E220 cabriolet v A5 cabriolet

[Tinck]

I've been looking around at cars for a while now, I have a pcp coming to an end, and just can't decide what to have next. What appears to be great value at the moment is the new E class convertible and also the new face lifted A5 convertible. So tempting in fact, I am thinking of buying my c class, and trading in my wife's A3 for one of these. For her of course!!!

The e220 sport is matching within a pound per month of the A5 2.0 s line.

Anyone any experience of both or general comments ? Both look superb, both are a similar price, and both have equal power etc. After having 3 years with each manufacturer and both dealers being equally impressive, it's an interesting one. One negative for me is the familiarity of the e class controls and interior, it's superb, but with roof up it will be I'm the c class. After driving the a5 with multi tronic, it was just slightly smoother than the e, but marginal, but the Merc does have that something, the Audi doesn't.

Great problem to have, but any experience out there. ,!!

 

[HumberMart]

I have driven the Merc but not the A5. However Whatcar give the Audi only 2 stars against 4 for the Merc.

That must count for something.

The E will certainly ride and handle a lot better.

 

[Tinck]

Thanks for the comments, loads of website say different things on each car and nothing is clear.

Ride seems to be more fidgety on the a5, but they have removed the proper s-line suspension by the looks and just riding on Sport, which I drove today and was nice. What surprised me was the auto box, which was like silk.


Any more takers before I watch match of the day.! :bannana:

 

[Aswall]

Ok I'll give my two penn'orth, my car immediately prior to the CLS was an A5 cabriolet 2.0T Quattro with the S tronic box. While I didn't actually try an E class cab, I did test drive the E saloon and am a previous owner of a 209 CLK cabriolet so I do have some experience relevant to you.

The A5 was a great handling car, almost to BMW levels of handling, and certainly a country mile ahead of the 212. The E class cab may be a bit better though as its basically a C class in disguise. The caveat here is which A5 though - when mine was being serviced they gave me a diesel front wheel drive one with the CVT gearbox and it was an absolute pig! Probably one of the most unpleasant cars I've driven, and if this had been the car I had first driven, I would not have gone near an A5! The gearbox droned horribly, the engine noise was unpleasant, and the massive under steer almost ran me off the road turning into the road to my village. To my mind for an A5 cab, it has to be petrol, not the CVT box, and has to be four wheel drive, any other version is not the real deal. The Audi interior is a journalistic cliché, it's actually a bit dull and the the quality is no better than BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes etc. the leather is particularly low quality, having the consistency of PVC. The controls are well laid out though, the seats good, the steering reasonably precise, and the ergonomics of the controls/nav/audio are better than the BMW, and significantly ahead of those in my CLS. The access to the rear seats is definitely worse than in my CLK or 3 series though, if that's an issue, the B pillar seems to be slightly further forward and the front seats down slide quite far forward enough. Once in, the rear legroom is fine though and comfortably seats leggy women for long journeys

Comfort is a different matter though, I think the E cab will be a bit softer, the 212 I drove certainly was. Coming from a 335i on 19" run flats it was good enough for me, though living in a very bumpy area now, I decided to go for something squashy and comfy this time around, hence the non sport CLS on std 18". To me, the A5 cab was almost my perfect car, 4 wheel drive and heated seats for the winter, a soft top and air con for the summer It even had some practicality with its folding rear seats (though I'm not sure how much of it was standard, I did tick quite a few options). Stick the engine from my 335i in it and I would be a very happy man!

It's 7 years since I got rid of my CLK cab and the gulf between it and the A5 shows just how far soft top development has come - the CLK having horrendous scuttle shake, so bad that it often felt like it had a hinge in the middle, and the inconvenience of having to stop and put it in Park to raise or lower the hood - the Audi feeling almost as tight as the coupė and able to raise or lower it's hood while driving at up to 30 mph, whilst having much less wind noise with the roof up or down. I would definitely consider another A5 cab in the future. In fact it's probably the only Audi I would consider.

So no direct experience of the E cab, but at least an owners opinion of the Audi.

HTH
Andy

 

[Aswall]

Incidentally, in 2 yrs no problems at all with the Audi, which is more than can be said for any of my previous Mercs (present car excepted)!

 

[Tinck]

I didn't click that it was a cvt box, but of course it was. It was a super quick test drive, and I will need another. I know what you mean on the Audi interior, our A3 looked tired very quickly, and I think Merc leather just seems to look good and last well, even the artico leather substitute, isn't too nasty.

As I've been thinking through the evening, I am more angled towards the Mercedes, but then again, I used to be undecisive, but now I aren't so sure!!

 

[Sooty_uk]

I am a MASSIVE Audi fan have owned a fair few in the past.

However I don't think the A5 comes close to the E-Class.
Remember that the A5 is the cabriolet version of the A4 and took over as the A4 no longer comes in a convertible.
The E-Class is in the same class as the A6 where the A5 (A4) is same class as the C-Class.

My brother in law has just got a lovely A7 coupé (A6 coupé) and I would say I would have it over the E-Class however it does not come in a cabriolet version.


In your case I would stick to the E220 they look amazing too!

 

[steve333]

I'm not an Audi fan so E220 all day

 

[Dr-Nab]

The E-Class is in the same class as the A6 where the A5 (A4) is same class as the C-Class.

That's all in the mind though, technologically the E-Cabrio is still based on a large percent of the C-Class chassis/underpinnings.

But having tested an A5 and E-cab prior to buying my E-cab, I thought the interior on the A5 was a bit dull but very well made and the car itself (3.0TDI Quattro S-Line) was quite wallowy and not sharp enough so went for the E-cab.

 

[Tinck]

Guys thanks for your comments. Dr Nab, your car looks awesome!!. Will try and get a test drive in the e today, but I am expecting it to be just as good as my c class.

 

[harrim00]

Ok, I've just sold my S4 cab, bought the other half an A3 cab and I have a brand new E220 sport edition 125. I looked at the A5 but could not find a deal even close the the e class. This was mainly due to the fact that if I got an A5 it would have to be Quattro. Two wheel drive Audi's are not great. The A3 is ok to drive but not electrifying. E class was fine being rear drive. Audi's diesel is noisier than Merc's. But the main thing is that I disagree with previous posts in this thread. The Audi interior and the functionality of everything is far superior to the Merc. Don't get me wrong the E class is very nice but just not as good.

For me, if you can get a Quattro A5 in your budget, that's the car, if not, go for the E class. Both very nice cars and both you can put the roof down while moving.