It has been a while since I posted something about my S5 and I didn’t catch when my car hit the 5000 mile mark. I had brought it in for its 1-year or 5000-mile maintenance (which ever comes first) before it reached 4900 miles. The first scheduled maintenance for my S5 was free (as in, included in the car’s price) and it was a pretty simple one. Outside of the usual fluid checks, oil change and tire rotation, the only other thing done was to update the software for the 3G MMI with Navigation; which, is supposed to fix the issue with the screen not coming back on after short stop. I had experienced the bug a couple of times after getting some petrol on the way home. Thankfully, I did not have to rely on the navigation and could still change tracks or stations using the controls on the wheel. The S5 also got a pretty decent wash, which it really needed.
Since I missed seeing the odometer click over to 5000 miles, I wanted to catch it when it would click over to 6000 miles. Unfortunately, I was about 0.5 miles off when I drove the car home and saw it change to 5999 miles just as I turned into the driveway. Thankfully, I had to run an errand tonight and saw it hit the 6000 mile mark as I rolled to a stop light. It only took just about six months to reach that milestone.
Even with six months of being a newbie at driving stick, which included a good number of pooched shifts, stalling or unintended clutch slipping, I still continue to enjoy the feeling of rowing my own gears and properly making use of engine braking (a concept that seems to be lost on slushbox drivers). The sound of the engine and exhaust is just intoxicating, even if it isn’t as loud as other cars… more on that in a bit.
Those 6000 miles have definitely proven to me that the S5 is first a grand tourer, a performance car second. It is not as fast off the line as an Audi S4 or BMW 335is, but that was not an issue for me. This is one of the times where I wanted a bit more form than function ;)
I am still thinking about swapping the stock exhaust with a Stasis kit, since I think Audi muted the S5’s sound a little bit too much. I have no expectation of any kind of performance boost, as the catalytic converters are still the biggest bottlenecks, but I want a bit more of a growl. My guess is that it will cost about $1600-1700 for the exhaust kit and for the labor to install the kit. If I decide to pull the trigger, it probably won’t happen until the car reaches its first birthday.
There aren’t any plans to chip the car, make changes to the suspension, or to get different wheels. I just don’t see the need nor have I seen any other wheels that look better than the stock wheels that I have. Outside of the unique Sprint Blue color, the S5 is almost a sleeper and I want to keep it that way.
If I had to order my S5 all over again, I would not change a thing.