Granted, BMW has (arguably) the world's best steering/chassis engineering, but, IMO, nothing that BMW sells in the American market can even approach the A5's looks. And Audi interiors, on the average, are a clear step above those of BMWin overall quality in trim/materials/fit/finish.

 

An A5 in ANY color looks good.

 

I don't know this for a fact, but my strong guess is that you will get a better discount on a typical A5 deal than with a 3-series. The 3-series sells so briskly that there is little incentive for BMW shops to discount them.

 

it's a good move, audi are nice, but for their price, they are not that nice yet to certain extend (imho)

 

So you think they are overpriced for what they offer? I dunno.....their sheet metal, fit/finish, interior trim/materials, and the quality of the Quattro drivetrain are all first-rate. The main problem, like with other German products, has traditionally been electronics/hardware. (yeah, I dislike the MMI system, but that's another story: )

 

looks beautiful to me.....

 

to me, yes. of course, i am not trying to generalizing my comment to all audi, i guess it's more specific to the a5/s5. they do have pretty good finish and design (no doubt), and like you said, their quattro system is some of the best. however, still, for the price of s5, it matches the performance of 335 (cheaper) and far from touching the m3 (similarly priced), that's a big bummer. imho in the performance department audi lost so that kind of put the quattro out of play.

electronic systems and such imho is a toss, i don't see clear runner between bmw and audi, so that's a wash

so it comes down to style, exterior, and interior design, which i do agree the a5/s5 overall looks better than the 3 series. but at the added price tag, that's why it becomes a bit much for my blood

now with the 2.0t, suddenly the price of the a5 becomes more affordable, specially for people who care more about appearance than performance. it's totally fine, and imho for this platform, audi can definitely use more popularity than exclusivity

 

Quote of the day

 

The new A5/S5 has been selling well though gaining in sales and momentum...it broke 1k sales last month which is pretty impressive. The 3 series and G37 dominate if are not the only entries in this segment.

 

Damn nice car

 

I'm still waiting to see that new lightweight Audi frame go into production. http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...rototype_drive

 

best looking luxury coupe right now.

 

You know, it starts slightly under $50k, but I can't really think of another car that the E-class coupe competes with if not these ones.

 

I'm not sure you understand the S5. It's supposed to be a comfortable, elegant, and smooth GT. It achieves all 3 of these. The M3 aims for more sport than GT.

Though they definitely compete at the same price point, it's not all about direct head-to-head competition on a track - each has it's target. If you want all out performance, Audi has always made their RS models.

It's like comparing a Quattroporte to an M5. The target buyer is not the same.

 

so you want to imagine how much more the rs5 would cost in the US compared to the m3? that would again make my point.

i know very well what the s5 is for, that's exactly why i put the 335 in for comparison as well. basically it's two folds. same performance/comfort but different price, or same price but different performance

i can most definitely see your point on comparing quattroporte to m5, valid, different buyers of different status. but are you trying to say that audi a5/s5 buyers are bmw 3/m3 buyers are having the same kind of difference in status? not sure if i agree with that. and i don't even see that kind of brand image difference between audi/bmw vs maserati/bmw