desimurmur

Greetings. I am looking at the various coupes around and am deciding between the RS5 and M3. Every review glorifies the M3. But I like the look of the RS5 better.

To all you RS5 owners, what made you buy/lease RS5 over M3?

mhblaw

All wheel drive; Audi owner for 30+ years; looks; handling; etc

desimurmur

Thanks. What about a reason for those who have not owned Audi for most of thier life. I see so many threads there about how RS5 has dissapointed them referring to the C&D review, motor trend review, etc - yet I see a TON of RS5 pics everywhere. What am I missing here? (other than the RS5 )

wolferman

Why an RS5? I have owned a bunch of great sports and sporting cars. I currently own a '91 Porsche 964 turbo Ruf conversion; a 2002 twin-turbo Porsche with full Ruf suspension; a E60 M5 BMW; a Z4M BMW; a Lotus Exige S; and my 2013 RS5. I've had a number of M3's and I've loved them. Bottom line: I prefer normally aspirated, high RPM engines. Such engines are far more lively than are turbo engines, generally. Turbos, while generally high torque engines, tend to be less direct in throttle response; the turbo mutes the response, more rubberband-like. The new F10 M5, while quite fast, does NOT react to the throttle like the E60 10 cyl with individual throttle bodies did. A the higher performance BMW, Audi, and MB performance models are going in the turbo direction primarily due to emission and fuel mileage concerns. I wanted one of what I expect to be the last of the normally-aspirated high RPM Audi RS cars. That's why I bought the RS5..It's the last of a breed. And, I've owned it since September 2012 and I love it!

NHman

OP, I have compared both and currently have committed to a order for a MY13 M3 coupe. I feel the RS5 is the better looking vehicle and certainly more exclusive. However with exclusivity comes a price. For the RS5, the means paying MSRP or over (not factoring loyalty). For some, this is irrelevant as money is not an issue. Otherwise a similarly equipped M3 can be purchased for $6k less (again not factoring incentives).

Budgeting aside, the M3 is considered a purist vehicle with available MT, NA V8 and RWD. To be honest, the DCT is the better transmission for the car. With AWD and SD, the RS5 is the easier car to drive fast and push to the limits.

Why did I pick the M3, value proposition combined with the overall package. Is the interior modern, no. But it is functional. The RS5 is a great package. Either way, both are good choices.

Marshall Placid

Most of the reviews where they compare the M3 vs. RS5 are based on the OLDER RS5 model.

The new 2013 RS5 model received better reviews.

Performance wise, the RS5 (new one) is a little better than the M3.

SEe here:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...tning-Lap-2013

You have to dig through the replies and links for the M3 vs. RS5 lap times.

And, I believe the M3 is having a whole new re-design... so if you go for the 2013 M3, it is the OLD design. If you can wait, you may want to wait for the 2014 M3...

But if you can't wait, then the RS5 is definitely the better choice. It's a newer design (face-lift) versus the old M3 design.

desimurmur

I was just wondering if I was getting anything better than the M3. The reason why I was asking is that I just had the E93 M3. The reasons I wanted to trade are as follows

1) The M3 is a great track car, but quite jerky
2) The passenger seat made my passengers nauseated when I drove (this ofcourse could be due to the fact that all power is in the high rpm area and thats where I stayed and drove. At the low RPM, the car is lacking without quick responsiveness or intensity - it really comes alive at around 4000)
3) just wanted a nicer interior
4) getting the new M3 would solve most of these but I am still not that impressed with M5 interior and the new M3 interior would be similar
5) I just loved the way the RS5 looks (very subjective, but nevertheless, true)

So I took the plunge. Let me tell you all, there is no comparison for daily driving between the M3 and the RS5 - these online comparsions are always about how the cars drive on the track, but for me, that is less than 1% of the time. THe RS5 is amazing in looks and feel 99% of the time and can hang with any car when its time to step it up.

In any case, thanks for all the replies. I just bought an RS5 Suzuka grey, sports exhaust, 20 inch wheels with Nav, etc. and it is AMAZING!!!

desimurmur

Pic

desimurmur

OOPS

Marshall Placid

Congrats on taking the plunge!

If you need to track your car, see here:

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...03#post8446503