Any S5 owners out there?

Chuckoir

Chuckoir

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I'm looking for something a bit more "interesting" as my daily hack, and the lure of a V8 is quite strong, so after any thoughts on these?

The newer 3.0 TFSI version is probably a bit over my budget, unless there was a specific reason to choose it over the V8.

Any thing I need to look for? Any options a must have? What are the servicing intervals like? I tried google which came back with 18k/18mo which seems a bit too reasonable?

Or is there something else I should consider? So far I've gone through a list of:
Z4
370z
Porsche Cayman

But then the wife reminded me we have a child and getting a car seat in a 2 seater isn't ideal, and I'd need somewhere to stick my golf clubs.

Cheers.
 
Porsche. Most fun and best residuals. Unless you go RS5 which is a different animal.

I was under impression VAG petrols aren't the best around. Certainly the older FSI were nothing but trouble, and smaller TSI are prone to early death. VAG is best with diesel, and best petrols come from Japanese...
 
Thanks for the suggestion, but as I said, two seats is a no go, and I can't afford a panamera.

I used to own an Evo, and the servicing intervals on that were ridiculous - so I'll be avoiding anything Japanese.

I had considered the M135i, but it's not a V8 :(
 
Unfortunately my wife needs a car, so can't really justify a third. Plus, if TVRs are as unreliable as they used to be, I'd be spending the weekends fixing it rather than driving it. Nice idea though. ;)
 
Some XKs have ISOfix points in the back. X100 models' prices seem to have bounced up from rock bottom a couple of years ago. Only 18-22 MPG could be a problem for a daily driver.
 
Chuckoir said:
Plus, if TVRs are as unreliable as they used to be, I'd be spending the weekends fixing it rather than driving it. Nice idea though. ;)
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Hasn't been a TVR made in over a decade, so the whole lot of them are "as they used to be" at this point ;)

Cayman is the answer. If you have a child, you don't both need four seater cars as they can't ride in both at the same time.
 
Chuckoir said:
Plus, if TVRs are as unreliable as they used to be, I'd be spending the weekends fixing it rather than driving it. Nice idea though. ;)
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They're really not that bad, friend had a Chimera and it spent (a lot!) less time in the garage than his 911, had nothing but basic maintenance needed in the six years he had it.

Then again, the most reliable car I ever had was an Alfa, so you can never tell, really. :D
 
Chuckoir said:
I'm looking for something a bit more "interesting" as my daily hack, and the lure of a V8 is quite strong.

But then the wife reminded me we have a child and getting a car seat in a 2 seater isn't ideal, and I'd need somewhere to stick my golf clubs.

Cheers.
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I'll just leave this here for you to peruse. ;)
 
nilagin said:
I'll just leave this here for you to peruse. ;)
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Thanks, we rented one in the states a couple of years ago and loved it. Alas, it's out of reach. Or I could save for a little longer... :D
 
Chuckoir said:
Unfortunately my wife needs a car, so can't really justify a third.
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So what have you got currently, what's your budget


Chuckoir said:
Plus, if TVRs are as unreliable as they used to be, I'd be spending the weekends fixing it rather than driving it. Nice idea though. ;)
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LOL, not reliable, they are very reliable. They are like any other car, if you don't look after them. They are possibly more reliable as they are simple beasts. Good weekend car although I know some who use them as daily drives, though generally you have a family car as well. Quite a lot of them have just come back from a long weekend to Spa Classic, we regularly take ours abroad on long trips.

onomatopoeia said:
Hasn't been a TVR made in over a decade, so the whole lot of them are "as they used to be" at this point ;)
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There's a new one coming next year (£90K though). Think smaller, faster, Jaguar F type, carbon tub, 550bhp, front wing exiting exhausts, flat underside, ground effect, Gordon Murrey designed, Cosworth powered...
Plus the "as they used to be" is generally [PLEASE DON'T TRY TO BYPASS THE SWEAR FILTER] from someone who doesn't know. Generally they are owned by enthusiasts so are in incredible condition, very well looked after, usually better than they left the factory, but buy on condition. For the money you won't get faster, more fun, a better owners club, support.

Mustang would be my shout as well if you fancy something new or new-ish, or perhaps consider the ecoboost model.
If you haven't much money how about the Vauxhall Monaro

Really depends on budget but also consider:
Mercedes C63 - cheap secondhand for a lot of car
4.2 V8 landrovers are cheap. Keep money back for the repairs
Same for Maseratti models :D
Jaguar XFR v8 supercharged - now there's a family saloon to surprise people..
Jaguar XKR - not much room in the back though
 
For me the S/A5 is neither one thing or t'other - the back seats are tiny and not very comfy for two small adults. May as well get a Cayman, better car and people won't think you're an idiot.


Mustang is a good shout too, I just road tripped the USA West Coast in a convertible and it was fantastic.
 
Byker28i said:
Jaguar XFR v8 supercharged - now there's a family saloon to surprise people..
Jaguar XKR - not much room in the back though
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Good luck finding an XF-R... BUT, if you do manage it, there's plenty of space in the boot for a Motocaddy electric trolley and a full set of clubs without needing to drop the rear seats! (Pretty sure the boot space is the same in the R as in mine.)
Not much room in the back of an XK8 roadster BUT I can fit in there as long as it's not a long journey (over 2 miles!!!) You won't need the R version - all of them are V8s and even the earliest 4 litre models had to have a speed limiter fitted to keep the top speed to 155MPH. Should be quick enough! Not much of a V8 burble with standard pipes though.
 
Nawty said:
For me the S/A5 is neither one thing or t'other - the back seats are tiny and not very comfy for two small adults. May as well get a Cayman, better car and people won't think you're an idiot.


Mustang is a good shout too, I just road tripped the USA West Coast in a convertible and it was fantastic.
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We too toured California in one last year. Not tried one over here to see how it works in the UK but it was a very capable car there
 
Im just gonna leave this here and say 4 doors and a V8 mustang engine :whistle:
ZT260V81.jpg
 
stupar said:
Im just gonna leave this here and say 4 doors and a V8 mustang engine :whistle:
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As long as any of the totally-unique-to-that-car-and-no-longer-made (a couple of which were never actually even made as spares in the first place!) parts don't break. ;)

I've driven a couple of those, and they're an absolute hoot. Just about quick enough to be fun and a very 'old school' kind of power delivery that you just don't get any more. Well, one of the two I drove was a bit more than 'just about quick enough' as it had a honking great supercharger fitted and quite a few more horses under the bonnet than standard. Would I buy one? God no, I'm not that mad, but if I ever do completely lose my senses, I'd get one of the even rarer Mk1 shape ones.

Well, at least it's more sensible than an SV. :D
 
stupar said:
Would have one in a heartbeat and the examples that are still out there unmolested make for a cheap v8
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Yeah but s***e Brown!

Have you driven one? Quite disappointing really.
It's got the old mustang engine, an olde lump that was 4.6 litres to produce 260bhp and approx 300 ft/lbs torque (how do the yanks produce so little for so much capacity?), although with the 5 speed manual box is industrial, heavy. The styling is awful.
Good points were the brakes, decent size AP calipers with good stopping power, handy when the thing was around 1700kg. Around 6.5 secs 0-60, which bearing in mind it looks like Grandads rover 75 could catch some out at the lights.

But no, honestly, no...

Just to put that into perspective (and I don't generally like vauxhalls) the Monaro has 380bhp, around the same ft/lbs of torque, 0-60 in around 5.5 secs and a lot more styling and street cred. Downside is it's huge or thats a bonus if taking 4 people.
 
V8 BMW M5? Just have the stigma of a BMW driver, but the car is a great drive

Wins on the BHP with around 560, great chassis (just book a ride in a Nürburgring taxi)
 
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Byker28i said:
Yeah but s***e Brown!

Have you driven one? Quite disappointing really.
It's got the old mustang engine, an olde lump that was 4.6 litres to produce 260bhp and approx 300 ft/lbs torque (how do the yanks produce so little for so much capacity?), although with the 5 speed manual box is industrial, heavy. The styling is awful.
Good points were the brakes, decent size AP calipers with good stopping power, handy when the thing was around 1700kg. Around 6.5 secs 0-60, which bearing in mind it looks like Grandads rover 75 could catch some out at the lights.

But no, honestly, no...

Just to put that into perspective (and I don't generally like vauxhalls) the Monaro has 380bhp, around the same ft/lbs of torque, 0-60 in around 5.5 secs and a lot more styling and street cred. Downside is it's huge or thats a bonus if taking 4 people.
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Styling is a subjective matter when it comes to cars and it would be boring of we all liked the same thing and v8 performance doesnt always have to be about anything on the plus side of 300bhp.

Id happily have one with a an aftermarket exhaust just for the burble.
Id also have an SD1 or a P6 V8 and they have even less power but sound amazing.
 
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stupar said:
Styling is a subjective matter when it comes to cars and it would be boring of we all liked the same thing and v8 performance doesn't always have to be about anything on the plus side of 300bhp.

Id happily have one with a an aftermarket exhaust just for the burble.
Id also have an SD1 or a P6 V8 and they have even less power but sound amazing.
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The thing is OP asked for something 'interesting' then listed performance cars. So whilst you're right, cars are very personal taste (hence my 20 year old TVR) , somehow I don't think this fits into the same interest category of cars that were originally listed.

And China - as Nanjing Automobile bought MG rover and now produce something derived from it called the MG7

If you do ever get a MG ZT, there's an active owners club who help source spares
 
Byker28i said:
The thing is OP asked for something 'interesting' then listed performance cars. So whilst you're right, cars are very personal taste (hence my 20 year old TVR) , somehow I don't think this fits into the same interest category of cars that were originally listed.

And China - as Nanjing Automobile bought MG rover and now produce something derived from it called the MG7

If you do ever get a MG ZT, there's an active owners club who help source spares
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And when i linked to the MG ZT v8 i also put a whistle emoji on the end as a reference to tongue in cheek knowing thst the OP would never go for an MG.

Anyway OP sorry for the thread derail
 
Chuckoir said:
But then the wife reminded me we have a child and getting a car seat in a 2 seater isn't ideal, and I'd need somewhere to stick my golf clubs.

Cheers.
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This is kind of the situation I'm facing also. There's hardly any opportunity to enjoy the performance of my BMW anymore. I was going to change to the 330e but I'll still face the restricted practicality of it and I've also noticed that the bik rates are increasing rather fast.

The wife wants big and comfy so I may just take the big cash benefit instead and buy a used suv and relax on the roads and enjoy the extra income. Quite fancied a Range Rover but I know it will be a money pit. Just wish they were more reliable.
 
Erm no, Richard Woolley designed the 75 car, who was an rover employee for sometime. BMW just released the funds and the electronics. As it was designed to be a high end car, they robbed the BMW parts bin for electronics, sound, sat nav etc.
Prodrive developed the mg zt 260 v8. Again BMW had no input other than write the checks.
 
Byker28i said:
Erm no, Richard Woolley designed the 75 car, who was an rover employee for sometime. BMW just released the funds and the electronics. As it was designed to be a high end car, they robbed the BMW parts bin for electronics, sound, sat nav etc.
Prodrive developed the mg zt 260 v8. Again BMW had no input other than write the checks.
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Yes Richard did design it but it still had to be signed of by BMW which means they have endorse the design - a little bit more than just write cheques as you so put it.
Screenshot_2017-05-27-20-39-26-01.jpeg
Anyway back to the OP and apologies again for the derail.
 
Lot to be thinking about here, so thanks for your input/opinions, folks - but I'll start at the top...
Byker28i said:
So what have you got currently, what's your budget
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Missus has a Q5, which she uses primarily and is the 'family car' - I currently drive a 7 year old Renault Megane. Budget is 15k tops if I'm buying now, could be 20k in 6 months time.

Nod said:
Some XKs have ISOfix points in the back. X100 models' prices seem to have bounced up from rock bottom a couple of years ago. Only 18-22 MPG could be a problem for a daily driver.
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I hadn't considered a Jag, if I'm honest, but I have always liked the look of the XK. Although it does seem tighter in the back than the A5. I'll keep an eye on them though, and to be honest MPG isn't much of an issue as I'm aware I'm not going to be hitting 50mpg in a V8. I'm not buying it for it's economic properties. ;)

onomatopoeia said:
Hasn't been a TVR made in over a decade, so the whole lot of them are "as they used to be" at this point ;)

Cayman is the answer. If you have a child, you don't both need four seater cars as they can't ride in both at the same time.
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Correct the kid can't ride in both cars, however, I have to do the nursery run every now and again - so I'd rather fit the little un's seat in the back of "four seater" (even if that means climbing in the back), than figure out how I'd get it in the front of a Porsche - I can't imagine the missus would agree to it either. Plus if we pop out another sprogg... 3 into 2 seats definitely doesn't go.

Nawty said:
For me the S/A5 is neither one thing or t'other - the back seats are tiny and not very comfy for two small adults. May as well get a Cayman, better car and people won't think you're an idiot.
Mustang is a good shout too, I just road tripped the USA West Coast in a convertible and it was fantastic.
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See above. Not sure why people would think I'm an idiot though? (If it's the Audi "stigma", I'm already waaaaay beyond caring in that regard). We hired a Mustang convertible in the states a couple of years ago (new model), and I agree, it is fantastic. Unfortunately it's about 2x my budget at present.

stupar said:
Im just gonna leave this here and say 4 doors and a V8 mustang engine :whistle:
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Thanks, but I'll pass... not sure if you're serious or not... ;)


The other option would be to just forget the S5 altogether, and get the V8 S4 (B7) instead... slightly more practical... :D Think I'm just going to have to pay a couple of local S5s a visit and go from there.


EDIT - I should just add, I'm actually a bit of an "Audi Whore", so I guess I'm after alternatives because I can't see anything with these Audi tinted specs on. :p

Second EDIT - it doesn't have to be a V8 - as long as it was sub 6 seconds performance...
 
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Chuckoir said:
Lot to be thinking about here, so thanks for your input/opinions, folks - but I'll start at the top...


Missus has a Q5, which she uses primarily and is the 'family car' - I currently drive a 7 year old Renault Megane. Budget is 15k tops if I'm buying now, could be 20k in 6 months time.



I hadn't considered a Jag, if I'm honest, but I have always liked the look of the XK. Although it does seem tighter in the back than the A5. I'll keep an eye on them though, and to be honest MPG isn't much of an issue as I'm aware I'm not going to be hitting 50mpg in a V8. I'm not buying it for it's economic properties. ;)



Correct the kid can't ride in both cars, however, I have to do the nursery run every now and again - so I'd rather fit the little un's seat in the back of "four seater" (even if that means climbing in the back), than figure out how I'd get it in the front of a Porsche - I can't imagine the missus would agree to it either. Plus if we pop out another sprogg... 3 into 2 seats definitely doesn't go.



See above. Not sure why people would think I'm an idiot though? (If it's the Audi "stigma", I'm already waaaaay beyond caring in that regard). We hired a Mustang convertible in the states a couple of years ago (new model), and I agree, it is fantastic. Unfortunately it's about 2x my budget at present.


Thanks, but I'll pass... not sure if you're serious or not... ;)


The other option would be to just forget the S5 altogether, and get the V8 S4 (B7) instead... slightly more practical... :D Think I'm just going to have to pay a couple of local S5s a visit and go from there.


EDIT - I should just add, I'm actually a bit of an "Audi Whore", so I guess I'm after alternatives because I can't see anything with these Audi tinted specs on. :p

Second EDIT - it does have to be a V8 - as long as it was sub 6 seconds performance...
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My niece has an RS5. It's nuts :)
 
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