Review on: S5 2009er

First of all, the pros and the cons:

pro

solidly built

exceptional fit and finish

attention grabber

contra

A thirsty car with a very small gas tank.

I have owned my S5 for 15 months and, overall, I have been quite happy with it. The 4.2 V8, while heavy, provides more power than I will ever need for daily city and highway driving.

As is the case with Audi's, the interior is well appointed, conveniently laid out and ergonomically correct. The back seats are suitable for small children but that is about it. In the road holding and handling department, the car is good but does feel "heavy" at slower speeds. A word of warning: despite the Quattro all wheel drive, be very cautious driving in the snow! The car is a handful in slippery conditions.

Gas mileage, abysmal for the first 5,000 miles, improves as the car is run in, but do not expect anything over 14/16 mpg for city/highway driving. Add to that a very small gas tank, and you will be stopping at gas stations at an alarming rate.

The brakes, in my opinion the best aspect of this car, are well balanced and provide good feedback. The car will stop on the proverbial dime.

While I have experienced a small number of niggly faults with the car, Audi service is exceptional and has been a great plus while owning this car. Small issues such as a burnt out running light, badly scuffed leather on the drivers seat after at less than 1,000 miles, cracking of the start/stop button and a couple of dash board rattles were quickly fixed.