G70 vs Audi S5

[joschneider]

There are some tricks to the G70 LC: Holding it longer does seem to build more boost than just letting go the moment you see the message, manual shifting at certain RPMs to keep you in peak power....I myself have noticed that I seem to launch much harder on the second go, the first one is always softer feeling. But there are always differences between cars, and something so close as a tenth of a second could come down to manufacturing tolerances is my guess

 

[Slip_Angle]

I think the Audi's just have a superior launch. @Beefer was able to figure out how to launch just right to challenge but under normal circumstances they are quicker off the line. The G70 is quicker on the roll at any speed.

 

[Julius88]

Now go get yourself a JB4 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm tempted to do this and not tell my friend just to see the look on his face lol. These launch times aren't that big a deal to me but my buddy was pretty proud that his S5 was quicker, so if I could run away from his S5 it would be hilarious. Especially since I can't make fun of his S5's green color anymore since I'm secretly loving it now.

 

[Slip_Angle]

Curious, were you catching him as the run went on? Also, what were your fuel levels?

 

[Julius88]

Curious, were you catching him as the run went on? Also, what were your fuel levels?

Can't really say...we didn't have a lot of extra runway so we pretty much let up after hitting 60. As far as fuel, if I recall correctly, I think I was near full and maybe he was at half? In hindsight, I'd like to do it again and be a bit more scientific about it. We were just hanging out and having fun.

 

[PJ Genesis]

How are they not in the same league?

I've owned three Audis, and while a great car, Genesis is not up to Audi's level of performance, interior finish and dealer experience. Julius88's review had the S5 ahead in many areas. Aggressive pricing helps Genesis stay competitive, but it isn't yet an Audi or BMW (owned 3 of those too) alternative. This takes nothing away from Genesis. Very happy with the car and if I wanted to spend Audi money, I would have bought an Audi.

 

[sethsquire]

Haven't driven any modern Audi's but will definitely be getting in some test drives when my lease is closer to being up. One huge pet peeve of mine with Audi's - and I know this is stupid - but in order to get ventilated seats in the S models they force you to get black seats!!! Wtf? Why would they force you into the hottest interior color if you want ventilated seats?!

Honestly, though, I don't think ventilated seats are effective enough to consider them a must-have feature. They're nice, but when I really want air on my back is when I get into a hot car, and it takes a few minutes before the ambient air is actually cool enough to feel through the vented seats.

Oddly, I rented a mustang gt in Florida earlier in the year and I thought those vented seats were actually more effective...

 

[Slip_Angle]

I've owned three Audis, and while a great car, Genesis is not up to Audi's level of performance, interior finish and dealer experience. Julius88's review had the S5 ahead in many areas. Aggressive pricing helps Genesis stay competitive, but it isn't yet an Audi or BMW (owned 3 of those too) alternative. This takes nothing away from Genesis. Very happy with the car and if I wanted to spend Audi money, I would have bought an Audi.

Fair, although I have a different experience. The G70 is quicker after launch, and handles better. My dealership experience is 10/10 and other than the virtual dash, the S4 didn't feel that special to me.

All good though!

 

[Julius88]

I've owned three Audis, and while a great car, Genesis is not up to Audi's level of performance, interior finish and dealer experience. Julius88's review had the S5 ahead in many areas. Aggressive pricing helps Genesis stay competitive, but it isn't yet an Audi or BMW (owned 3 of those too) alternative. This takes nothing away from Genesis. Very happy with the car and if I wanted to spend Audi money, I would have bought an Audi.

Like you, I've also come to Genesis from Audi. I was an exclusive Audi customer for 14 years starting with a 2006 A5, 2008 S5, 2014 S5 plus my wife's 2017 SQ5. Last year I was almost certainly going to purchase a 2019 S5 until my brother happened to mention if I'd heard of this new car called a G70 that won Car of the Year. While it's true that in my very unscientific and subjective comparo I had the S5 edging out the G70 in a lot of areas, I still think it was pretty close. Performance-wise, I actually think G70 wins because even if you assume the S5 is quicker, it's not by much, and just my opinion, but I think (and my buddy agreed) the G70's handling is far superior. Interior finish I'd give to the Audi, but it wasn't a landslide. I have the G70 3.3T Sport trim and I think the interior finish is top-notch. A lot of people have commented on how nice it is, especially with the leather diamond quilt stitching. Again, just my opinion, but I think it stacks up pretty well compared to my previous Audis. However, I will agree with you on the dealer experience. My Audi dealer was fantastic and treated me really well (though I will say I'm disappointed that after purchasing 4 cars from them, they didn't really fight very hard to keep my business). Unlike others on this forum, my Genesis dealer is actually really good, but they're still by and large a Hyundai dealer that offers a Hyundai-level type of experience. This isn't a huge deal to me since ideally I don't want to spend a lot of time with the dealer but it would be nice if Genesis could up their game in this regard, especially if they want to compete with the Germans and Lexus.

 

[Beefer]

I've owned three Audis, and while a great car, Genesis is not up to Audi's level of performance, interior finish and dealer experience. Julius88's review had the S5 ahead in many areas. Aggressive pricing helps Genesis stay competitive, but it isn't yet an Audi or BMW (owned 3 of those too) alternative. This takes nothing away from Genesis. Very happy with the car and if I wanted to spend Audi money, I would have bought an Audi.

Completely disagree. I too was a hardcore Audi guy...I’ve owned about 8...and a few BMW’s.

Other than the dealership experience and high end tech...Genesis is the winner. It’s the small details as well.

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[Aquineas]

Funny, my best friend has an Audi S5 as well, though his is an older V8 model. I haven't seen him since I bought my G70 (Corovid and all). He seemed incredulous when I told him my G70 was the best-handling car I've ever driven (I've driven his car). And my car came with the Michelin Primacy Tour A/S tires. I can't imagine it with stickier rubber.

 

[Slip_Angle]

Funny, my best friend has an Audi S5 as well, though his is an older V8 model. I haven't seen him since I bought my G70 (Corovid and all). He seemed incredulous when I told him my G70 was the best-handling car I've ever driven (I've driven his car).

That V8 sounds so good! People have a hard time believing another car can challenge the established German's but the reality is that Hyundai/Kia/Genesis did it the right way. Hire the people from them and blend the attributes of all 3 and sell it cheaper!

 

[LandOfConfusion]

Like you, I've also come to Genesis from Audi. I was an exclusive Audi customer for 14 years starting with a 2006 A5, 2008 S5, 2014 S5 plus my wife's 2017 SQ5. Last year I was almost certainly going to purchase a 2019 S5 until my brother happened to mention if I'd heard of this new car called a G70 that won Car of the Year. While it's true that in my very unscientific and subjective comparo I had the S5 edging out the G70 in a lot of areas, I still think it was pretty close. Performance-wise, I actually think G70 wins because even if you assume the S5 is quicker, it's not by much, and just my opinion, but I think (and my buddy agreed) the G70's handling is far superior. Interior finish I'd give to the Audi, but it wasn't a landslide. I have the G70 3.3T Sport trim and I think the interior finish is top-notch. A lot of people have commented on how nice it is, especially with the leather diamond quilt stitching. Again, just my opinion, but I think it stacks up pretty well compared to my previous Audis. However, I will agree with you on the dealer experience. My Audi dealer was fantastic and treated me really well (though I will say I'm disappointed that after purchasing 4 cars from them, they didn't really fight very hard to keep my business). Unlike others on this forum, my Genesis dealer is actually really good, but they're still by and large a Hyundai dealer that offers a Hyundai-level type of experience. This isn't a huge deal to me since ideally I don't want to spend a lot of time with the dealer but it would be nice if Genesis could up their game in this regard, especially if they want to compete with the Germans and Lexus.

Having compared Audi and Genesis in my own shopping, this was my experience as well (with the primary difference that I hadn't owned an Audi previously). I loved most everything about the Audi A4/S4/A5/S5, but the handling isn't great and, with the V6 engines, the ZF 8AT isn't tuned better than the AT in the Genesis. Dealer experience, I suspect, would be much better at Audi but, again, I haven't owned an Audi and my own Genesis dealership isn't nearly as bad as others I've heard about.

Edit: I shouldn't have said the Audi's handling isn't great; perhaps that was a little strong. It really is good, but I'd give the edge to the Genesis simply because of availability of RWD and the fact that the AWD seems more rear-biased than the Audi. Audi is much improved over prior, FWD-based systems, but still sends a little too much power to the front wheels, IMO.

 

[Julius88]

That V8 sounds so good! People have a hard time believing another car can challenge the established German's but the reality is that Hyundai/Kia/Genesis did it the right way. Hire the people from them and blend the attributes of all 3 and sell it cheaper!

When I traded in my 2008 S5 for the 2014 S5, I really missed the V8. The 2014 S5 was by all accounts a superior car - the supercharged V6 had great torque and was so responsive, and even for a heavy car I remember it handling really well. But boy did I miss that V8 rumble.

 

[Julius88]

Edit: I shouldn't have said the Audi's handling isn't great; perhaps that was a little strong. It really is good, but I'd give the edge to the Genesis simply because of availability of RWD and the fact that the AWD seems more rear-biased than the Audi. Audi is much improved over prior, FWD-based systems, but still sends a little too much power to the front wheels, IMO.

I will actually go ahead and agree with your initial statement. In my opinion, the Audi S5's handling isn't great - at least now that I'm used to the exceptional handling of the G70. My buddy's S5 even had the torque vectoring setup that Audi uses to help push the car around corners, and I still felt like understeer was noticeable. Most noticeable of all though was that it just felt numb and there was no "feel". Even my buddy agreed after driving my G70 for awhile. I'm probably being overly harsh, but it almost reminded me of this boat of a cadillac my dad had back in the 90s. It's not good when a $70K car recalls memories of that (though admittedly it wasn't anywhere near as bad as my dad's caddy).

 

[CVODON]

Hard to understand what your motive was here. You are comparing apples and oranges. 15 to 20 thousand dollars difference in prices do not compare. This would be similar to comparing a new C8 Corvette with a G70 Sport. Same basic difference in price.... Cars are not similar at all, but neither are any two vehicles that have that much difference in cost.

 

[Slip_Angle]

Hard to understand what your motive was here. You are comparing apples and oranges. 15 to 20 thousand dollars difference in prices do not compare. This would be similar to comparing a new C8 Corvette with a G70 Sport. Same basic difference in price.... Cars are not similar at all, but neither are any two vehicles that have that much difference in cost.

Well, they are absolutely in the same class. Like the M340i and C43 you will pay a lot more but that's part of the value proposition of the G70.

 

[LandOfConfusion]

Hard to understand what your motive was here. You are comparing apples and oranges. 15 to 20 thousand dollars difference in prices do not compare. This would be similar to comparing a new C8 Corvette with a G70 Sport. Same basic difference in price.... Cars are not similar at all, but neither are any two vehicles that have that much difference in cost.

I'd respectfully disagree that the G70 and Audi are not similar at all, or that a price disparity that large keeps two vehicles from being comparable. If comparisons were only appropriate based upon price, then I'd need to compare my 2.0t G70 to the Toyota Rav4 and Hyundai Kona Electric, among other vehicles.

Besides, I think Genesis made it pretty clear, through its marketing materials and advertising placements, that it was targeting prospective buyers of thes BMW 3 Series, Audi A4/S4, and Mercedes C Class. One dealership's (Genesis of Aurora) ad copy:

New Genesis Sedans, See Where They Stand
Our inventory of new Genesis sedans contains some familiar faces as well as a new arrival in the new Genesis G70. This sporty midsize luxury sedan has been the talk of the town from Chicago to Aurora but is available here and now for your purchasing or leasing pleasure in North Aurora, IL. In each of these comparisons, we take a look at how each Genesis luxury model, including the new G80 and G90, stack up against their top luxury competition; we evaluate them against the top models from other brands like Audi, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW. In each of these comparisons, we found that the Genesis stands out among all of them, especially in the realm of safety and viability as a family car. Luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, or BMW tend to be lacking in crash protection or even the full range of driver-assistive features they provide to help guide you through the streets of Naperville. Models such as the G90 and the new G70 sedan tend to also provide more luxurious features for considerably less, making them more affordable and valuable over the long-term over their mainstream luxury counterparts.

 

[Julius88]

Hard to understand what your motive was here. You are comparing apples and oranges. 15 to 20 thousand dollars difference in prices do not compare. This would be similar to comparing a new C8 Corvette with a G70 Sport. Same basic difference in price.... Cars are not similar at all, but neither are any two vehicles that have that much difference in cost.

As others have stated, I don't think it's an apples to oranges comparison. I think I'm comparing one apple that's really expensive to another apple that has some differences but is arguably just as good, and a whole lot cheaper. I think it's pretty clear that Genesis (at least with the G70 3.3T) is targeting potential buyers of high-end luxury performance sedans - specifically, that means BMW M340i, MB AMG C43, Audi S4/S5 SB, and whatever Lexus has (I'm not familiar with Lexus' lineup). As for my motive, simply to share information with readers of this forum that, like me, was/is comparing the G70 with other potential sedans to make an informed buying decision. Peace y'all...

 

[PJ Genesis]

This is a great thread!! Let me put my opinion of the Genesis in perspective. We fell in love with a 2019 G70 2.0T AWD Sport, MSRP was $48k. The discount was incredible and it was exactly what we needed. It shares the driveway with a 911, Macan, Grand Cherokee Hemi, VW Jetta GLI and a Lexus IS300. The G70 interior is a knockout. Leather quality is better than the Macan and 911. The red stitching in the G70 would probably cost 10k in a Porsche. I can't find any fit and finish faults and the paint quality is beautiful. It is very fun to drive, and I have no issue with the power of the 2.0T. It downshifts and goes. A bit of lag, but I don't really notice it. I commute 100 miles a day with this car a few days a week. It holds its own with its' stablemates. If the dealer experience would improve, a bit more engine and handling refinement, they would start to be competitive with Audi.
Cheers.[/QUOTE]