Hello everyone! I've been lurking in this forum for some time and found it very helpful. Since I'm considering an S5 for my next car I decided to register and participate :)
I have a question I'm hoping some of you lucky S5 owners will be able to answer, since I can't seem to find this information on Audi's website, namely the ground clearance of the car. This is an issue for me since I'm considering the S5 (or A5 with S-line) as my daily driver and the driveways and curbs in my city are quite high.

Given you have lowered your S5, what is the clearance of the lowest portion of your front end? Thanks in advance.

I find it to be a little lower than I would like it, with a few inches of snow I can hear it scraping on the undercarriage. Also when I park in large lots if I'm on the end of the row the side skirt could easily scrape a curb. Take caution when parking, I wish the passenger mirror would tilt down when reverse was engaged but the camera helps a lot.

The approach angle seems to be pretty good, I have yet to touch my nose on anything but whatever you do, do not pull into parking spaces anymore than you have to. It will scrape and you'll kick yourself for a long time. Reasons I dont let people borrow this car, and probably the reason I will convince myself not to lower the car.

I would guess the clearance is about 5"- 6" stock. I think a road and track from a couple months ago listed 5.3" but that may not be it.

If your daily driving is mostly highway I would opt for the A5. Unless of course this is something you want to splurge on for great weekend jaunts to go anywhere quickly. Small gas tank mated to bad mpg is the pitfall of the S5... Its geared way too high for me. I can cruise at 24 mph in sixth at 1000rpm.

You just need to have the mirror control knob in the Right Mirror position.

Thanks for sharing your experience... Truth be told, I'm more inclined towards A5 3.0 TDI with its great mileage and torque, but I prefer the look of the S5, especially the seats.
The problem is that I already have to be pretty careful with my current ride, a 3er sedan, in some garages, curbs on parking spaces in the town center and my driveway, and I thought the S5/A5 looked to be set a bit lower. BMW E90 has 15 cm ground clearance according to the manual (slightly less than 6"). I don't suppose Audi has the exact figure listed somewhere?
Sometimes I think I should just get a smaller SUV like the upcoming Q5 and forget about all these small annoyances :D But the S5/A5 just looks gorgeous.

It just occurred to me that all problems would be solved if Audi offered its air suspension that would lower the car when driving fast or sportily and raise about 1-2" when necessary. A6 has this option if I recall correctly.

But as I said yesterday, it's still difficult for me to trust a camera when I grew up using mirrors and turning my head.

I just wandered out the parking lot with my handy wooden ruler.

The car's lowest points are the guards just forward of each wheel. These are 5" above the ground.

The sides and center-nose of the car have 7" clearance and the sides of the nose have 6".

Thanks, I really appreciate it.

You are right, it would be great on this car but it probably would add about 200 lbs. Its a neat feature on the A8 but I would rather a system like the TT that simply stiffens the suspension.

Whenever I'm home I tend to drive my parents around in their A8 and my mother complains how my driving makes her tense.. I say ' but dynamic mode is fun in your car' she returns with 'put it in mom mode!' her car is amazing on the highway. The seats have more damn adjustments but cannot match those found in the S5.

driveway. I've also scrapped some aggressive speedbumps one or two times. The S5 really drops with springs - maybe a bit too low. I noticed it settled a bit more recently and sits just above the tire now. I'll try to take/post pics soon.

But Im using the 35mm drop springs.