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| 2010 Audi A3 Cabriolet |
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| 2011 BMW M3 |
Wheeling through the narrow streets here, the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive is in its element: a small, maneuverable urban car with room for two people, a half-dozen bags of groceries, and your iPhone in its special cradle on the dash. It's an advance model of the 250 electric Smarts we'll get, 1250 total the world will get, as Smart launches an electric prototype this fall. If you want one, get in line fast. It's offered as a $599 a month lease for people living in five early adopter regions - the Boston-to-Washington corridor, Indianapolis, Orlando, Portland, and San Jose.
There are plenty of adults out there who attempt to keep one foot firmly planted in their adolescence. For these grown-ups suffering from Peter Pan Syndrome, the 2010 Audi S5 is one of the best choices to sustain the passion of driving while still delivering a level of sophistication to satisfy more mature expectations. It's as if Audi took the premise of the great American muscle car and dressed it up in a well-tailored suit.
In terms of blending Mustang frivolity with Audi sensibilities, the S5 artfully selects the best attributes from each. A powerful V8 with a mellifluous exhaust note mounted under a long hood is already a promising start. Add in Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system and an elegantly designed interior with plenty of tech features, wrap it in an athletic and seductive skin and the result is nearly irresistible for a child masquerading as an adult.
It's this intoxicating cocktail of motoring amusement and finesse that sets the 2010 Audi S5 apart from other vehicles. A BMW M3 will deliver a livelier performance, but doesn't feel as sophisticated. The Mercedes-Benz E550 coupe is more luxurious, but can't compare to the S5's level of driver engagement. Also worth mentioning are the less-expensive Infiniti G37 and pricier BMW 6 Series. Among all of these choices, the Audi S5 shines as a beautifully well-rounded machine that is perfect for finding your automotive Neverland.
Performance
The 2010 Audi S5 is powered by a 4.2-liter V8 that produces 354 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque. Our test car was equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, but an automatic with manual-shift control is available as an option. Acceleration is brisk, requiring only 5.2 seconds to reach 60 mph from a standstill (5 seconds with rollout, like on a drag strip). Coming to a stop from that speed required just 110 feet.
The S5's straight-line acceleration and braking is nearly identical to other cars in this class, but it trails the competition slightly in terms of handling — likely a result of the car's hefty 3,924-pound curb weight. The Audi weaved through the slalom at 66.8 mph, which is about 3 mph slower than its BMW rivals. On the open road, however, the S5 feels immensely stable and secure when compared to the competition, and is a bit more relaxed when being tossed into serpentine mountain curves. In these conditions, the steering also feels a bit too isolated and light.
In everyday driving conditions, the effortless steering is an advantage when maneuvering in tight spaces. The clutch pedal travel is rather long, but takes only a short while to get used to. The shifter is exceptional, though, with a strong yet smooth and positive engagement.
Our test vehicle included the optional Audi Drive Select system, which allows the driver to choose from Comfort, Automatic, Dynamic and Individual settings. These settings vary the throttle response, steering ratios and suspension stiffness to suit a driver's particular needs. Switching between Comfort and Dynamic modes produces noticeable differences in ride quality and performance, elevating this system past novelty status.
Comfort
In typical Audi fashion, the interior of the S5 is, for the most part, a joy to experience. The front seats are well contoured to hold occupants securely in place and are adequately padded for long-distance touring comfort. Rear seats are much less accommodating with a lack of head- and legroom for adult-size passengers. But like the front seats, there is plenty of bolstering to keep those in the rear quarters from sliding about when cornering.
The 2010 Audi S5's ride quality straddles the line between luxurious and sporty. Though it is capable of entertaining the driver in the curves, the suspension still manages to smooth out most ruts and bumps in the pavement with ease. At highway speeds, the cabin remains calm and quiet, with wind and road noise abated to near silence. The interior is so quiet, in fact, that we often wished the glorious roar of the V8 was more prominent.
This is almost unbelievable since the 2011 model is an all-new design, and it boasts of getting numerous improvements over the outgoing vehicle. BMW claims that the all-new vehicle architecture 55% stiffer than the last 5, but is considerably lighter.
