Burrcold

I've owned an S4, S5, and an M340i. The M340i is quite a bit ahead of them in performance (knocking very closely on the RS5's door) and just as comfortable when optioned with the adaptive suspension. The C43 is definitely a more harsh ride than either the S4/5 or M340i.

AA!

I drove the M340 and found even with the adaptive suspension on comfort it rode harsher, but everyone has their own set of the pants feel, and even though I prefer the Audi, doesn;t mean that the M340 and C43 aren't great cars, and we should be lucky we can afford to enjoy them.

BlakeV

The writer of this article is incompetent & silly and shouldn't be published on such a platform. Boring my @$$.

Burrcold

There could have been many factors that contributed to that...over inflated tires, was it used? I lived with both for long enough (I had the adaptive set up on both) to see that they were VERY comparable comfort wise. It was WAY more comfortable than my S4 that didn't have adaptive suspension.

AA!

That's the thing, I drove both with the adaptive suspension.

Burrcold

That's why I said something must have been up with the M340i you drove. I owned them back to back (S5 Sportback with adaptive and the M340i with adaptive), and they were dead even from a suspension comfort standpoint...in fact the M340i may have been slightly more comfortable over rough roads since it had 19's compared to my BO package 20's on the S5. Anyway, no point in the back and forth, you obviously had a different feeling when test driving.

synergize

Totally agree with you. When the B9 was introduced and most of the automotive magazines were reviewing the car, a similar theme began to emerge. Most if not all said the car had gross under-steer, dead steering, and an uncompliant ride. So in a few hours or a day with the car the car reviewers can go through all the settings, adjust the tire pressures, and tell how the car drives? What utter nonsense the reviews were, it took me several months to figure out the all the settings and after 10k miles I'm still learning how the car behaves.

superswiss

So the thing is, comfort is somewhat relative and subjective. I actually find firmer suspensions more comfortable if well damped, because they don't bounce up and down multiple times after a bump. They compress, rebound and then settle. This is especially pronounced with a good adaptive suspension. I find many cars with softer, but non-adaptive suspensions less comfortable than my C63, because I bobble around in those cars. I recently had a C300 loaner while my C63 was in service. It was sprung softer, but the suspension was non adaptive. I found it much less comfortable than my C63 which stays calm and flat on the same roads, where I was moving and bouncing around in my seat with the C300, because it never seemed to settle. Tire pressure also makes a big difference. Most people overinflate their tires, because they go by the door sticker instead of the normal load recommended pressure in the owners manual, or in case of MB/AMG on a more detailed sticker inside of the fuel door. The ride in my C63 is unbearable with the pressure listed on the door sticker, because that pressure is for a fully loaded car at speeds up to 180 mph. Completely the wrong pressure for when I'm by myself and an empty trunk and not going above 155 mph. I even have the AMG bucket seats in my car, which are firmer and much more bolstered than anything Audi offers, and I DD it like that and have done road trips with up to 12 hours of driving in a single day. Absolutely no comfort issues. The comfort suspension mode has just the right balance of comfort and road feel. I still like to feel the road, even in comfort mode. Frankly some of my previous Audis rode much less comfortable than my C63. For example my 2007 S4 rode quite harsh. Harsher than my '13 RS5 did, and my C63 rides better yet than even my RS5 did. This is on PS4S tires, which have some of the best ride comfort out of all ultra high performance tires. Don't ignore the tires and tire pressures.

JD15

The RS5 is not a track car, so while the coilovers and tires make it objectively superior on a track, I doubt they are well suited for daily driving. Once the G80 X-drive was released, I felt that the RS5 lost much of its standing in the market and this package does nothing to change that.

GraySpur837

A buddy of mine traded his 2021 RS5 in for a brand new G80 M3 Xdrive Comp. Enough with the BS, the M3 is about 3 years ahead of the RS5.
The RS5 needs major change, not a silly $16k Competition package with no performance or tech changes.
They're both gorgeous cars but
The tech in the new BMW's is awesome, you can control your entire car from your phone, key cards, AUTOSTART!!!!!!, apps, all the above. Also i felt the operating system is better. (sound system is better as well)
Performance wise, its pretty bad. Off the line, its ferocious. We had about an additional 500lbs in the car, punch it from a 60mph cruise and it will still open your eyes.
Suspension is awesome, very tight, the car feels glued to the ground.
Comp seats are beautiful but not forgiving. very hard to get in and out of. AUDI wins this one... i guess?
Idk but personally to choose an RS5 standard or Comp over an M3 Xdrive Comp, there would have to be about a $20K discount, and maybe a lifetime warranty and maintanance plan. its THAT good. Otherwise it would be foolish to pay around the same amount of money for an RS5 as u would for an M3.
Ordering the M3 Xdrive Comp and driving around an bucket for an extra year IS worth the wait over the RS5.