Quick Drive: 2018 Audi S5 Sportback 

yeah the chicken coop is sexy as fuck

How much of a discount did you get ?

@@pepe8196 fully loaded prestige 62500 but added warranties etc. Which popped it back to 70K. I have added a tune and cold air intake and it is crazy fast.

@@danielvanmeter3396 did you get the sport diff and variable steering ? Does the cold air intake add to the sound from the engine?

@@pepe8196 Yes on both, the cold air intake supposedly adds a few more BHP, 20 or so and does add a bit extra to the noise, sounds nice. The CAI is ECS tuning with the carbon fiber cover and the tune is a TMC Motorsports piggyback tune adding 66 more BHP getting me close to the RS POWER. I added a transmission tune that allows quicker shifting also from TMC Motorsports. I have added a few exterior touches including carbon fiber mirror caps and ordered Carbon fiber rear diffuser and front spoiler

@@danielvanmeter3396 awesome bro. Congrats

Just personal preference.

Completely agree @adam A. - It boggles my mind why Audi is dropping multiple huge, confusing and very distracting touchscreens into their cars when a single nob could control it all that you didn't have to look at. I hope they figure out their mistake soon, very worrisome.

Watching this video again and your comment isn’t phrased like it’s a personal preference, it’s phrased like it’s a problem that should be fixed. Touch screens are at best distracting, at worst downright dangerous.

love the control knob soooooo much

amazed how amazing

Hey, thanks for watching! I still post car reviews every week, check to make sure RU-vid didn't unsubscribe you, they've been known to do that these days.

Yes please. Those are the exact two cars I'm researching right now.

Is that actually happening???

Gemini102 I don’t know I just figured Matt would be able to get his hands on one when it comes out, supposedly later this year

@@gemini1025 I was called by my dealer in PA who has an RS5 sport back coming in.

Lama 67 I have the new RS5 and wish I waited for the Sportback. You give up a lot with a 2 seater given its almost the same car.

Steve Jovan yeah for me these new sportback vehicles are so cool because I’m not an SUV person so this is a cool way to get the dynamics with the practicality...I’m sure your local Audi dealer will take your coupe as a trade :)

I've been really wanting to review one of those too!

I explain all that in the video.

Ironically the same person was involved in both designs (Peter Schreyer). Kia hired Audi's former head designer so the similarities are closer than you might like to admit.

Audi wins due to Quattro tech and interior.

Ah okay, I wasn't sure, I thought some Audis used it and some didn't. I guess they might have tuned it to be a bit smoother maybe.

@@MattMaranMotoring The "A" versions of the 4/5 still have the 7-speed dual clutch. My guess is they're slowly transitioning to the eight speed ZF (for the "S" versions first) while they still have the 7-speed (in many VWs) in their parts bin. The 7-speed I believe was also developed by ZF.

b286guy Audi surpassed BMW long ago and now BMW is returning to its roots so it depends on the model. The M2 and the new 5 series are a step in the right direction.

Steve Jovan Audi has definitely been making some impressive vehicles while BMW rested on their laurels. It just seems like they mastered the ZF trans tuning where others, including Audi, are still trying to get it dialed in. The shift feel of a trans is also subjective.

b286guy Very true! I was a BMW guy for 20 years but I regret the 2013 550 I bought as it was a luxury car with elements of a sports sedan rather than what BMW used to be which was a sports sedan or coupe that had elements of luxury. They sold their soul for a larger market share but lost their life time buyers. Beginning with the 2 series BMW turned things around. The M2 has no better car in its class outside of a Porsche which is in a class all its own not to mention the price. The new 5 series and M5 gave BMW back the title of the benchmark sports sedan and the new 3 looks like a significant improvement from the current 3 and 4 series.

Haha WAPA!

@@MattMaranMotoring Ohhhh. Lol Great review on an awesome car. Thank you.

HansDelbruck53 LOL

Agree, that's why I went for the 2 door coupe. In exactly the same color scheme (white exterior, red interior)

Haven't driven the newest S6 so it's hard to say, but it will be outdated in a few months since the new S6 is coming very soon.

Yes i saw Stinger in person today in red . Its a head turner though.

No, they got BMW's M division guy, Albert B

Jim Norton's Alcoholism Yes, both - designer from Audi and BMW M division chief.

In Dynamic mode the steering gets heavier. In Comfort mode it's lighter and you can steer with one finger. He must by in Dynamic

@@K4R3N you have to pay extra to get “dynamic steering package” on the S5/s4. Without it the steering is straight horrible. Just like they are understeer fest if you don’t option the sport diff.

yea but then youre driving a kia

Vanguard..Which is AWESOME!! :)

Ah okay, I wasn't sure, I thought some Audis used it and some didn't. I guess they might have tuned it to be a bit smoother maybe.

That’s probably what it is yeah. I took this same car on a test drive and I thought the paddle response was razor sharp. Probably because I drive a Honda CR-V with a cvt😂😢

The Hi humanity is why his shift was not as fast.

XDDD

lol my man, im in the market for one, they depreciated quite a bit already :P

Oh yeah? 30k huh

It’s not close to the same price though. The S5 is 10-15k more expensive trim for trim. Before 2022 you can get the 3.3tt v6 awd stinger gt for under 40k brand new. You can barley get a 2.0t A5 for that price brand new.

justin2icy 354 on mine

Not really stingers are holding there value very well right now. You can’t find a used base model 3.3tt v6 for under 35k. Which is only a couple grand less then what they cost new. Used GT2 are 45-50k used which is pretty much what they cost new.

It's insulting. While the Kia Stinger is exceptional, it still is not in the same class an Audi.

The Kia should not and will not be mistaken for a competitor to the S5. At the end of the day, it’s still a Korean brand and will be a rattlebox within a few months of ownership.

That's what happens when you reverse-engineer a German coupe. Same as the Japanese reverse-engineered the Mercedes to create Lexus.

@@RobertLeBlancPhoto have a 2011 Optima......8 yrs and not a rattle box as you say

Badge snobs everywhere lol

I do, are you near Chicago?

@@K4R3N afraid not. York, Pa actually

Jake...maybe you haven't heard. All of the cars with the top depreciation are from Germany; not Korea. And yes, the service experience will be different. Maintaining you Stinger will be sooooo much cheaper than the S5. It will be more reliable too. I love the S5. I just don't think it's worth that much more than the Stinger.

Pedro least you took the time to respond to a moron. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Watch my Stinger review, I smile just as much there.

I can

Dib Saikia True - both have advantages over the other. Basically equal except for price.

Maple Tree 100 % correct. Stinger is better than the S5 sportback in many ways !! Some just don’t want to admit it.

888bong Totally untrue. The Kia is the winner here.

Then how come nobody is buying the ATS-V? Probably because the ATS is way smaller inside and uses more cheap materials. GM's performance brands always think enthusiasts only care about performance and don't focus enough on the livability factor. The S5 would be nicer to live with and that's why it sells. This is why the faster, better handling Camaro SS can't sell as much as the dated Challenger and slower Mustang, because the Camaro isn't as easy to live with, and to the average buyer, that's very important. If you like performance above all else like it sounds you do, I can see how the GM stuff is king, the performance is certainly undeniable.

Matt Maran Motoring "Then how come nobody is buying the ATS-V" Since when do sales numbers have ANYTHING to do with how GOOD any given car is? Using that logic, the Chiron is absolutely terrible because of its low sales numbers. "The S5 would be nicer to live with and that's why it sells." Again, sales numbers do not determine if a car is BETTER. That is absolutely not how it works, and you absolutely cannot use that as an argument. "because the Camaro isn't as easy to live with" That's not actually why the Mustang has better sales numbers. For all three (mustang camaro challenger), the vast VAST majority of the sales numbers are coming from the BASE MODEL. It has absolutely nothing to do with how good they are to drive, and everything to do with perception and dealer incentives. This is why using sales numbers to criticize any given performance car is a fallacy. "If you like performance above all else like it sounds you do" You understand we are talking about PERFORMANCE CARS, right? You don't buy a performance car for its luxury. That is what the NON performance cars are for. You want a luxury audi in this class you buy the A5, not the S5 or RS5, because the premium you're paying for the performance is absolutely not worth it in the context of other performance cars that cost less and perform better. I also think you're disparaging the ATS-V a little too much for the sake of trying to make a point, it's actually very nice inside with the exception of the gauge cluster which is terrible. And as a performance car it absolutely obliterates the S5. DESTROYS it. It's not even vaguely close. And the fact is, if you are looking at the S5 or RS5, then you are looking at the PERFORMANCE, since that is literally the only thing that separates them from the regular A5. If you don't care about worse performance, you get the A5. It's that simple. Context is important.

Except with car shopping it's not an everything or nothing situation. Most people want a BLEND of comfort and performance, that's what I'm saying. The S5 might not "obliterate" the ATS-V, but the average enthusiast also has to obey speed limits, sit behind traffic, and doesn't care about lap times. For their average back road drive at 5/10ths, the S5 will have very similar performance while being much nicer inside. The ATS-V was criticized for it's interior even back when it came out for feeling a little cheaper than the rest, but now it's suffering from old age as well which makes it even harder to stand up to the competition these days. Sales numbers show a vehicle's popularity, and how well it's appealing to it's target demographic. Like you say, context is important, which is why your Chiron defense is silly. In the luxury sport sedan segment, ATS-V sales are nearly non-existent compared with it's competitors. This shows that even though there's lots of luxury sport sedan buyers out there, very few find the ATS-V appealing enough to purchase. This shows there's something wrong, regardless of how "superior" it might be. Car companies build cars because they want to sell them. Spending lots of R&D money making impressive track cars that nobody buys is a great way to turn a company into a sinking ship. Hopefully the CT4-V and CT5-V fix that. By the way I'm not just picking on Cadillac, Jaguar has the same problem with the XE.

Matt Maran Motoring "Most people want a BLEND of comfort and performance, that's what I'm saying." An ATS-V absolutely gives you that, so this argument is not going to work in your favor, especially when, as I already said, you are paying more money for the S or RS version, when literally the ONLY distinguishing factor is performance when compared to the A5. "The S5 might not "obliterate" the ATS-V, but the average enthusiast also has to obey speed limits" Uh, yeah. Not only does it not obliterate the ATS-V, it doesn't even come close to keeping up with it. This is an important factor to consider, because there is a very large performance gap here. We're not talking about the S5 and the ATS-V being roughly the same in terms of performance. They're not. The speed limit argument is hilariously misplaced. Literally every car sold in the US today - and every motorcycle, and most scooters - can break the speed limit. Obeying the speed limit is a choice in ANY CAR. And this includes the S5. Your attempt here to try to use that as an argument for the S5 is ridiculous and frankly you should be ashamed that you even TRIED to pull that BS. The only conceivable way you could use that as an argument for the S5 is if the S5 were not capable of going over the speed limit. " and doesn't care about lap times." Not only is that a straw man argument that you couldn't quantify if your life literally depended on it, lap times are simply a yardstick to measure objective performance. And the fact, as inarguably proven by lap times and other performance metrics, is that the ATS-V out-handles the S5 by a RIDICULOUS amount. It's not close, and it's not comparable. This is a fact regardless of whether you dislike the ATS-V's interior or not. What this means is that the ATS-V is a better driver's car, because it has better turn-in, sharper handling, better balance, less body roll, everything that makes a performance car better to drive. And this is true even if they're not on a track, which is really the point here. Since we are talking about performance cars, and we are talking about evaluating these cars based on performance and not just luxury, because that is the specific purpose of Audi's S class and RS class cars. "For their average back road drive at 5/10ths, the S5 will have very similar performance while being much nicer inside. " But that's not true, as I just pointed out. Even at 5/10, the ATS-V is RELATIVELY better, because of all the aforementioned reasons. Balance, turn-in, chassis, etc. You can feel that at any speed, at any percentage of sendage. And once again, if you are driving it at 5/10 all the time, why are you bothering with an S model? Just get the A5. You see how you can't have this argument both ways? You're trying to say the S5 is better because you're never going to drive it like a performance car. Which negates the entire purpose of buying it, as you can pay less money for an A5 and have the same lack of performance. And if the only argument you can make is that the S5 is better than the ATS-V as long as you never drive it like a performance car... well hopefully I don't have to finish that sentence for you. "but now it's suffering from old age as well which makes it even harder to stand up to the competition these days." Sure, it's "suffering" by still being one of the best handling 4 door cars on the planet. Honestly, I think you've forgotten how good it is to drive. And yes, the driving experience is specifically why you get a V model and not a normal ATS - same reason you get an S or RS Audi instead of an A class. "Sales numbers show a vehicle's popularity" Based on what? It's based on perception, which is easily manipulated by marketing and advertising. It has very little, if anything at all, to do with how good the car actually is. "which is why your Chiron defense is silly." It was an example, not a defense, and if you think it was silly then the example went over your head. The point was that sales numbers have literally NOTHING to do with how good a car is. So using sales numbers to disparage a car is one of the most pointless and empty criticisms you can make. If sales numbers meant anything in terms of how GOOD a car is, then the Camry would be the best car in the world. Is the Camry the BEST car in the world? Is it better than a McLaren 720S? Of course it isn't. Sales numbers have absolutely ZERO bearing on how GOOD something is. "In the luxury sport sedan segment, ATS-V sales are nearly non-existent compared with it's competitors. " Which means absolutely nothing in terms of how GOOD the ATS-V is. Let's use Mustangs as an example since you seem to identify with those. Ford sells far more base model mustangs than GM sells ATS-Vs. Right? Yeah. So does that mean base model Mustangs are BETTER than the ATS-V? Are they? Really? Or do sales numbers not actually indicate anything in terms of how good a car is? "This shows that even though there's lots of luxury sport sedan buyers out there, very few find the ATS-V appealing enough to purchase." There are a lot of factors in deciding to purchase a car, and the ATS-V's biggest problem is its almost complete and total lack of marketing or advertising. Nobody knows the ATS-V exists. Is that the same thing as the ATS-V being BAD? Of course it isn't. And Cadillac also has brand issues to overcome, once again based on perception and not reality. But none of that has anything to do with the FACT that sales numbers do not have ANY bearing on how GOOD a car is. And this is really just obvious, this is not something you should be arguing against. I mean it's really, really obvious. Cadillac could sell ZERO ATS-Vs and it would STILL be a better performing car than the S5. Right? So in what conceivable way could sales numbers ever have ANYTHING to do with how well a car performs? "This shows there's something wrong, regardless of how "superior" it might be. " And the issue here relates specifically to what YOU think is "wrong". You think it has something to do with the car itself, which is wrong. The thing that is wrong that you are referring to is Cadillac's brand image, and total lack of marketing for the ATS-V. And I feel like I have to stress this point once again - those things have NOTHING to do with how GOOD the ATS-V is. "Spending lots of R&D money making impressive track cars that nobody buys is a great way to turn a company into a sinking ship." Now you've gone full bore into hyperbole, and that's very disingenuous of you. Is GM a sinking ship? Of course not. Is the ATS-V still one of the world's absolute best performing 4 doors? Yes it is. Does it beat the living hell out of the S5? Yes it absolutely does. Do sales numbers factor into that reality at all? Nope. Not even close. Is the ATS-V a better value? Yes. Inarguable fact. "Hopefully the CT4-V and CT5-V fix that." When the ATS-V came out, nothing could touch it, in the same class. It was so good that every other company making performance cars in the same class, including Audi, BMW and Mercedes, had to severely step up their game. The M3 wasn't even competitive with the ATS-V until the competition pack came out two years later. The superiority of the ATS-V's performance is not in question here, especially in comparison to something like the S5, which in terms of performance is like a previous generation also-ran, despite being a much newer car than the ATS-V and costing about the same money. If I wanted to destroy an S5 without regard to luxury or comfort etc I'd just get a Camaro ZL1 and be done with it. The ATS-V actually offers comfort and luxury in addition to performance, which is the main reason I'd choose it over something like a ZL1 - plus the extra doors and back seat room. Which is why I brought it up in the specific context of the S5, since it's roughly the same class of car. The main difference of course is that the ATS-V is a better performance car than the S5 is for the same money. And hopefully for the last time, performance is the specific reason you would get an S5 over an A5. And performance is specifically what the S5 does worse than the ATS-V. A lot worse. If I didn't care about performance, then I'd get a regular ATS, or A5 or whatever else because who cares. But if I'm looking at performance and factoring that into my decision then I am absolutely going to evaluate which car has better performance.

I don't have time to read your whole book or respond to all your points but I get it, you think the ATS-V is the best thing out there. It's very good, I agree, I'm not arguing against that. My original point is that clearly nobody is buying them and people are buying S5s which shows performance isn't everything. Just because someone is shopping for a performance car doesn't mean they value performance above all else. People still want a blend. You forget there's many subjective things that greatly influence car buying decisions. You can write as many books as you like about what's superior but it won't sell any cars for Cadillac. You can't blame marketing either, enthusiasts do their own research, they know how to read spec sheets and performance data, yet they still choose to buy other luxury sport sedans. The Camaro guys use all the same defenses for poor sales and the Mustang forums joke about these defenses regularly. The fact is, the cars with the right formula sell well. The formula isn't a binary "best specs + best lap times = best". The Chevy SS Sedan was another casualty of this thinking. It's a blend of the right features, as well as the right performance at the right price. Sometimes GM gets this wrong (like how they're already overpricing the Blazer) and sometimes they get this right (Corvette Stingray pricing). If the ATS-V was the best value for it's intended demographic, it would sell. But it doesn't. That's a fact that no arguing can change, sorry. I know you'd probably just say all those people that don't choose the ATS-V are braindead like you think I am (judging by your condescending remarks) but I don't have time to go back and forth on this and frankly don't care, so I hope you enjoy your ATS-V and have a nice evening.

xrockerguy lol exactly

Great comparison - very similar car except for the large price advantage for the Stinger.

Tony Win True - the KIA’s are much more reliable.