So my cousin just picked up his F10 M5 and he opted for every available option, he also went with the Monte Carlo Blue with Orange interior. Let me start off and say that his color selection was perfect and i wouldn't have picked different myself. I am an Audi guy 100% but i give credit where it's and the new M5 is a spectacular car. It's unfair for me to compare it to my Tuned S4 because the M5 is double the price but i still figured it'd be interesting to do.
Exterior:
The S4 is a very sleek car where as the M5 is bulky. It's a very good looking car and its actually funny how small the B8 looks next to it. The wheels are HUGE and so are the brakes. The rear tires are 295's. IMO this is the best looking M5 since the E39. The E60 was ugly and just looked very JDM. This M5 looks muscular and you can just tell it means business. The only thing i would change is the ride height. With such a sporty look and such big wheels it looks silly with so much wheel gap.
Interior:
The S4 seats are amazing and appearance wise they win- however the M5 bolsters where much better and felt so much sportier. The interior is plain compared to an S6 but its got all the right touches in all the right places. All the touch points are very nice and the shift knob is awesome. It honestly is so manual-like that it kinda adds a corny but awesome fun factor to driving it. The interior is leaps ahead of the E60 but still not quiet up to Audi standards. The things that really made it pleasant were the thick steering wheel and crazy good screen in the Multimedia interface. The quality was like 3D TV quality. The Bang&Olufsen was awesome too which i was expecting regardless.
Power:
WOW! I have to say for a stock sedan this car has some serious grunt. It's only at 100 miles and i really didn't get on it BUT when its fully broken in i can tell already its crazy. The powerband is broad, and unlike M5's of the past it actually has torque!! i'm a torque junky and honestly the E92 and E46 M3's that I've driven were just boring on the street, handling was amazing but just brute power was slacking because of the low torque high rpm motors. The S4 is a pretty fast car especially tuned with bolt ons but the M5 is a whole other animal. That being said- it can't put the power done as efficiently as the S4- from a 1/4 mile standpoint i can see my car be close with the M5 but above 100mph we will get EMBARRASSED. Granted though im comparing a car that costs half of the M5 so for the price we really can't go wrong.
Drivetrain:
My father has a DSG S4 which is awesome- the M5 DCT though is much more raw. I think the S4 may shift a little quicker but the M5 shifts harder and is def more fun. The DCT in the M5 seems leaps and bounds better than the one in the E92 M3 i drove. The M3 was jerky, felt horrible in auto mode and too aggressive for a daily driver. That being said comparing all these systems to the original SMG transmission and anything feels smooth lol
Overall:
After driving and seeing the car in person i'm a believer. I love the car dearly. I think its just so good at what it does and really an impressive overall machine. If i had the money i'd be at the dealer getting one right now. I would love to take the new S6 for a spin to compare but with Audi's lack of the RS6 in the USA, BMW is just going to make a killing. If the RS6 was here i wouldn't even be writing this review as my cousin would have that but unfortunetly Audi was sleeping again.. The M5 i would rate a 9/10. Its a great car, a little too expensive but overall without much competition the M5 will remain the only true driving car in that sector of the market here in the USA. After driving an E63 a few months ago its safe to say the M5 makes that car feel like garbage. The E63 is an animal in the straights, however that is pretty much the extent of its capabilities in my eyes.
The S4 really is a bargain for what you get.. The tune makes it extremely quick, and in my opinion the S4 sits in a great place in the market. For the money anyone who takes a C350 or a 335i over it is just misinformed. The S4 is leaps ahead with a better interior, progressive styling, great efficiency, excellent value and the best AWD on the market. Also running 12's stock in a 4100lb V6 sedan is impressive in itself.
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Originally Posted by Auditude2.0T
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