s3 order, however the dealer decided to keep the s3 on order and when it arrived i traded the a5 immediatley. Before i saw a s3 in person i was worried about the interior because i always sat in the normal a3.. but now if i compare the q5 to the s3 its worlds apart. When i drive the q5 it feels old to me.. also performance wise the s3 has better performance than the s5.. so imagine the rs3. All audis suffer from rattles luckily my s3 hasnt started yet.

Meant a5 not a4