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I have been buying Hondas my entire adult life (not all the older ones are listed in my sig below).
Our first Acura was the 2014-MDX. It was a good 7-passenger SUV. Our needs changed over 6 years and wanted a smaller 5-passenger one. We were a little disappointed in the 2020 RDX. While It seemed a little claustrophobic and missing some creature-comforts, the main reason why it didn’t make the short-list is that Acura offered no Hybrid version of it. We heard Audis were good and found the Q5-E Hybrid.
I’m sure all the regulars here know my “2021 TLX story” so I won’t repeat it all here. Basically … it was planned to buy a $42k 2020 TLX V6 Tech/SH-AWD. Then, we heard about 2021 TLX so waited more. Eventually got to test-drive the 2021 TLX 2.0T (I posted a review here). However, we then realized the Advance/SH-AWD was more the car for the short-list to get the features we wanted. Not as quick/fast as I had hoped but acceptable I decided. I also wasn’t crazy about the length and the large turning-radius. As always, Acura SH-AWD was awesome. I was nice and we liked it (see review) but, we didn’t love it for $48k.
Since we already own the Audi Q5-e, the Audi A4-sedan was also on my short-list. Well, I finally got the test-drive one the other day. It was plenty quick and nice enough to buy. But then we discovered the new A5 Coupe (actually the wife found it for me) . Our Audi dealer just received a new 2021 white one and I really liked it. My cars have mostly been coupes (and now, we even have the SUV to use). It’s just me and the wife now-days, and can’t say anyone really rides in the back-seat anyway.
So, I think this “new car buying adventure” is over for us for a while (2 vehicles in one year should get-us-by for a while I think).
If yall don’t mind, I’ll still visit here and see what’s-up with the TLX V6 Type-S later next year. We will likely also look at 2023 MDX when it arrives.
So, anyway … I know a lot of yall “know cars” of various brands, so how did I do?
2021 Audi A5-Coupe Premium-Plus 45-TFSI quattro
Glacier White Metallic (with black-roof and panoramic-sunroof) , black-leather/gray-stitching Interior (and ventilated seats)
(Bang & Olufsen Sound, Black-Optic, sport-suspension, 19-inch wheels & 255/35 summer-tires)
2.0-T (261 hp) 7-speed-AT, MHEV
MSRP was $53,000 - $2,000 in incentives = $51,000. I bought-it (not a lease). It was built in Germany.
I plan to get windows tinted within the next week or so.
Congratulations, it's a great car and it makes a lot of sense to have two vehicles you love from the same dealership. The A5 Coupe is a sharp looking vehicle, even though I'm not a coup guy. A couple of questions - Is Premium Plus the top level trim in the US? How do you find the Alpine white paint comppared to a pearl white paint?
I have been buying Hondas my entire adult life (not all the older ones are listed in my sig below).
Our first Acura was the 2014-MDX. It was a good 7-passenger SUV. Our needs changed over 6 years and wanted a smaller 5-passenger one. We were a little disappointed in the 2020 RDX. While It seemed a little claustrophobic and missing some creature-comforts, the main reason why it didn’t make the short-list is that Acura offered no Hybrid version of it. We heard Audis were good and found the Q5-E Hybrid.
I’m sure all the regulars here know my “2021 TLX story” so I won’t repeat it all here. Basically … it was planned to buy a $42k 2020 TLX V6 Tech/SH-AWD. Then, we heard about 2021 TLX so waited more. Eventually got to test-drive the 2021 TLX 2.0T (I posted a review here). However, we then realized the Advance/SH-AWD was more the car for the short-list to get the features we wanted. Not as quick/fast as I had hoped but acceptable I decided. I also wasn’t crazy about the length and the large turning-radius. As always, Acura SH-AWD was awesome. I was nice and we liked it (see review) but, we didn’t love it for $48k.
Since we already own the Audi Q5-e, the Audi A4-sedan was also on my short-list. Well, I finally got the test-drive one the other day. It was plenty quick and nice enough to buy. But then we discovered the new A5 Coupe (actually the wife found it for me) . Our Audi dealer just received a new 2021 white one and I really liked it. My cars have mostly been coupes (and now, we even have the SUV to use). It’s just me and the wife now-days, and can’t say anyone really rides in the back-seat anyway.
So, I think this “new car buying adventure” is over for us for a while (2 vehicles in one year should get-us-by for a while I think).
If yall don’t mind, I’ll still visit here and see what’s-up with the TLX V6 Type-S later next year. We will likely also look at 2023 MDX when it arrives.
So, anyway … I know a lot of yall “know cars” of various brands, so how did I do?
2021 Audi A5-Coupe Premium-Plus 45-TFSI quattro
Glacier White Metallic (with black-roof and panoramic-sunroof) , black-leather/gray-stitching Interior (and ventilated seats)
(Bang & Olufsen Sound, Black-Optic, sport-suspension, 19-inch wheels & 255/35 summer-tires)
2.0-T (261 hp) 7-speed-AT, MHEV
MSRP was $53,000 - $2,000 in incentives = $51,000. I bought-it (not a lease). It was built in Germany.
I plan to get windows tinted within the next week or so.
I have an Acura story similar to yours. Was planning on a TLX Advance, but after a thorough test drive, found it to be lacking and way overpriced. Did a lot of research and concluded an Audi A5 Hatchback was the way to go for us. So we'll be making our purchase after early next year. Congrats on your new Audi!
Congratulations, it's a great car and it makes a lot of sense to have two vehicles you love from the same dealership. The A5 Coupe is a sharp looking vehicle, even though I'm not a coup guy. A couple of questions - Is Premium Plus the top level trim in the US? How do you find the Alpine white paint compared to a pearl white paint?
Thanks.
Yeah, I seem to feel similar to you about certain car-dealers. I found and used the same local dealer for purchases, service, and parts... Honda, then Acura, and now Audi because they did a good job so why switch. It was a relationship. I even pro-actively emailed the same young-man that helped us buy the Audi-Q5e earlier this year. He and his little sales-team did good the first-time so why not reward them with another sale. He is a "Audi Vehicle Specialist" and knows all the vehicles, features, and trims well (including e-Trons) and helps you find the perfect one. His team-mate is more of the "salesman" and does the money part and the initial sales-worksheet. He's the one you get your incentives-from and can haggle with a bit (or leave at table) ... we remembered him also ... he's fine and just doing his job.. We even used the same closer (finance guy) and we all remembered each other. Nothing shady there, just decline the stuff you don't want. Audi Financial gave us a competitive-rate with no early payoff penalties. Doc-Fees and that kind-of-thing were reasonable/correct and both the contract and earlier sales worksheet were clean/appropriate.
Another advantage is not only the operation of the Tech in the vehicles, but for example in our-case, we can use the one myAudi App on the iPhone to monitor/control both vehicles. The back-end Audi IT infrastructure also supports Primary and Secondary users so you don't have to impersonate each other (share credentials).
Our old Accord-V6 was a NON-metallic (pure or matte) white so I thought I wanted Ibis-White. But once I saw the Glacier White in-person, in the sun (and artificial-light) ... I think I like it better. It's a very bright white. From a distance it looks pure-white, but once you get closer, you notice the (metallic) sparkle. It's very similar to Acura's Platinum White Pearl , and yes ... Audi charges $500 extra for it as also (kinda bizarre on a $50k car but whatever).
Congrats on the A5! I had the S5 and RS5 Sportback on my shortlist before deciding on the Volvo. They really are fantastic cars, and in your case if you wanted a coupe...well there really isn't anything from Acura to tickle that fancy. As for the price, well that's actually what turned me away. There were pretty much no discounts to be had, and all I could muster was about $2K off as well. I'm a sucker for discounts, so it became a hard sell, especially when compared to the market price of the other cars I was considering.
Did you get a chance to try out the 430i or C300 coupe? If so, what swung you to the A5?
Congrats on the A5! I had the S5 and RS5 Sportback on my shortlist before deciding on the Volvo. They really are fantastic cars, and in your case if you wanted a coupe...well there really isn't anything from Acura to tickle that fancy. As for the price, well that's actually what turned me away. There were pretty much no discounts to be had, and all I could muster was about $2K off as well. I'm a sucker for discounts, so it became a hard sell, especially when compared to the market price of the other cars I was considering.
Did you get a chance to try out the 430i or C300 coupe? If so, what swung you to the A5?
Thanks buddy. Really appreciate your knowledgeable posts, help (and even PMs) on this adventure.
Yeah, A5/S5 series is pretty nice. At first, I mistakenly thought it was just an A4 with 2-doors, but no, it's a unique car. It's a tad smaller than A4, lower, and different flowing body-lines (hotter style ?). Audi is very proud of A5 convertible (and rightly so) but Sportback is more practical. The coupe is somewhere in the middle. It's unique feature is a large portion (over half) of the whole roof just kinda power-lifts-up and slides back. I asked the same question of salesman "why is it $3700 more than equal A4" and those are some of the reasons we came-up with ... those are some of the things you are paying extra for. Oh, another thing he pointed-out was the frame-less door windows (I think that's the term).
I've always liked these "larger" coupes. The only slight disadvantage to "large mid-sized" 2-dr. coupes is the long doors (parking in garage and tight spaces). However, I think if you like and drive coupes, it just goes with the territory. For example, I got used to it for all those years driving my Accord coupe.
Once I finally got to test-drive A4/A5, I was actually glad I didn't have to upgrade to S4/S5 to get the quickness I wanted ... mainly due to cost as I originally wanted to spend $45k . Also, I'm already having to use considerable restraint so I think I might get into too much legal trouble with an S5-coupe.
I compared equal BMW and MB to Audi-A4. Slightly affected by already being an Audi owner, I chose Audi-A4. Then, I just jumped from A4 to A5. Maybe not the most optimal process, but I love my new car and I don't feel like I "settled" for anything. I'm really glad yall agree. No regrets (still after a day-or-so).
Congrats, very nice car indeed! I really do like the black optics package, should be standard but that's just me. Keeping chrome clean is a pain, especially with tree sap.
Curious, how do you find the backseat space?
Awesome car, congrats! Like you I may be leaving Honda/Acura after owning pretty much nothing but since I started driving (well minus two Toyotas in the mix early on). I have owned one coupe and am more of a sedan person BUT I don't really need four doors and this is a sharp ride and I was considering this model as well. And RE: the longer doors yes that can be a pain but one plus is the lack of the B pillar being right up against you like with a sedan so you can have a little more room to scoot back and out.
If you care to share any pics of the interior I would love to see them!
Congrats, very nice car indeed! I really do like the black optics package, should be standard but that's just me. Keeping chrome clean is a pain, especially with tree sap.
Curious, how do you find the backseat space?
Thanks. Yeah, I thought it was appropriate for white car. I do still like chrome (or brushed alloy look) on gray/silver vehicles though.
It seems fine to me, but remember, it's just a 4-seater (there is a tray in the "hump"). Legroom is fine for a coupe. There are power-buttons on top of seat back to move seat forward before getting in. Panoramic-Roof pulls-back outside of car so headroom is better.
Awesome car, congrats! Like you I may be leaving Honda/Acura after owning pretty much nothing but since I started driving (well minus two Toyotas in the mix early on). I have owned one coupe and am more of a sedan person BUT I don't really need four doors and this is a sharp ride and I was considering this model as well. And RE: the longer doors yes that can be a pain but one plus is the lack of the B pillar being right up against you like with a sedan so you can have a little more room to scoot back and out.
It has these motorized arms that help "hand you" the seatbelts when it's time to buckle-up.
As for the price, well that's actually what turned me away. There were pretty much no discounts to be had, and all I could muster was about $2K off as well. I'm a sucker for discounts, so it became a hard sell, especially when compared to the market price of the other cars I was considering.
Same. My first look at the A5 Sportback was just after release and Audi was holding firm to sticker. I walked, but it didn't matter because after the test drive, I was probably only in the market for the S5 at $10-15K more, which was way more than I was willing to spend.
Originally Posted by Tesla1856
At first, I mistakenly thought it was just an A4 with 2-doors, but no, it's a unique car. It's a tad smaller than A4, lower, and different flowing body-lines (hotter style ?). "why is it $3700 more than equal A4" and those are some of the reasons we came-up with ... those are some of the things you are paying extra for. Oh, another thing he pointed-out was the frame-less door windows (I think that's the term).
Like you said, salesmen sell cars. A4, A5 Coupe, and A5 Sportback all have the same engine and mechanicals, just slightly different sheet metal and styling. Essentially, it's the same car and only marketing varies the price. If you weren't in a rush I would've held firm on a price less than MSRP + the $2K incentive and requested a call when they were ready to deal, and contacted other dealers in the area. If you are a member of Sam's or Costco, their buyer programs may have saved you more than the $2K in incentives. Water under the bridge. Congrats and enjoy the new car smell.
Like those cars but was disappointed to see where they put the cup holders, forward and in front of some controls. I like the big tumblers so is it a problem for you?
And yeah, I know it sounds trivial but it’s just a poor design. So ease up on the flaming.
Great choice. I’ve owned two A7s and loved them. The S5 is on my short list to replace my current BMW. The A5 is what I should buy, but I am still a card carrying speed freak.
Like those cars but was disappointed to see where they put the cup holders, forward and in front of some controls. I like the big tumblers so is it a problem for you?
And yeah, I know it sounds trivial but it’s just a poor design. So ease up on the flaming.
That little box is where you but your folded speeding tickets. Gotta keep that close.
Yeah Audi, swap the box for the (lighted) cup-holders and make them a bit bigger (us Texans like big stuff).
Those low-buttons aren't used much, and the AC-buttons are higher-up (also not used much as it's mostly all auto).
Only had a few days. Large tea from BBQ place surprisingly fit fine, but not another next to it. Asked for a cardboard drink carrier.
I have a Bengal cat who loves water and also likes to knock stuff over, so I'm mostly moved to normal-sized 16oz water-bottles or soda (with twist-cap).
Great choice. I’ve owned two A7s and loved them. The S5 is on my short list to replace my current BMW. The A5 is what I should buy, but I am still a card carrying speed freak.
Thanks.
Maybe go for the S5 as it's just a bit more.
Only driven it a few times ... but I'm not really used to all the looks and attention ( as lots of people drive nice cars around here).
I was in the (fairly empty) CVS parking-lot, windows-down and messing with the sound-system (free XM subscription you know).
Clean-cut young man and his wife/kid walks by ahead. Really checking-out the car.
Finally yells ... NICE car dude !
I said thanks and nodded. He turned to his wife and still in ear-shot I hear him say ... "Damn, did you SEE that car ?" .
Stuff like that never really happens to me and my ride.
If you care to share any pics of the interior I would love to see them!
If there is something you still want, just let me know and I will try. The interior black is a little darker than this. For some reason the sun-light was messing-up the colors a bit on my iPhone.
The best place is to quickly build the car online and select the options you want. Their pics adjust on the fly.
A little darker in real-life Black with gray-stitching. A little darker in real-life
Amazing car! congrats. We are also considering switching to Audi in the future as it appears that neither Acura nor Infinity won't have anything remotely exciting for a long while! Infiniti is continuing to recycle their antiquated infotainment system and topping the cars with CVTs. Acura, on the other hand, decided that it would be a great idea to have a civic size car in A6 body size, jacking up the price by $5k, offering class worse MPG, poor packaging options, and gimmicky trackpad/infotainment.
While I am a wagon person in my heart, it does not look like we would be buying A6 allroad as it is way too expensive, and i cant imagine A6 allroad will be popular as used cars any time soon, or if ever, so we might have to settle for Q5 Premium Plus and A5 Sportback (perhaps S5 Sportback if I could find a good deal). We are not in a rush, so time will tell.
I considered the A5 back in the day but there was no Sportback back then and I could never overcome why the coupes commanded higher price than the A4. There's no question in my mind that the additional nearly $10k is really for the looks.
I "settled" on a Premium Plus A6 Supercharged V6, which was maybe 10% more expensive than the Prestige version of the A5.
Acura, on the other hand, decided that it would be a great idea to have a civic size car in A6 body size, jacking up the price by $5k, offering class worse MPG, poor packaging options, and gimmicky trackpad/infotainment.
Do a size comparison (I use Edmunds comparison tool) b/w the '21 TLX vs the '21 E-Class and you'll be surprised how close the dimensions are. In the luxury market, interiors tend to be tight almost by definition!
Sorry, missed that question but ELIN caught it.
Best place to see how this works is to drop-by audiusa.com and click Build for the model you like.
If you take the top-trim Prestige and add Ventilated seats (if you are in hot climate) ... it's about as loaded as you can get.
On mid-trim Premium-Plus, you can add a few key-options "ala-carte" ... that's what they did on the car I bought.
Thing is (at least on 2021 A4 and A5) Audi has "brought down" many Prestige-exclusive features to Premium-Plus.
That little box is where you but your folded speeding tickets. Gotta keep that close.
Yeah Audi, swap the box for the (lighted) cup-holders and make them a bit bigger (us Texans like big stuff).
Those low-buttons aren't used much, and the AC-buttons are higher-up (also not used much as it's mostly all auto).
Only had a few days. Large tea from BBQ place surprisingly fit fine, but not another next to it. Asked for a cardboard drink carrier.
I have a Bengal cat who loves water and also likes to knock stuff over, so I'm mostly moved to normal-sized 16oz water-bottles or soda (with twist-cap).
Are summer tires good year round in TX?
I keep hearing switching to summer tires on the TLX would have a dramatic impact from the all seasons. Unfortunately, I get a true 4 seasons so snow is a problem.
If you take the top-trim Prestige and add Ventilated seats (if you are in hot climate) ... it's about as loaded as you can get.
On mid-trim Premium-Plus, you can add a few key-options "ala-carte" ... that's what they did on the car I bought.
Thing is (at least on 2021 A4 and A5) Audi has "brought down" many Prestige-exclusive features to Premium-Plus.
How are the ventilated seats on your A5? I have them on my IS350 and don't feel like they're very powerful normally but the contrast to body temperature after a workout is when it's a really nice perk. I really liked the S4 when I tested it but hate that you lose the sport seats to get the ventilation.
If there is something you still want, just let me know and I will try. The interior black is a little darker than this. For some reason the sun-light was messing-up the colors a bit on my iPhone.
The best place is to quickly build the car online and select the options you want. Their pics adjust on the fly.
A little darker in real-life Black with gray-stitching. A little darker in real-life
Yes.
Rain, ice, and a little snow should be no problem with Quattro-AWD.
These Bridgestone Potenza 255/35-R19-96Y summer-tires are specified in A5 Owner's Manual PDF. I'm trying 33psi.
They have a similar tread-pattern as
Pirelli Scorpion Verde tires (Performance All-Season Touring SUV run-flats) on our Q5-e.
I just noticed the needles have shadows.
. 2021 Audi-A5 Dash Tech
Yup, it's the attention to detail and small things that helps to separate mainstream cars from luxury cars. Are the shadows necessary? Heck no, but it does make the car feel a lot more special knowing that someone actually cared enough to incorporate that into the design.
I just noticed the needles have shadows.
. 2021 Audi-A5 Dash Tech
I love how clean and simplistic the interior is. And Acura really missed the boat by not including a digital dash on the TLX, especially considering the MDX will have one and the Accord has had a partial one for years now.
I find Audi interiors simple, efficient, and user-friendly. The 2G's interior is fussy, disjointed, and looks to require a lot of direct eye contact to operate the controls. I know that will become less of an issue if you own it and get used to it, but after 3.5yrs, I still find myself occasionally looking down at the push button gear selector in my 1G.
VS.
I really don't like the separation in flow between the upper and lower portions of the center console. The whole dash has too many broken lines, levels, weird angles, textures, etc.
How are the ventilated seats on your A5? I have them on my IS350 and don't feel like they're very powerful normally but the contrast to body temperature after a workout is when it's a really nice perk. I really liked the S4 when I tested it but hate that you lose the sport seats to get the ventilation.
I think they are excellent seats because they are ventilated and comfortable. Audi A/C is frosty with good seat-fan on High. Back-Seat HVAC is also good.
Yeah, logo is cool but Function over form. No Alcantara or massage on either of ours.
.
I have been buying Hondas my entire adult life (not all the older ones are listed in my sig below).
Our first Acura was the 2014-MDX. It was a good 7-passenger SUV. Our needs changed over 6 years and wanted a smaller 5-passenger one. We were a little disappointed in the 2020 RDX. While It seemed a little claustrophobic and missing some creature-comforts, the main reason why it didn’t make the short-list is that Acura offered no Hybrid version of it. We heard Audis were good and found the Q5-E Hybrid.
I’m sure all the regulars here know my “2021 TLX story” so I won’t repeat it all here. Basically … it was planned to buy a $42k 2020 TLX V6 Tech/SH-AWD. Then, we heard about 2021 TLX so waited more. Eventually got to test-drive the 2021 TLX 2.0T (I posted a review here). However, we then realized the Advance/SH-AWD was more the car for the short-list to get the features we wanted. Not as quick/fast as I had hoped but acceptable I decided. I also wasn’t crazy about the length and the large turning-radius. As always, Acura SH-AWD was awesome. I was nice and we liked it (see review) but, we didn’t love it for $48k.
Since we already own the Audi Q5-e, the Audi A4-sedan was also on my short-list. Well, I finally got the test-drive one the other day. It was plenty quick and nice enough to buy. But then we discovered the new A5 Coupe (actually the wife found it for me) . Our Audi dealer just received a new 2021 white one and I really liked it. My cars have mostly been coupes (and now, we even have the SUV to use). It’s just me and the wife now-days, and can’t say anyone really rides in the back-seat anyway.
So, I think this “new car buying adventure” is over for us for a while (2 vehicles in one year should get-us-by for a while I think).
If yall don’t mind, I’ll still visit here and see what’s-up with the TLX V6 Type-S later next year. We will likely also look at 2023 MDX when it arrives.
So, anyway … I know a lot of yall “know cars” of various brands, so how did I do?
2021 Audi A5-Coupe Premium-Plus 45-TFSI quattro
Glacier White Metallic (with black-roof and panoramic-sunroof) , black-leather/gray-stitching Interior (and ventilated seats)
(Bang & Olufsen Sound, Black-Optic, sport-suspension, 19-inch wheels & 255/35 summer-tires)
2.0-T (261 hp) 7-speed-AT, MHEV
MSRP was $53,000 - $2,000 in incentives = $51,000. I bought-it (not a lease). It was built in Germany.
I plan to get windows tinted within the next week or so.
Congrats! Beautiful car. Looks absolutely awesome. Enjoy and drive safe!
11-18-2020, 07:45 PM
Transitioning from Acura/Honda to Audi
