2010 Audi A5 Cabriolet
#17
sorry but no softtop for me, period. it just doesn't make sense on a luxury car imho. i'd pick the e93 m3 any time
with the top down i think the car looks very nice, but with the top up it's just bad
with the top down i think the car looks very nice, but with the top up it's just bad
#18
#19
#20
IMO this is the only soft top that looks respectable outside of some exotics. Most are downright nasty. However, I think they did soft top because the wheelbase is pretty long. It would be hard to make a folding hardtop S5 IMO without having a gigantic trunk. I'm also sure cost played a part as well.
#22
IMO this is the only soft top that looks respectable outside of some exotics. Most are downright nasty. However, I think they did soft top because the wheelbase is pretty long. It would be hard to make a folding hardtop S5 IMO without having a gigantic trunk. I'm also sure cost played a part as well.
#23
With the kind of money an S5 costs, I'm not sure cost was that big an issue. The S5 is a performance car, and hard tops add weight and complexity....weight is the enemy of performance. The Mercedes SL adds a hard-top, of course, but it costs far more than an S5, and uses enormously powerful V8's, especially in the SL AMG version, to overcome that weight.
Also, many 4 seaters are difficult to design with retractable hardtops. Often these 4 seater converts end up with extra weight, extra complexity, big butt trunks, multiple ugly cutlines in the roof itself**, and less than graceful body proportions.
** the sheer size of the larger roof requires more folding/cutlines to fit into an acceptable-sized trunk area, that a 2 seater roadster top doesn't require. Makers of mid-engine and rear-engined cars don't even have the option of a retractable hardtop due to space limitations in that section of car.
That's just my opinion, coming from the premium convert perspective.
#24
With the kind of money an S5 costs, I'm not sure cost was that big an issue. The S5 is a performance car, and hard tops add weight and complexity....weight is the enemy of performance. The Mercedes SL adds a hard-top, of course, but it costs far more than an S5, and uses enormously powerful V8's, especially in the SL AMG version, to overcome that weight.
#26
Agreed, in the higher end premium converts a nicely finished softtop is often preferred (examples: Porsche, AS, Jag, Rolls, Bentley, Lambo, etc.). Typically these are not daily drivers so the practical aspects of a hardtop are not that important. I've owned a few convertibles and prefer the softtop since they are used by me as garage queen/weekender/California cars only.
Also, many 4 seaters are difficult to design with retractable hardtops. Often these 4 seater converts end up with extra weight, extra complexity, big butt trunks, multiple ugly cutlines in the roof itself**, and less than graceful body proportions.
** the sheer size of the larger roof requires more folding/cutlines to fit into an acceptable-sized trunk area, that a 2 seater roadster top doesn't require. Makers of mid-engine and rear-engined cars don't even have the optinon of a retractable hardtop due to space limitations in that section of car.
Also, many 4 seaters are difficult to design with retractable hardtops. Often these 4 seater converts end up with extra weight, extra complexity, big butt trunks, multiple ugly cutlines in the roof itself**, and less than graceful body proportions.
** the sheer size of the larger roof requires more folding/cutlines to fit into an acceptable-sized trunk area, that a 2 seater roadster top doesn't require. Makers of mid-engine and rear-engined cars don't even have the optinon of a retractable hardtop due to space limitations in that section of car.
#27
#28
Two things are at work there, though. First, the M3's strong 414 HP (though the torque lags at 295 ft-lbs, less than in the 335i.). Second, the admitted excellence of BMW's steering and chassis engineering.......among mass-produced cars, arguably the best on the planet, along with Porsche. BMW chassis engineers could take an M1 Abrams battle tank and make it fun to drive.
#29
What's up with the silver trim around the windshield and silver side mirrors on this and the regular S5???? I'm guessing it's to help distinguish it from the A5, but doesn't do it any favors style wise at all. Other than that though, looks good.
#30
I just read about it in a magazine tonight. It seems like a very cool alternative to the standard Bimmer. Plus the interior blows anything any other German manufacturer is doing right now