Just another "boring VW Passat"!

I also really like the Jag XF. It's apparently the best car around for towing a caravan – seriously! 🙂

The new small Jag really does challenge my preconceptions.
Lovely looking car. Couldn't be doing with a saloon though.

Had a look at one a few weeks back at an open day for the lease car scheme, was very nice and well superior inside and out to the Passat CC. Enough room in the back for the amount of time I'd have adults in but the price is probably a little out of my way.

I liked it a lot.

With reference to Matt's point about LED running lights earlier in the thread:

Not all Audis have LED running lights, and those that do can turn them off (y)

Jag XF isn't what I'd call small – 1800kgs and pretty hefty. A very decent motor though.

Bol – nice one! There's an Audi one too with the LEDs shaped like a knob. Can't find it though!

Aren't you meant to point out that it's 'just' a Mondeo?

It's not though – it's much more than that and the engines are absolutely brilliant. Not my cup of tea but still very good indeed.

A couple of mates have them, they're very nice inside. They drive alright but like most cars of their type the performance version is expensive. I think its quite a well-judged car to be honest, it looks well, its decent quality, it lets you drive a "coupe" with emergency seats as a back-up.

Some people would suggest that diesel engines have no place in performance cars, its all down to what you want out of the car.

More gibberish on STW.

The XF is rear wheel drive. The Mondeo is front wheel drive. How much potential for platform sharing do you think there is? None.

I know tron, platform sharing isn't just duplication – I was being sarcastic since that's what people always say on here.

I think diesel engines are great for the GT role – all that torque means lazy power, good for relaxed but still enjoyably brisk driving.

think fit pretty chick who is utterly useless/lazy in bed and nags all the time

I used to go out with her…. 😐

A5 v BMW? I couldn't give a flying **** how good a 'drivers' car a Beemer is supposed to be, I wouldn't be seen dead in one. It's all about aesthetics as far as I'm concerned, and BMW haven't built a car with clean, uncluttered lines in decades, the A5 on the other hand has almost flawless lines, the slightly curved waistline flows from front to rear with no visual interruption, lights and panel edges all blend together beautifully; BMW lines always look messy, cluttered and crude by comparison. There's a coupé, a six series?, with that huge ugly overhanging bootlid, makes me cringe every time I see one. And Matt's irritating prattling about Audi being rebadged VW; really? How about my Octavia? Most of the components in it all seem to have Audi logos on. It's VAG; the Volkswagen/Audi Group, they share platforms and engine technology, but their design philosophy is totally different, as are SEAT and Skoda's. I like Passats and the CC is sleek, but given the money I'd be into the nearest Audi dealer fast enough to redshift to get an S5 3.0TDi. I honestly think they're one of the most perfectly designed cars around. I'm not a vastly experienced high speed driver so the subtleties of it's handling are lost on me, I just want a car to make my heart beat a little faster every time I look at it, go reasonably quickly, within the limits imposed by a rapidly degenerating road network, and not give me a bad back after driving it 100miles. Oh, and give more than 30/per.

My Dad had a 3.0 TDI Quattro A5 when they were brand spanking new, so 07 plate, think his was one of the very first few cars in the country. Certainly I didn't see another A5 for about 2-3 months from when he got his (they're EVERYWHERE now)…

Anyway, his was the Sport version, with a manual gearbox, and quattro drivetrain. He had it for just over a year, in which time I drove it quite a few times, probably did about 1000 miles in it (including a 500 mile round trip to the lakes and back with my GF at the time) and I've got several things I can say about it…

-At the time it was THE ULTIMATE pose car, cos it was so fresh the way it looked, and nobody else had one… I remember being stuck in a traffic jam on the M6 in it, 2 guys (looked like pro footballers) in a blinged up Audi Q7 with massive rims were next to me, their jaws dropped! They couldn't stop staring at it… That said, they've been around for 3 years now, and there's lots of em about, so they no longer have the same cache.
-The car NEEDS 19" rims at least (visually anyhow), because the wheelarches are massive, and anything else looks lost in there. The problem with that is that it makes the ride quite crashy with such low profile tyres (my Dad's car did have the 19" rims on).
-The car is deceptively rapid, mainly cos it's so torquey. 0-60 is sub 6 seconds, you couldn't spin the wheels if you tried though such is the grip from the 4wd and the massive tyres! The manual gearbox is a bit clunky in use though, it's ok just not that quick to use.
-Brakes (as per usual with Audi's) are over servoed, though not as much as previous generation A4's.
-Rear legroom isn't the best, but no worse than on a previous generation A4 (yeah, seriously!)
-Boot is surprisingly big for a 2 door coupe, and rear seats fold down, so MTB transport inside the car is possible.
-The combined key/start button thingy is REALLY annoying after a while.
-MPG is not bad at all, not as good as with a smaller engine of course, but my Dad averaged 40mpg in his the whole time he had it, my 500 mile round trip to the lakes (most of it spent going a bit too fast on the motorway) managed a 38mpg average, a trip on the dual carriageways at a constant 60mph would see 50mpg returned!
-Audi inbuilt Sat Nav is BOLLOX… Total BOLLOX. How the hell can they make something so expensive work a LOT worse than a £100 tom tom?

Should point out though, that all said above, as a driver's car it wasn't really very exciting. Tonnes of grip for sure, and you could throw it into any corner way faster than you might think and the quattro and massive tyres would get it round, but it was very undynamic. A BMW 3 series is a MUCH better car to drive (I've done more than 20,000 miles in the current shape 3 series' cars)… But obviously not quite as striking to look at.

…but instead CZ, you have an Octavia… 😆

Some people would suggest that diesel engines have no place in performance cars, its all down to what you want out of the car.

Agreed, and when money is tight you can always get work with these guys:

http://www.arcexecutive.co.uk/

Interesting point about the Nuvolari. I was playing GT4 and stumbled across it in my garage, and it's not a patch on the A5 visually. I also think the Passat CC is an amazing looking car.

There's also an argument that says the smaller engines are the perfect engines for these cars – the style which plays an important part in the buying decision means that if you're not going as fast then more people will see you. So get the big wheels and the small engine, job done.

A5? Pah!!

I had an A8 4.2 v8 diesel for a job last week – 0-60mph in 5.5 seconds from a car that weighs about 2000kg. Has a maximum towing weight of 2335kg and it did 24mpg average through the day. It was the 1st silver one I'd seen and looked absolutely fantastic in the flesh.

I test drove an A5 3.0tdi manual about 6 months after they appeared. It was frankly awful. Very quick in a straight line but horrible understeer, no steering feel, no brake feel, manual gearbox horribly imprecise. The absolute pinnacle of the standard Audi "looks good boring to drive" school. Even the uprated Bose stereo was rubbish – plenty of bass but no detail or finesse.

On top of that, IMO the styling is wrong – it's somehow too long and soft, but that's obviously an individual thing

XF uses same platform as the old S-Type Jag, a platform that was shared with Lincoln, the only connection with Mondeo is that was the cost basis for XF.

Most/all have those hideous Daytime Running Lights

DRL's are law on all new cars from 2012.

A5 is not to the same standard of fit and finish normally associated with Audi, they have let that slip on the sportier appearing models and let their design department have more of an influence.

TBH BMWs 2010 cars have some blatant cost cutting going on too. Sit in a 2006-2009 3 series then get in a 2010 one and prepare to be shocked.

Worse standard stereo, cheaper materials, etc.

I think most marques are doing it, regardless of "prestige."

Votchy – yep aware of the rules but they still look cack; I have a feeling that once LED headlights are standard kit, the current "style" (I used the term loosely) of DRLs shall fade away quietly to the chav add-on section of Halfords…

As with most of these threads, I have nothing to contribute, but I really like the look of the A5. I suspect that I'll eventually get around to driving one and be thoroughly disappointed.

Worse standard stereo, cheaper materials, etc.

Interesting you say that, a friend recently bought a new BMW and the paint finish on the outside looks pretty rank for the cost.
Now I'm not one to pay much attention to cars but it really was quite dreadful. Looked like it had been put on with an orange peel coated roller 🙂

Ian – an all too common issue on BMWs, even older "better made" ones. Even some M3s come through looking pretty poor. It's standard procedure for new buyers to get their cars "sorted" by the dealer before accepting them.

Most are fine – mine's got a nice deep sheen luckily but still scratches easily; some are pretty bad. Not that handy!

A recent 1 series I had as a loaner had a pretty low rent interior too – I think the entire range has slipped a bit.

Was in looking at an A4 Avant SLine today, quite plasticky interior if you don't get the spec right. Had a look at a Passat CC, a lot of solid well finished car for the money I reckon!

Anyone driven a 2.0TFSI A4 Avant? I know it's a decent engine, but worried about scrabbling about with FWD only (quattro puts it over car scheme CO2 limit). Other option is 2.0TDI (170) quattro, anyone driven that?

A mate has a Passat CC. Nicely finished but he reckons a bit disappointing to drive.

My mates wife has an S5 it sounds ace and goes like stink – she's had it round the Nurburgring 😯

Mate got a Skoda Superb recently. A very impressive car for the money. Luxurious & spacious inside, with all the toys you could want.

stop being bitches, we all know there is only one audi…

Mate got a Skoda Superb recently. A very impressive car for the money. Luxurious & spacious inside, with all the toys you could want.

With a name like that I would expect nothing less.

did it have a built in dildo in the drivers seat?

I looooovvvvvveeeeee the fact that STW has it's own Jeremy Clarkson. Every time ANYONE posts ANYTHING about cars Singletrack Jeremy comes along.

I looovvvvveeeeesssss it.

I see a disproportionate number of people driving in a ****ish manner behind the wheel of A5s.

hehe
I love STW threads like this.
The A5 coupe looks great (the sportback isn't quite so succesful). Its why its popular in all engine guises, but ultimately people buy them because its an Audi, and everyone knows what Audi stands for in terms of build quality and reliability, not to mention brand cachet. It would seem most reviews suggest the RS5 doesn't have enough torque and isn't quite the drivers car most were hoping for, especially after the RS4 promised so much. Most have also suggested that either the larger diesels or the petrol S5 are the better ones to go for.
Don't see how you can compare it to the Passat/Golf/Skodas, price alone means they're not comparable. BMWs tend to drive nicer, but they're not for everyone. Having said that, I've always been a BMW fan, but I really like the Jag XF.
One other thing, Top Gear cool wall, it was commented on a couple of series ago about how the 'cocks' have moved from the BMWs to the Audis. I'd say its pretty evenly split these days. Both marques have become the choice of those **** who come firing up behind you on the motorway flashing their lights at you.

If I bought one, it'd be purely because of the way it looks, and the fact that there are good diesel engines.

Oh, cracking engines in my expierence. The ex's dad has a 3.0 V6 diesel quattro, goes brilliantly, makes a nice noise (for a diesel) and good mpg. But everyone elses engines are also up there now too. Jag 2.7tdi. BMW 35d.

Why compare the Audi range as dressed up SEAT/Skoda/VW platforms?

I prefer to consider mine a dressed down, more subtle, Bentley/Lamboughini/Bugatti :p

I also really like the Jag XF. It's apparently the best car around for towing a caravan

Dude, seriously 😯

If you do do that I might will have have to come round to your house and shoot you!

😉

My mate was well chuffed when he arrived at the Bonty last year and the parking bloke asked if his A5 was an Aston Martin!! Think that says more about the calibre of the car parking staff than the A5!!