Parting thoughts
Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2021 8:35 pm
Now the RS5 is gone and time for me to exit stage left for now, a mini review of sorts:
I had the car for a year and put 6 k miles on it. The spec was epic and cost the first owner over £82k new. That's before the £4-5k he spent on the PPF and having the wheels powder coated.
Pros
Great handling car and closer to my old M3 Comp than I thought. Audi really sorted the chassis on the B9 and a joy to chuck down a B road. Still amuses me to read idiots going on about 'understeer' every time an RS car is mentioned. Clearly they haven't driven a B9.
Tech was awesome and I'll miss it. Audi are bang on with the tech plus the design (do you hear that BMW M?! FML I've seen the new M4 in the flesh and its a gopping pile of sick to look at) Only thing to go wrong was Apple Car Play kept dropping out and my n/s window wasnt closing all the way (went straight back down). Both fixed under warranty.
Looks-amazing looking car and all blacked out really looked the part
Comfort-had DRC and in comfort mode on a long run it was brilliant and the massage function is great
Economy-amazing to think from a performance car I was getting 40-42mpg on a long run at a steady 70 mph.
Performance-its not a 'savage' car but really picks up speed. The first time I floored it it scared the crp out of me! Brakes are great as well and was on steels.
Base stock car is pretty well specc'd without going crazy (mine had over £18k worth of extras).
Cons
It's too smooth. Compared to the M3 which was a much rawer and emotive drive (the faster you go the better it gets) it's just missing that final touch of a great performance motor. I very briefly tuned mine at DMS and whilst it was a lot more 'flighty' and obviously quicker (never timed it but probably around a 3 second to 60) it just was missing that final rawness that appeals to me. Subjective and my own opinion and others may disagree of course. I briefly drove a B8.5 and that felt a lot more raw (and sounded a hell of a lot better)
Sound. Without a doubt the biggest bugbear for me. It's not 'quiet' but lack of noise is the biggest complaint I always read about and mine had the sports exhaust. With a non res Milltek on it vastly improved but still not enough for me. With the B9.5 I have read it's quieter still. Come on Audi! It's a great engine but not a legendary one. Sign of the times I guess.
So all in all a cracking car that was a joy to own but not grunty enough for a caveman like me! I ended up driving my much older and slower LR Defender more as every drive is an event in one of them (you either 'get' Defenders or you don't and I love mine to bits) and the 5 just sat there unused. Hopefully someone else will enjoy it more, it's up for sale in Manchester and I really hope its not destined for someone who will rag it to bits.
Speaking of exhausts my Milltek non res is coming up for sale when I get the time. Will post it on here or if a B9 owner is interested shoot me a message.
As for 'whats next?' thats a great question! Going to take a break for a few months and put money aside for the next one. Maybe an M5, E63S (If I can deal with a Merc systems as my last one was a disaster) or even back to a C7 RS6. All depends but needs to be something thats a bit more shock and awe.
I had the car for a year and put 6 k miles on it. The spec was epic and cost the first owner over £82k new. That's before the £4-5k he spent on the PPF and having the wheels powder coated.
Pros
Great handling car and closer to my old M3 Comp than I thought. Audi really sorted the chassis on the B9 and a joy to chuck down a B road. Still amuses me to read idiots going on about 'understeer' every time an RS car is mentioned. Clearly they haven't driven a B9.
Tech was awesome and I'll miss it. Audi are bang on with the tech plus the design (do you hear that BMW M?! FML I've seen the new M4 in the flesh and its a gopping pile of sick to look at) Only thing to go wrong was Apple Car Play kept dropping out and my n/s window wasnt closing all the way (went straight back down). Both fixed under warranty.
Looks-amazing looking car and all blacked out really looked the part
Comfort-had DRC and in comfort mode on a long run it was brilliant and the massage function is great
Economy-amazing to think from a performance car I was getting 40-42mpg on a long run at a steady 70 mph.
Performance-its not a 'savage' car but really picks up speed. The first time I floored it it scared the crp out of me! Brakes are great as well and was on steels.
Base stock car is pretty well specc'd without going crazy (mine had over £18k worth of extras).
Cons
It's too smooth. Compared to the M3 which was a much rawer and emotive drive (the faster you go the better it gets) it's just missing that final touch of a great performance motor. I very briefly tuned mine at DMS and whilst it was a lot more 'flighty' and obviously quicker (never timed it but probably around a 3 second to 60) it just was missing that final rawness that appeals to me. Subjective and my own opinion and others may disagree of course. I briefly drove a B8.5 and that felt a lot more raw (and sounded a hell of a lot better)
Sound. Without a doubt the biggest bugbear for me. It's not 'quiet' but lack of noise is the biggest complaint I always read about and mine had the sports exhaust. With a non res Milltek on it vastly improved but still not enough for me. With the B9.5 I have read it's quieter still. Come on Audi! It's a great engine but not a legendary one. Sign of the times I guess.
So all in all a cracking car that was a joy to own but not grunty enough for a caveman like me! I ended up driving my much older and slower LR Defender more as every drive is an event in one of them (you either 'get' Defenders or you don't and I love mine to bits) and the 5 just sat there unused. Hopefully someone else will enjoy it more, it's up for sale in Manchester and I really hope its not destined for someone who will rag it to bits.
Speaking of exhausts my Milltek non res is coming up for sale when I get the time. Will post it on here or if a B9 owner is interested shoot me a message.
As for 'whats next?' thats a great question! Going to take a break for a few months and put money aside for the next one. Maybe an M5, E63S (If I can deal with a Merc systems as my last one was a disaster) or even back to a C7 RS6. All depends but needs to be something thats a bit more shock and awe.
, I'll go back to one in the future but more for a play thing for laning and official offroad sites. If you've not found it already, I can recommend the Defender2.net forum. Really good bunch of knowledgeable folk on there.