Hello-

First off I'm new to the board, tons of great info on here, glad I found it and I've learned a lot. My local Audi dealer just got an S5 demo! (Danbury, CT) I'll be making an appointment to see it out soon. Looking to check it out before placing an A5 order. I have a few A5 questions here:

1. Anyone out there have a dealer/salesman who is offering discounts? I read somewhere about a ~9% discount. I'd gladly fly to where ever that deal was going on and drive the car back.

2. How much do people think the drive select option would cost and when do you think it would be available? I was sort of thinking that this would be a good option but then again it might just be more moving parts to break/service in the future. Especially for a function that probably wouldn't really be changed that often. Any thoughts?

3. Check this link out (sorry if it is a repost, but I think I've done my due diligence):

http://www.ehrke-partner.de/

It is the second item from the top. Virtual A5 cockpit. Would definitely be cool to check out. Has anyone seen or heard this supplemental CD? If you own it upload it for us! ;)

4. What do people think about Audi navigation in general? I would definitely order this option, but I am just curious how people think it rates compared to other systems.

5. Anyone out there with an A5/S5 got a video camera, or stills camera? Care to cover the car in excruciating detail and post the video for us? (every nook an cranny, all angles, full MMI run-through, demonstration of ALL functions/features, etc...) I think people on this board, myself included, would appreciate it.

Thats all I can think of for now...

I'll give you my opinions:

1 -- I don't know about A5 orders but very very few people are getting anything less than MSRP on the S5. Supply is so low the dealers don't need to mark it down.

2 -- Drive Select might be available by the time they let you place an A5 order. For a guess on cost, you can go the A4 Konfigurator on the audi.de site and convert roughly from euros to U.S. I looked but don't remember, I think it was less than $1k. I would get it for sure if it was offered for my S5 but it wasn't.

4 -- I haven't used the "Audi" navigation but use a TomTom Go in my S4. It is a fantastic GPS but clunky as it plugs into the power and rests on the dash. I ordered the Nav on the S5 since it is built into the dash and will be nice and integrated. Really depends on where you live and how often you drive to unfamiliar destinations. I found a GPS/nav unit to be one of those things that I never wanted but once I had it I find it so useful.

I use the Audi Nav in the A8, which i assume is the same system that is coming in the S5. Its reletively easy to use and untuitive.

Also, in the past i have used the Tom Tom a lot, and found it easier to use, especially with the touch screen. Audi does not offer touch screen. Although, the directions link to the screen between the speedometer and the tachometer right in the middle of your vision, which aids for quick checkups on upcoming directions. It gets easier after frequent use... and you can easily do it while keeping your eyes on the road.. especially if you have decent vision.

Like BBT, i ordered my S5 with nav, because I don't want Nav on my dash... gets in the way while cornering, looks clunky. especially next to my V1 detector.

One thing I like about the TomTom is the Point Of Interest database. If you're traveling and looking for the nearest starbucks or specific restaurant, tap a few letters, find it, and start navigating to it.

Truthfully i don't use it all that often now, but going through busy towns theres lots of little images of hotels places to eat, and my favorite when you go buy an audi dealer thats shown as four rings. i'd have to play around with it and see if it knows the names of the actualy places it shows, or if you can search for specific things like that.