skipper2

Thanks to the OP. I have a 05 530i and am in the market for a new car. I have not test driven either car yet. That will be done on Monday afternoon. I know that I love the seats and the stereo sounds great in my car. I will be keeping this car and my wife drives a Mercedes SLK350. I am leaning towards the A6 Prestige fully loaded sans the B&O (does anyone actually pay the $5,900).

I will be keeping the 530i and because of that I do not think that I want to have another. That will be my beater car. It is still in showroom condition but has 200k miles on it but runs well.

When I went to the BMW dealer to look at the new 5 series I was surprised to see that they are trying to push the 4 cylinder version. I didn't even know they made that. When I bought mine it was 6 or 8.

Ohh and by the way the cup holders suck in the BMW too. Water bottles get stuck in them, some water bottles wont fit.

It seems like the major gripes from former BMW owners is that the cup holders are tiny, the seats are not as comfortable, leather quality does not seem the same quality as BMW, radio isw horrible, even with the Bose in the premium package.

stoulana

I did the same & kept my 2009 535i (E60) when lease ended as I did not get same steering feel from new 5 series after test drive & handling was less than E60. I'm very happy with my new A6 power & handling best in its class. Agreed seats we do not get in North America sports seats like in Europe + other options like suspension tuning but I plan to upgrade sound system subwoofer upgrade + 6 x 6-1/2 speakers would be good way & cost less than B&O. But base 535Xi compared to base A6 (3.0T) quattro, BMW is more by $6K (In Canada), some of that went into leather/side doors quality, default A6 seats are equal to BMW (without comfort seats package) but A6 power delivery & handling is superior. I would not get 528i 4 cylinders I think it is pricey with options, also with this price range A6 3.0T can come very close to fully optioned 528i. Both A6 & BMW 5 are fine cars, but it comes to what one really expects from the car.

auditron

My A6 Prestige is now 1 month old and has 1,600 miles on the clock.
Still love jumping behind the wheel of this baby. Can't get over the power it has for a 6 cylinder car, last car was a V8 Bimmer
and this car matches up with it very well. The A6 handles nicely but maybe a touch below my 05 545ia sport that had active steering, a great feature BMW still offers on the rear wheel drive models only.
Have mastered most of the options included in the Innovation Package, though still not comfortable with the car making decisions for me with the Adaptive Cruise Control feature. Full Side Assist is a great safety feature but again still have to visualy give that second look to be sure. Night Vision OK but would not pay a lot extra for it. Heads up is really good since you have your speed and Nav. right up there in front of you without having to take your eyes off the road. Still best of all the features included in Innovation Package (though you can also get it as a stand alone option in 2012 but in 2013 it is not included in the Innovation Pkg. and you will have to add to your cost as a seperate option) are the LED headlights that make night driving a joy. As a matter of fact now that it gets dark so much later I really look forward to driving late at night just to enjoy that feature.LED's really make sense and I am sure not to long from now most car companies will offer them in addition to Audi, but for now Audi's with LEDs really stand out from the crowd. Next, I am looking forward to driving the A6 in snow conditions with its all wheel drive that I hear is one of the best systems of this kind available. After having nothing but rear wheel drive BMWs for 25 years that should be a pleasure.

WAudiA6

I just traded in a 12 535i sport and have to tell you the A6, to me at least, is more athletic of a car..better power and handling. The car feels more solid and the transmission reacts quicker. However for the long trips the BMW was fantastic. Got 31.3 mpg. The stereos are about the same (standared in the BMW and Bose in the Audi). Also not to mention the Audi does NOT have run flats which is a good thing. Also it has a real spare tire. I hadn't had the Audi long but expect pretty decent gas mileage with the 8 speed. The car is barely working at 60 mph.

WannaS6

I too had the 530 a few years ago, loved it, hated the stupid barely there cup holders. Then I bought a 2005 A6, traded that for a 2006 BMW 750i. That's when I became spoiled as hell! The cupholders were perfect, the seats adjusted 24 different ways! The side bolsters even adjusted, which was the best part of all. Then I traded that last week for the 2012 A6 3.0 Prestige.

It is NOT a BMW, plain and simple. Nobody can argue differently. Or at least they shouldn't. These are not apples to apples vehicles exactly. The build quality is different.

That having been said, I love my A6 now. One of the main differences between the A6 and new 5 series is that there is much better technology in both, but even better in the Audi. I love the center screen on the dash. The MMI actually gets in the way a little and can be distracting. And I can play DVDs in the Audi (not while driving). But the seats in the Audi are just ok, not fantastic.

And the car does not feel as solid. For instance, you shut the door on a BMW, you feel the door shut and secure itself. The Audi is more like a toyota or Honda. Very light. The Audi is faster off the line and corners great.

I'm not trying to dissuade you at all, again, i love the Audi. And I specifically chose it over the 535i xDrive. And it was about $10k cheaper the way I priced out the BMW. The Audi does feel a little cheaper in the materials that are used, but you get used to it quickly. And, what I love, is that the Audi looks more aggressive (assuming you don't get the M package on the 535)

Just my $.02

The G Man

WannaS6, I just traded in my 2012 A6 for a 2012 535xi and I agree with pretty much everything you said. When I priced out both car with similar option, the BMW was about $2000 more if one consider the free maintenance to cost about $2000.

WannaS6

I forgot about the free maintenance. That's worth a lot. Friend just bought a new 535 xdrive with M package. Cool car but the A6 looks more aggressive

Zed 2.0

Could not disagree more with this.

WannaS6

PhatBoyG

Seriously. When I get in and close the door, it's a damn solid thud and then everything goes quiet as the interior blocks outside noise very well. It literally lowers my blood pressure at least 10 points as a result.

Some statements have not been evaluated by the FDA, your experience may vary. Always consult your doctor.