Audi S5 vs BMW 530i

What's the difference?

The S4 and S5 range continues to represent a great formula for performance you can live with every day. They're arguably the sweetest balance Audi produces, actually. All come fantastically equipped, with cabins that feel truly special, and we’re lucky they can be had in a choice of five bodystyles.  

Not all superheroes wear capes, and we're proud to report the 530e does its bit for green motoring without feeling the need to shout about it. And with no price or specification penalty, it's easier being green than ever before, and the pricing of this BMW really puts the cat amongst the canaries.

The S4 sedan and Avant have scored the bulk of design updates, with all new and recontoured side panels including the sedan’s C-pillar matching what was applied to the A4 earlier this year. 

This is paired with new front and rear facias and lighting for a subtle but extensive rework of the fifth-generation S4’s conservative look. 

The S5 Sportback, Coupe and Cabriolet get S5-specific new lighting and facias, but no sheetmetal changes. As before, the Coupe and Cabriolet ride on a 60mm shorter wheelbase than the Sportback, sedan and Avant.

The S5s also get Matrix LED headlights as standard which do a neat animated sequence when you unlock the car. 

Other visual hallmarks include new S4-specific 19-inch wheels, with S5 stepping up to its own unique 20-inch wheel. The six-piston front brake calipers are appropriately painted red, and there’s S-specific adaptive dampers under there too. All variants aside from the Cabriolet get a lip spoiler on the rear.

On the inside, there’s a new centre console and bigger 10.1-inch multimedia screen, while the Audi Virtual Cockpit driver instrument display now offers a hockey stick-style rev counter in additional to traditional dial layouts.

Crucially, there's nothing weird about the way the 530e looks. While some green cars look like they've been designed by one of the kids from 3rd Rock from the Sun, the 530e looks much the same as the rest of the range, save a few tiny but telltale giveaways - like the e-drive badging outside, and what looks like a bonus fuel flap tucked in behind a front wheel that houses the whole plug-in bit.

And we really, really like it. It's elegant and statesman-like from every angle, and looked especially important in the deep-blue colour of our test vehicle. It's not over-designed, with body creases used sparingly, and the occasional glint of polished silver that rings the windows and the grille adds a final sense of shininess to an understated design. 

Inside, there's more going on than you might normally find in a BMW. The hugely complicated digital display screen now includes everything from battery charge, power usage to the usual assortment of speedometers and petrol readouts. 

It doesn't feel overdone or crazily festooned, but there's more at play here than in your usual BMW.

The dash is busy, too, with a wide screen emerging from a centre stack that also houses a CD player and a digital aircon setup, which in turn sits above a complex centre console from which you can alter driving settings, control the multimedia or cycle through electric modes. It doesn't feel overdone or crazily festooned, but there's more at play here than in your usual BMW.

Elsewhere inside, the seats are beautifully designed, with a quilted leather highlight through the middle, while the gloss-black strip that lines the dash hides a dual strip of ambient interior lights that also runs across all four doors.

The biggest practicality change among the five S4 and S5 variants is their upgrade to the latest version of Audi’s MMI multimedia system, which steps up to a 10.1-inch touchscreen and drops the scroll wheel from the centre console.

It also boasts ten times the computing power of the version it replaces and uses this and an on-board sim card to access Google Earth maps for navigation and Audi Connect Plus that offers driver information such as fuel prices and parking information as well as point of interest search and weather information, plus the ability to make emergency calls and seek roadside assistance.

There’s also a wireless phone charger, but using Apple CarPlay will still require a cord as per Android Auto.

I only drove the S4 Avant and S5 Sportback at their media launch, which are clearly the most practical of the five, but from our experience with the previous versions, each looks after its occupants well in terms of space and storage. Back seat accommodation is clearly not a priority in the Coupe and Cabriolet, but there’s three other variants if that’s what you’re looking for. 

The Cabriolet can open its automatic folding soft top within 15 seconds, at speeds of up to 50 km/h.

As the world's motoring tastes shrink faster than a lap-banded Clive Palmer, it's easy to forget the joys of the full-size sedan, but the space for passengers and luggage in the 5 Series will have you questioning your downsizing ways.

Upfront, there's plenty of room between front-seat riders, who will also share two smallish cup holders, along with room in each front door for bottles. There's also a dedicated wireless charge pad (which, because of its tight design, is crazy difficult to actually remove your phone from), but you'll also get two USB points and a power outlet that's hidden in the sizeable centre storage bin as standard fit.

Backseat riders get heaps of space, both in width and in leg room behind the front seats. And there's twin air-con temp controls and twin power outlets, too. But middle-seat passengers will be forced to sit with their legs on either side of the raised tunnel, which will definitely impact on comfort.

The boot's still sizeable, despite shrinking slightly to house the battery/fuel tank setup

Best to ditch the fifth passenger, then, and deploy the pull-down seat divider, which also houses two cup holders. Finally, there are three ISOFIX attachment points, one for each seat in the back.

The boot's still sizeable, despite shrinking slightly to house the battery/fuel tank setup (the tank has been moved further back to accomodate the batteries), and can be adjusted to be a flat load area if you'd like, offering up to 410 litres with the rear seats in place.

The 530e commands a 530i-equalling $108,900 price tag, which is genuinely impressive when you consider all the extra bits and pieces that go into make a plug-in hybrid. That money buys you a well-equipped car, and only those allergic to money need reach for the options list.

As standard, you'll find leather-wrapped - and heated in the front - sports seats, 19-inch alloy wheels and a 10.25-inch touchscreen that pairs with a really very good 16-speaker Haman Kardon stereo. Wireless Apple CarPlay is available, but it'll cost you an extra $500. To be honest, though, we didn't miss it.

You'll also find adaptive LED headlights, a huge head-up display (so big, in fact, that it impedes vision when climbing steep hills), dynamic dampers, an auto opening/closing boot and a self-parking system, along with BMW's suite of self-driving tech - but we'll come back to that under the Safety sub-heading.

Audi has taken an ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach with the mechanicals, with all S4 and S5 models unchanged with this update. So the centrepiece continues to be the single-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 that produces 260kW and 500Nm, with the latter available from a broad 1370-4500rpm.

The rest of the drivetrain is also unchanged, with the venerable but excellent ZF eight-speed torque converter auto paired with the Quattro all-wheel drive system that can send up to 85 per cent of drive to the rear wheels. 

Drift around in pure EV mode and you'll be relying on the 530e's 83kW and 250Nm electric motor, which will provide what BMW refers to as "between 28 and 32 real-world kilometres".

Run out of range, or simply use too much throttle, and the 2.0-litre petrol engine comes into play, adding 135kW and 320Nm to the mix. All up, that's 185kW and 420Nm - respectable numbers by any measure, and enough to match the petrol-powered 530i's zero to 100km/h sprint of 6.2 seconds.

That power is fed through an eight-speed automatic transmission before being sent exclusively to the rear wheels, where it belongs.

Official combined fuel figures range from 8.6L1/00km for the S4 sedan to 8.8L/100km for the Avant, Coupe and Sportback, while the heavier Cabriolet steps up to 9.1L/100km. 

All are pretty good considering their performance potential and the size of these cars, plus the fact that they only require 95 RON Premium Unleaded fuel.

All have a 58-litre fuel tank, which should enable a range of at least 637km between fills based on the Cabriolet’s figure.

Like a Facebook relationship status, it's complicated. The 530e will sip a claimed combined 2.3 litres per hundred kilometres on the claimed/combined cycle, which is amazing for a car this size. Better still, it seems genuinely achievable - at the vehicle's launch, our own Richard Berry recorded a stunning 2.0 litres per hundred kilometres on a short test route.

But that's with a full load of battery charge on board. For our week with the 530e we were unable to actually plug it in (living in Sydney, I can't afford a garage), so once the initial battery charge had been used we were back to mostly petrol power. Unlike some other plug-in hybrids we've driven, we found it very difficult to recharge the battery to any meaningful level using regenerative braking, so once we were flat we stayed flat. If we had plugged it in, it would have been a two-hour recharge using a specialised wall unit, or about four hours using a normal plug.

As a result, though, our fuel use was closer to 7.0 litres per hundred kilometres after some considerable real-world testing.

The S4 and S5 range were already an excellent balance between everyday comfort and a genuine sporting edge, and nothing has changed with this update.

I spent time behind the wheel of the S4 Avant and S5 Sportback at their media launch, and both managed to deliver the proper Audi luxury experience over some pretty rough rural roads, while always feeling a bit more sporting than a regular A4 or A5. That’s with the Drive Select left in the default mode, but you can shift that sporting personality up a few notches (while scaling back the comfort), by selecting Dynamic mode. 

My preferred means of adjusting their personality is by simply tugging the transmission selector back to activate S mode, which livens up the engine and transmission without stiffening up the suspension. 

Across the five S4 and S5 bodystyles, there is some variance in performance potential, with the S4 sedan and S5 Coupe topping the performance chart with 0-100km/h boasts of 4.7s, with the S5 Sportback trailing them by 0.1s, the S4 Avant by a further 0.1s and the Cabriolet managing a still-fast 5.1s claim.

Another area I consider the S4 and S5s to get just right is their exhaust note. It is adaptive, but there’s nothing synthetic about it, and the generally muted and distinctly V6 burble is always there to remind you that you’re aboard a proper performance model, but not in such a way that it will annoy you, or your neighbours. Polite performance, if you will.

There's so much to like about the way the 530e sets about saving the world, and that's mostly because it doesn't shout about it, either to the driver or the outside world.

It's very much an underpants inside its pants superhero, which makes us like it even more. Set off in EV mode, and the 530e will drift silently away from the curb, burning battery power over fuel for as many as 30(ish) kilometres. But equally important, the shift from green to gas is largely imperceptible, with the petrol engine joining in willingly when you ask it to - usual via a prod of your right foot.

It is so effortlessly smooth that you need to really pay attention to notice the eight-speed 'box changing gears at city speeds, and it's commendably quiet, whichever drive mode you're in.

Downsides? Well, it doesn't feel quite as sharp as it's conventional-engined siblings. The batteries add around 230kg in weight, which never helps, and it all feels a little softer and a little less dynamic, even with Sport mode engaged. BMW assures us the adaptive suspension setup and tune is identical, but the 530e feels noticeably softer when you tackle a twisting back road. And that encourages you to use your right foot a little more, which in turn negates the whole electric thing in the first place.

One of the great joys of BMWs has always been their ability to transform from cosseting comfort to rear-drive rocket when you want them to, and you can't help but notice the 530e isn't quite up to that challenge. But if your intentions are mostly city- and freeway-based, then this plug-in BMW is almost indiscernible from its petrol-powered sibling.

You'll want for little here, with front, front-side and full curtain airbags joining parking sensors, a surround-view camera and a self-parking system.

You can also expect active cruise control, lane control assist with lane keep assist (so it will stay between the lane markings for you), AEB and cross-traffic warning. And all of that means that, technically, the 530e can drive for you. That is, of course, if you don't mind driving like a dick - in full-autonomous mode it will swerve from lane marking to lane marking like it's playing bumper bowling.

Audi continues to offer a three year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is in line with BMW but lags behind the five years offered by Mercedes-Benz these days. This also contrasts with the five year norm among mainstream brands, which is punctuated by the seven year warranties of Kia and SsangYong.  

Service intervals are a convenient 12 months/15,000km though, and the same five year ‘Audi Genuine Care Service Plan’ offers capped price servicing for the same $2950 total over five years applies to all S4 and S5 variants. This is only marginally more than the plans offered for regular petrol A4 and A5 variants, so you’re not being stung for the thoroughbred versions.

Like the rest of the 5 Series range, the 530e falls under BMW's three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. There are no set service intervals, either, with BMW using what it calls 'condition-based' servicing. In other words, the car will tell you when it requires a trip to the service centre.

The batteries are covered by a separate warranty covering six years or 100,000km.