Due to the recent web content reorganization at Edmunds.com, most of the InsideLine.com blog content has been merged into their main site. Unfortunately, their Readers Ride blog is no longer. With that, the published version of my 2011 Audi S5 submission can no longer be accessed outside of using Google’s cache or from the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
Below is what is what was published on March 13, 2012, along with the photos that were posted.
Readers Rides: Linh’s 2011 Audi S5 Coupe
It all started when Audi announced the A5 and S5 coupes in 2007. I found myself stunned by the seductive lines and curves, along with the lovely interior. At that point, I wasn’t ready to get a new car but, unbeknownst to me, that seed had just been planted. Over the course of the next two years, I started thinking about how I would want my A5 to look and started playing around with the online configurator. At that point, everything was pointing towards an A5 3.2 S-Line with Tiptronic (I didn’t know how to drive stick back then) in Meteor Gray, Navigation, B&O and Audi Drive Select. Then, for grins and giggles, I started building out an S5 with the same options but without Audi Drive Select. The price was still outside of my reach at that time but that didn’t sully my interest in it.
A couple of months later, more information (and rumors) were coming out in regards to the 2010 A5 and S5. One of those rumors (and insistence of the local Audi dealer) was that the 2010 S5 would get a supercharged V6 and dual-clutch transmission. Not only would that mean a lot of torque earlier in the power band, but also better fuel economy! As Audi officially released information about the 2010 model year changes, that did not come into fruition. The 4.2-liter V8 would stay until the 2011 model year…or so Audi said.
At that time, I was starting to lean toward an S5 and was now waiting for the 2011 model year. I noted earlier that I didn’t know how to drive stick, as I was never given the opportunity or support to learn. Well, a friend gave me a chance to learn the basics in his car and after a couple of quick lessons I knew that my next car would need to have a manual transmission. With that said, and Audi’s having discontinued the manual for the A5 3.2, I started saving up for an S5.
Between then and when I placed the deposit on my S5, I encountered a Sprint Blue S5 at a shindig held by the local Audi dealer. That night, I scratched Meteor Gray off my want list for Sprint Blue. I also took an S5 with a manual transmission for a test drive and fell in love with the smooth power delivery and note of the 4.2-liter V8. The supercharged V6 also got scratched off the list.
Zip past several months, I was at the dealer placing the deposit on an order for an S5 with the Prestige package, Black/Silver Alcantara, Carbon Fiber inlays and Sports Rear Differential. It took 2-3 weeks to get a confirmation number and an ETA of the first week of September. In the meantime, another friend allowed me to continue to learn how to drive stick in his car after work. I also had the chance to test drive a Sprint Blue S5 cabriolet with the supercharged V6 and S-Tronic DCT. While the transmission shifts were lightning quick and the lower-end torque was there, I yearned for the manual transmission and the sound of the V8.
The S5 came in about two weeks early and I stopped by to pick up the final paperwork, took a couple of pictures and drove it a little bit. A little over a week later, I took it home and have been in love ever since. Since then, I have had the windows tinted with 3M Crystalline CR 50 and a clear bra plus door edge protection put on. I have also used VCDS to disable the silly LED winking when the turn signals are used and to set the default ADS selection to Individual (amongst other things).
My goal is to keep the car mostly stock, with the only planned changes to get an AWE Touring exhaust system and replace the 19-inch five dual-spoke wheels with ones that are similar to the wheels from a B7 RS4. — Linh Pham (questionlp), 2nd Car: 2004 A4 3.0 sedan
