ayecarumba

I am just curious how the S5 Tiptronic handles and performs.. anyone???

Mcqueen

AFIC, it's great - especially when paired with Drive Select. I had the opportunity to drive a Lambo Gallardo, and Ferrari F430 at the track in Vegas, both with paddle shifters. What was eye-opening about that, was how little you use 1st, or anything over 4th, on a track - as a matter of fact, 2nd and 3rd were 90% of the driving and only 4th on the straight.

My point, is if you were going to the track, you'd be suprised at how much you are able to drive the car in 2nd and 3rd with minimal shifting (one per turn, or so) and how good the experience would be.

The edge for a manual might be if you were drag racing someone and going completely throught the gears for a 1/4 mile, you might have an edge with the manual. All depends what kind of experience you want.

As much as the S-tronic gets excitement, my tip has been pretty satisfying (except in the last week or two, but that'll get sorted - other recent post of mine)

DGS4

I just got back from a track with tip...it was great. Able to focus on driving and not changing gears. It would hold it to red line and only a few times did it shift automaticaly.

I drive a lot in tip...live in So Cal and would hate to drive a stick with all the stop and go.

Bottom line, works great in city and at the track. Check out profile pics for some track shots

hbk695

What kind of numbers did you get at the track? I was wondering since a lot of websites claim the tiptronic is at least 0.3 seconds slower to 60 and quarter mile as well.

SoonerDPT

I'm kind of wondering the same thing. I'm about to buy a new car and I've pretty much narrowed it down btwn a S5 and c63, but haven't driven a S5 with tip yet. I'm to the point where I don't want a manual tranny. I love how quick the c63 shifts with the dual clutch. Is the S5 anywhere near the same?

elf_cruiser

I drove an S5 with the tip and hated it - JMO. It was slow and soft like like the A4, nothing sporty about it. It was a test drive, so perhaps the car did not have drive-select, or there was a setting I should have tweaked... not really sure - but it turned me off.

zee007

I have a Tip - and love it. It's never going to be the same as a stick-shift, but it's not supposed to be! It is unique, and for me, I love the option of switching from a straight out auto to using the paddles. If you've never driven one, you should, and make your own mind up...

Faelcrom

I picked up my S5 Tip about 3 weeks ago, and enjoying every minute of it. And this is my first non-manual car in almost 20 years. Previous 3 cards: G35Coupe, 350Z, RX7 & Miata MX-5 were all manuals. I do have the E-Diff. as an option, which lets me play around with both Dynamic setting and manual shift. After almost 30 years of driving in So. Cal, it's nice to be able to drive and not have to constantly shift in traffic.

Look forward to completing break-in and taking the car to the track in the near future.

SoonerDPT

I've driven a few of the cars ISF, C63, and M3 with the dual clutch and those things shift like a video game. No delay at all. Does the E-diff and/or Drive Select allow shifting that quick??

Faelcrom

If you speaking of sheer specs (shift time in MS), no. The tip is still just a standard automatic and it will never shifts as fast as a dual clutch, or even a manual driven by a very good driver. What the E-Diff and Drive Select does is it allows you to change the throttle mappings, shift mappings etc. The question for me was this: How often am I really going to need the milli-second difference in shift speed when I'm on the street. My answer was: almost never.....and even on the track, the tip shift is plenty fast enough.