Cars We Drive!

[Lizard23]

S5 Sportback. Should be able to hit your price point, and solves the underpowered issue of the A5.

Not a "car guy" per se, but i like nice things and I am on my 3rd leased S5 sportback and i love it. Zero complaints but I have never had one that was more than 3 years old.

 

[chrfi]

...

 

[Texasmade]

Feds Nail Another Diesel Shop With $10M in Fines for Deleting Emissions Equipment

It was caught selling, installing, and manufacturing tuning devices that imitated another company’s products.

www.thedrive.com

Ppl buying the tunes should also be fined

 

[patrick_b]

Not a "car guy" per se, but i like nice things and I am on my 3rd leased S5 sportback and i love it. Zero complaints but I have never had one that was more than 3 years old.

Well said. I’ve had the A4/5 as a loaner and the 2.0L 4 cylinder is terribly underpowered if you are used to the v6 in the S4/5.

Have you given any thought to the next gen S5? Same powertrain but kind of a mishmash between the 4 series sedan and 5 series sportback.

Ive always preferred the looks of the S4 traditional sedan so the new one looks good to me.

 

[Lizard23]

Well said. I’ve had the A4/5 as a loaner and the 2.0L 4 cylinder is terribly underpowered if you are used to the v6 in the S4/5.

Have you given any thought to the next gen S5? Same powertrain but kind of a mishmash between the 4 series sedan and 5 series sportback.

Ive always preferred the looks of the S4 traditional sedan so the new one looks good to me.

I wasn't aware of the redesign so haven't thought about it. Before the S5 i had 2 S4s which i also loved. I switched to the A5 Sportback when it came out. Mostly because I prefer the look but the sportback also makes it easier to stow bulky items the once or twice a year i need that. So I will need to see it to decide if I want the S4 Sedan or redesigned S5 Sportback.

I am only 18 months into my current 3 year lease but that means little. Last time around my sales guy called me to buy me out of the lease at 19 months. He obviously had a buyer for my car but kept the monthly payments the same (i never put any money down - i pay the first month of the lease and drive away). So I got to get a new (essentially identical) car for about 30 min worth of paperwork/time. Both sides won in my view. I've been leasing from the same rep for 15 years - perhaps one of the few benefits of a real life relationship ;-)

Is the redesign for the 2026 models?

 

[patrick_b]

Is the redesign for the 2026 models?

Correct. However, the S4 goes away in 2026. Even number series will be EV. I assume that's why the S5 is kind of combination between the 4 and 5.

Current gen sportback on top, 2026 redesign below:

I've been super happy with my current gen S4. It's a 2021 MY and I'm getting a bit itchy to try something new. I'd love to lease as I'd get into something new frequently but I'm on the high end of miles so it never makes sense financially.

I'm also going to check out the M340i AWD. I drove one recently and really liked it. 2025's are in transit but a custom order is relatively easy so I could spec one exactly as I'd like and have it in 3-4 months.

 

[Lizard23]

Correct. However, the S4 goes away in 2026. Even number series will be EV. I assume that's why the S5 is kind of combination between the 4 and 5.

Current gen sportback on top, 2026 redesign below:

View attachment 2245913 View attachment 2245915

I've been super happy with my current gen S4. It's a 2021 MY and I'm getting a bit itchy to try something new. I'd love to lease as I'd get into something new frequently but I'm on the high end of miles so it never makes sense financially.

I'm also going to check out the M340i AWD. I drove one recently and really liked it. 2025's are in transit but a custom order is relatively easy so I could spec one exactly as I'd like and have it in 3-4 months.

Thanks for the pics. Maybe i need to see it in person but it doesn't seem that dramatically different to me. At a glance I would probably stick with the sportback.

Re: leasing, I love it. I spend a fair amount of time in the car but am under 15k per year so it works for me - one of the few perks of living in a northeast suburb/city commute/traffic hellscape.

Obviously I don't know your exact situation, but if you're close to 15k, i doubt you would ever actually get charged as long as you are within 5k or so. When I was still figuring things out in the early days I tried a 10k lease and was over already over by 4k when i turned the car in early (i think around 27 months). The overage was forgiven without penalty. This presupposes that you are going to lease another audi, of course, but even in a worst case scenario you could just buy out your own lease and probably make out on the deal if you then sold the car yourself. It all depends on the level of annoyance you are willing to deal with.

I think the key to leasing with minimal annoyance is finding a rep and clearly explaining you're gonna lease a new car in perpetuity coupled with a dealership that likes to buy out leases and then sell them on the lot as used. This allows you to get away with an awful lot that would otherwise be realized as added fees / annoyances upon surrendering the car to the leasing company.

 

[sugarbutch]

Correct. However, the S4 goes away in 2026. Even number series will be EV. I assume that's why the S5 is kind of combination between the 4 and 5.

Current gen sportback on top, 2026 redesign below:

View attachment 2245913 View attachment 2245915

I've been super happy with my current gen S4. It's a 2021 MY and I'm getting a bit itchy to try something new. I'd love to lease as I'd get into something new frequently but I'm on the high end of miles so it never makes sense financially.

I'm also going to check out the M340i AWD. I drove one recently and really liked it. 2025's are in transit but a custom order is relatively easy so I could spec one exactly as I'd like and have it in 3-4 months.

In profile the 2026 is nearly indistinguishable from a 3 Series.

 

[patrick_b]

Thanks for the pics. Maybe i need to see it in person but it doesn't seem that dramatically different to me. At a glance I would probably stick with the sportback.

Re: leasing, I love it. I spend a fair amount of time in the car but am under 15k per year so it works for me - one of the few perks of living in a northeast suburb/city commute/traffic hellscape.

Obviously I don't know your exact situation, but if you're close to 15k, i doubt you would ever actually get charged as long as you are within 5k or so. When I was still figuring things out in the early days I tried a 10k lease and was over already over by 4k when i turned the car in early (i think around 27 months). The overage was forgiven without penalty. This presupposes that you are going to lease another audi, of course, but even in a worst case scenario you could just buy out your own lease and probably make out on the deal if you then sold the car yourself. It all depends on the level of annoyance you are willing to deal with.

I think the key to leasing with minimal annoyance is finding a rep and clearly explaining you're gonna lease a new car in perpetuity coupled with a dealership that likes to buy out leases and then sell them on the lot as used. This allows you to get away with an awful lot that would otherwise be realized as added fees / annoyances upon surrendering the car to the leasing company.

That's really compelling. I'll admit that the miles always seemed an obstacle but the last two years in my current role, I drive exactly 15K. I can safely assume the same for the foreseeable future. Maybe I'll revisit the idea.

Also agree about the redesign. It's actually a nice compromise to my eye. I love the practicality of the hatchback but it leans a bit more sedan than the current model. They are going to a BIG screen but that seems like the way of the future for every manufacturer.

 

[bdavro23]

Thanks for the pics. Maybe i need to see it in person but it doesn't seem that dramatically different to me. At a glance I would probably stick with the sportback.

Re: leasing, I love it. I spend a fair amount of time in the car but am under 15k per year so it works for me - one of the few perks of living in a northeast suburb/city commute/traffic hellscape.

Obviously I don't know your exact situation, but if you're close to 15k, i doubt you would ever actually get charged as long as you are within 5k or so. When I was still figuring things out in the early days I tried a 10k lease and was over already over by 4k when i turned the car in early (i think around 27 months). The overage was forgiven without penalty. This presupposes that you are going to lease another audi, of course, but even in a worst case scenario you could just buy out your own lease and probably make out on the deal if you then sold the car yourself. It all depends on the level of annoyance you are willing to deal with.

I think the key to leasing with minimal annoyance is finding a rep and clearly explaining you're gonna lease a new car in perpetuity coupled with a dealership that likes to buy out leases and then sell them on the lot as used. This allows you to get away with an awful lot that would otherwise be realized as added fees / annoyances upon surrendering the car to the leasing company.

This is not great advice as there are a lot of caveats to what you're saying. You will absolutely get charged for mileage and EWT, unless you enter a lease loyalty program with the SAME lender who is backing your current lease. Those lease loyalty programs are also subject to change at any time and market conditions make them relatively volatile these days. You certainly can buy out your lease to avoid the additional fees, but the days of getting $10k over your residual seem to be over and unlikely to be seen again for some time. You may find yourself having to buy out an underwater lease and stuck in a car for some time while the value/ residual equalizes.

Obviously there are options and leasing can be a great for some people, but its not a one size fits all scenario.

 

[patrick_b]

What a surprise, 7000lb vehicle with 800 HP eats tires.

Tesla Cybertruck Owners Shocked That Tires Are Barely Lasting 6,000 Miles

Can any tire handle the heavy lifting of any EV truck or SUV? The answer is get used to buying new tires every couple years, if that.

www.thedrive.com

 

[venividivicibj]

What a surprise, 7000lb vehicle with 800 HP eats tires.

Tesla Cybertruck Owners Shocked That Tires Are Barely Lasting 6,000 Miles

Can any tire handle the heavy lifting of any EV truck or SUV? The answer is get used to buying new tires every couple years, if that.

www.thedrive.com

6k miles is crazy... I'm at like 60k on my jeep.

 

[sugarbutch]

They should have named it the Tesla Toolbox.

 

[Omega Male]

I believe I have finally found a less practical family vehicle than even a GT3.

 

[jbarwick]

I mean they do have a car seat for a kid in there. I let my kids ride in the GT4. We got this little travel booster seat which props them up enough to have the seat belt hit them properly. As with all internet discussions, there is back and forth about if a kid should ride in the carbon buckets.