LexFather

S5 is one of those good looking cars that do it for me. Its also much much rarer than a 3 series coupe seemingly everyone has. I gripe to me about the S5 is the sunroof while huge does not open. The V-8 pulls strong but it isn't much quicker than a 350.

The S5 has a pretty large trunk too. If you need to extra room and quality is a major concern the GS is the no brainer. For me, the heart says S5.

Good luck

The G Man

I had a GS350 and now own an Audi, my GS spend more time in the shop than my Audi. It just goes to show you, it’s no guarantee reliability just because you buy a certain brand.

kuruption213

I do really like the A5/S5 and the emotional part of me is leaning towards that car, however I've read the same thing about the vibration issues on a Audi A5/S5 site. Also I saw that it was rated worst in reliability amongst cars in its group. So it looks like I'll be leaning towards what has treated me well in the past the GS. I've still got a couple of months before I'll choose but its seems like my decision now will be 07/08 GS350 AWD vs 07/08 GS450H.

Thanks as always for the great insight.

jjscsix

I just bought (leased actually) a 2010 GS 350. The A5 was high on my list - maybe the best looking car on the road today short of an Aston Martin. I did drive a couple and like them.

But in the end, a couple of things conspired against the A5. One is that they have botched the engine lineup in the A5. I drove the turbo-4 and was not impressed - and that is the model they are stocking up on now. They still make the 3.2 V6 version, but they are very limited in availability, and in my opinion it was not a good value equiped the way I wanted it. I would lust after the S5, but too much money and hard to find (and no deals on them).

Also, the A5 does not offer a couple of features I really wanted, like ventilated seats and a true surround sound stereo. The B&O stereo in the A5 would have probably kept me happy, but the other issues I was not willing to deal with in the end (along with the fact that Lexus has better lease deals in December).

Yang1815

iTrader: (1)

For the price point, wouldn't you bee looking at the S5?

S5 for sure if you don't need rear doors.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

s5 is quite a bit more expensive than gs350

jjscsix

Correct. Comparably equiped, about $10,000 difference, and even more to buy because they don't deal on them.

dadoody

iTrader: (1)

Hello, when I was looking for a new car 1 year ago, I also looked to BMW, Audi, and Mercedes.

For me, Audi was the last choice of them all - the styling is good. I'll give them that, but maintenance is overly expensive and the cars develop a lot of little problems that add up $$$.

I would personally go with the GS350 because the styling is classy but understated. The more I stare at the car, the more beautiful it gets to me haha....

AWD is always a great choice, plus the GS350s use timing chains instead of belts now, so that's one maintenance item that you can check off.

Whatever car you get, as long as you're good about keeping it clean, polished, and waxed, it's all good.

The G Man

The last time I check, Audi's maintenance hourly rate is the same as BMW and MB and Lexus. MB is actually the most problematic of the 4. If you consider routine maintenance, Lexus is by far the most expensive. The 5000 miles oil change and the routine maintenace addes up quick. The parts for Lexus are also way up there as well. The only good thing about Lexus is that after the warranty runs out, generally there is less maintenance, but thats no guarantee.
A good general rule is that if you keep your new car for 4 or 5 years, buy European, if you drive your car to the ground, buy Japanese.

dadoody

iTrader: (1)

Really? I haven't experienced these rates for the most part. Maybe because I avoid the Lexus dealership for minor work - their technicians haven't proven to be that much more competent to me than the guys @ my local oilstop when it comes to changing oil. Warranty work and stuff I want guaranteed goes to dealershop.

Everything else is DIY or goes to my friend's shop. I just keep all service records.

I mean, these things are basically Toyotas. If I need an oil change, I use my preferred synthetic oil. If I want to use a Toyota oil filter, I can pick one up @ Toyota for 3.99 as opposed to going to a Lexus dealership and getting it for 10 bucks or whatever ridiculous mark up they want.

Only a shmucks or old people who don't know any better go to the dealership for minor things like this. Maybe I've had enough bad experiences with dealership shops that I'm pretty negative about them doing work on my car, unless it's on their dime.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

i will also say i don't find lexus maintenance to be much cheaper, especially the first few years. after warranty i cant' say much. but looking at the first 4/5 yrs of ownership, bmw is free, mb and audi they offer one time maintenance plan and that's around 700 to 1000 bucks. i haven't really seen any for lexus and from my experience the first 5 yrs i will likely pay more than 1000

but again, after 5 yrs, that's another question. coz' german cars, they start to have more "weird" problems

I8ABMR

I think the Audi wil be more fun but the lex more reliable. Do you need the 4 doors?? Do want a fun car???? Or a reliable car???

Modeler

I have to strongly disagree on that. A Quatro A6 handles WAY WAY better than GS. Don't take my word for it; read any automotive magazine. And A6 with 3.0T is more powerful than GS350 in normal daily driving. Only the V8 or hybrid GS are more powerful than 3.0T.

I came very close to replacing my GS450h with A6 3.0T a month ago. In the end, the hybrid HOV exemption, ventilated seats, keyless entry / start, and the get-out-of-the-way steering wheel in the GS swayed me over back to GS. But it was a VERY close competition.

Like you mentioned, A5 is not A6, it is closer to A4 than to A6. I sat in A5 and was not as comfortable as in the A6 so I decided to not even drive it. I don't consider A5 to be a comparable vehicle to GS350; not by a mile.

The G Man

I have to agree with your comparison. Having owned both the GS350 and the A6, the A6 handles much better in stock form and rides smoother. Although the A5 does not have the same quality as the A6, it does handle better, but much like you, I dont like the low sitting position and the over all quality.

*Batman*

A6 Quattro does not handle anywhere near as well as my GS. Just goes to show it depends what options and tires you have. You can add Quattro to compensate for the crappy front wheel drive, but even with Quattro, a car with passive suspension and a poor weight distribution can't hold a candle to a well balanced rear wheel drive sedan with power stabilizer and sports tires.

I am convinced the reason most magazine reviews rate GS badly is because they test models without APSS and without high performance tires. You can't drive a car on touring tires against one on Pilot Sports and claim the one on the touring tires handles badly. That's just testing the tires.