2025 Audi A5 and S5 drive: The fastback needs the S treatment to sizzle
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More capacitive controls in a premium badge . Audi lied when they said they were bringing back proper buttons . They’re not getting my money again when I turn in my q4 lease.
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VAG have absolutely ripped the arse out of their cars on cost and quality in the last couple of generations and don't get called out on it nearly enough by journalists. You don't have to go looking very hard in any of their current products to find evidence of aggressive cost cutting.
We'll leave their ridiculous bodge grade engineering to one side too, but one look at how the water pump is driven on an EA888 should tell you all you need to know about their engineering culture, and that's just a boring DOHC 4 pot.
They're about to have their guts stomped out in Europe by the Chinese, and it serves them right.
We'll leave their ridiculous bodge grade engineering to one side too, but one look at how the water pump is driven on an EA888 should tell you all you need to know about their engineering culture, and that's just a boring DOHC 4 pot.
They're about to have their guts stomped out in Europe by the Chinese, and it serves them right.
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Don't worry if you don't buy the package that comes with Adaptive Cruise Control, because Audi will include it in the car anyway and lock it down, so they can be more than delighted to get you to subscribe to a monthly fee to get access to it.
That's what the situation was on my A3, and as a result I do not have an A3 anymore.
That's what the situation was on my A3, and as a result I do not have an A3 anymore.
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God bless Audi for sticking with lift back boot openings in their sedans
such phenomenal use of space, enough capacity behind the rear seats to make a crossover blush
I adore this philosophy/packaging so so much!!
such phenomenal use of space, enough capacity behind the rear seats to make a crossover blush
I adore this philosophy/packaging so so much!!
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On the door panel that tiny patch of buttons holds no less than 17 capacitive buttons. Sure, most aren't used while driving but still. Especially with the mirror adjustment directional buttons where you're actually looking at the mirror while operating them... all at once from now on.
Maybe this is where the cost reduction from the outgoing model went.
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That's what Honda will tell you. It may just be semantics, but I think of hatchbacks as cars with the hinge for the hatch at the back of the car. I prefer that look in cars like the GTI or the 5th gen Civic hatchback.
Audi really wants to draw the eye to those front air ducts on the S5.
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"the $3,600 Premium Plus package is likely a must-have, as this adds adaptive cruise control, a heads-up display, top-down parking cameras, and some other features (including USB-C ports)"
Your point is very much supported by the article; USB-C ports requires the "Premium Plus" package!?
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I thought this was a hatchback?
I may very well be wrong though!!!
anyway, i just think it's neat that this
also has about the same cargo capacity as the Honda above
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My personal classification:
- Short boot (trunk), relatively vertical tailgate - hatchback
- Short boot (trunk), relatively vertical tailgate, cosplaying as a 4x4 - crossover
- Long boot (trunk), relatively vertical tailgate - estate (station wagon)
- Heavily inclined tailgate - sportback
- Long luxury car, heavily inclined tailgate (or heavily inclined rear roof line leading to tailgate) - shooting brake
- Three box design, with distinct boot (trunk) - sedan
(Hybrids are possible, such as a sportback crossover)
YCMV
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That's disgusting for what is effectively a core saftey feature. Worse than BMW heated seats. Audi can fuck right off with that kind of subscription thrall behavior.
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They did this cheap cost cutting trash in the recent Q5 refresh too.. it's gross. Audi has jumped the shark and is banking on brand loyalty from suckers at this point. Time to go buy BMW or some other brand that doesn't sell you shit tea and tell you it's wine. Honda and Toyta can do better than this, at much cheaper prices, to say nothing of Kia and Hyundai.
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I'd gladly give up that pointless passenger's side display to get back physical buttons.
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What’s worse is if you forego that passenger screen, they leave a black plastic panel. It’s like the biggest button blank ever.
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That A5, in that color, is the blandest vehicle I could imagine. Just buy a Camry, it has more personality. The S5 looks marginally less boring but those front air scoops are stupid.
Other notes:
Other notes:
- It's just way too much screen. Obviously the marketing geniuses are in a race with BMW and Merc to see who can add more useless screens to the cars in order to sell premium packages, but I'll pass hard on it. All I want is a reasonably sized panel with great CarPlay/Auto integration and not much else (love the display in my CX-50).
- Too much capacitive touch everywhere. Our Mk8 GTI has most of the same parts bin touch controls, and they suck.
- Rear hatch seems better than a traditional sedan trunk, but its silly to not offer this in a wagon format. All you'd do is just reshape the rear quarter and hatch shape a bit.. I think the hinge itself could stay right in the same spot, right?
- Piano black:
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This needs to be law. Nothing I need to turn on, off, up, or down in my Tacoma is on a screen. It's not as nice to drive as a nice sporty sedan, but it sure is nicer to live with.
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Why do they always recess the screen into the dashboard? You have to lean forward out of your seat to tap it and that gets real tiring after the 100th time.
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I really really really love my 2018 S5. Perfect balance of practicality and sporty fun. No touch screens, just lots of convenient buttons and levers.
I really want a version of this car with some minor modern upgrades (Wireless CarPlay). Its so close to a perfect car, and they're ruining it
Just give me the 2018 with more modern styling, add a touch screen but keep the physical buttons and switches!
I really want a version of this car with some minor modern upgrades (Wireless CarPlay). Its so close to a perfect car, and they're ruining it
Just give me the 2018 with more modern styling, add a touch screen but keep the physical buttons and switches!
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BMW? I have the old 5 series (G31) and I was shocked when I saw the interior of the new 5 series (G60/ 61) for the first time.
The new one looks cheap, has feature regression, is too big and the interior could as well be from Kia. Not for me anymore.
Or compare the current facelift of the 3 series (LCI 2) with the original version from 2019. Feature regression and cost savings. Also not for me.
I'm so disappointed with Audi and BMW that I ordered am E-Class as my next car.
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It sucks. And I get that the EV transition is expensive and so on, but this penny wise, pound foolish nonsense is more damaging to the brand long-term than it's worth it to save. Consolidate build configurations. Share more components with other car companies, get over your NIH hangups. Increase parts commonality with other models. Use parts and systems longer. But if they can do animated OLED rear tail lights, for the love of God, Montressor, they can give us fucking USB-C ports standard.
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Dear car UX people; capacitive buttons were a compromise on smart devices to dynamically make use of the same limited screen real estate for multiple things depending on context, while giving up on muscle memory and feel.
A car steering wheel does not change according to context, and the users eyes are supposed to be ON THE ROAD not checking visually which button you’re pressing. You’ve might think that capacitive buttons are sleek, cool and modern, but in reality it just make you seem like complete amateurs since you’ve completely misunderstood all the reasons why capacitive touch buttons were a thing in the first place.
Hire better designers, or get ready to lose a lot of sales to brands that do.
A car steering wheel does not change according to context, and the users eyes are supposed to be ON THE ROAD not checking visually which button you’re pressing. You’ve might think that capacitive buttons are sleek, cool and modern, but in reality it just make you seem like complete amateurs since you’ve completely misunderstood all the reasons why capacitive touch buttons were a thing in the first place.
Hire better designers, or get ready to lose a lot of sales to brands that do.
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They gave me a screen for the volume knob,
A swipe to defrost and a lagging fob.
No button in sight for the heated seat—
Just menus deep in a pixel sheet.
I tap and slide while changing lanes,
A UX hell that fries my brain.
At eighty clicks, I hunt for lights,
Touchscreens do make for thrilling nights.
This cockpit’s sleek, but far from wiser—
It’s form obsessed, not fit for drivers.
The new S5 might please der Führer,
But I'll take a pass, everything’s computer.
A swipe to defrost and a lagging fob.
No button in sight for the heated seat—
Just menus deep in a pixel sheet.
I tap and slide while changing lanes,
A UX hell that fries my brain.
At eighty clicks, I hunt for lights,
Touchscreens do make for thrilling nights.
This cockpit’s sleek, but far from wiser—
It’s form obsessed, not fit for drivers.
The new S5 might please der Führer,
But I'll take a pass, everything’s computer.
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This design was final and in preproduction before they ever announced bringing buttons back. Any announcement like that from a car manufacturer, assume it's at least 3-5 years out.
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There's only so many shapes to make a grille, and a design is not just a collection of cues.
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Keith Tanner
Ars Tribunus Militum
It's easy. Does the rear window open with the trunklid? Then it's a hatch. The slope of the rear doesn't matter. A station wagon/estate is a hatch, usually a five door - although it's often distinguished by the long roof and a real load bay.
To confuse things, my short wheelbase 1967 Land Rover is labeled "station wagon" on the badge
It has a side opening rear door.
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Seems they've poached the Mercedes interior designed who loves acres of shiny black plastic.
Euuugh.
Euuugh.
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Audi really needs to evolve it's styling. The A5 looks like a 90s Audi with an angry grille tacked on. Add in the capacitive controls and how often even the 4 cylinder cars are in the shop, and there are are better ways to spend $50-60k. I'd sooner buy a Mazda
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S5 is where I’d want to be, but I simply do not trust German long term reliability. These are better for leasing so someone else can deal with it after it’s turned in.
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If you can live with Toyota steering, which is almost a dealbreaker for me, even a cheap Camry will give you a similar experience while getting 50+ MPG. With much better reliability and resale value.
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I don't think the experience is similar, really; maybe 80% of the way there. But this has always been the case with premium brands; they're never the smart buy, there's always a car that delivers 80% of the experience for about 50% of the cost, and they always depreciate like milk. For some, it's still worth driving a car that's not a Camry, and I find that understandable.
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I don't think Audi's problem is its styling. It doesn't look like a '90s model - it really does not - and entry-level European executive sedans are by their nature conservative, bland designs.
The cheapening of the interior and driving experience, reliability, and expensive maintenance is the problem, and they seem clueless about how to address those things.
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Liftback — where the rear profile seems like it would have just a trunk lid, but instead includes the rear glass too.
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I absolutely ADORE my 2014 A4. Very sad to see that line go away. From my experience with the A3 (test drive in 2013) and S5, I think Audi is making a big mistake. The A3 I test drove before I bought the A4 felt a lot like something put together with leftover parts. The A4 felt purposeful, well-built, and much more like the "real car".
Fast forward to May 2024. Mr. Hildey's Mercedes C320 (330?) has a serious sunroof issue and our local Mercedes folks could care less. He goes on a hunt for a new ride. I've loved my car and our Audi dealership, so he tries there. He drove an S5, didn't love it, but asked me to try it to see if he was just being picky. Nope, this felt like the same unresolved, half-baked car that the A3 felt like. I've ended up with an A6 as a courtesy car, and it has the same solidness that my A4 has.
I'd chalked it up to "don't buy odd numbered cars from Audi". Hopefully, they put the folks who build the A4s to work on the A5 line.
Fast forward to May 2024. Mr. Hildey's Mercedes C320 (330?) has a serious sunroof issue and our local Mercedes folks could care less. He goes on a hunt for a new ride. I've loved my car and our Audi dealership, so he tries there. He drove an S5, didn't love it, but asked me to try it to see if he was just being picky. Nope, this felt like the same unresolved, half-baked car that the A3 felt like. I've ended up with an A6 as a courtesy car, and it has the same solidness that my A4 has.
I'd chalked it up to "don't buy odd numbered cars from Audi". Hopefully, they put the folks who build the A4s to work on the A5 line.
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I agree with other posters, it's not a wagon/estate but it has a (sloping) fifth door, so it's a hatchback. But Ars insists on calling it a sedan nevertheless, as they've always done.
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Only in Germany will it make sense to anyone to axe their best-selling entry-level model, the model that defined their brand for the last 25 years, because of a perceived need for a contrived naming strategy for EV and ICE models.
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Yes. Like a crossover is a tall station wagon. But shush, you'll step on people's insecurities if you mention that.
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