M340i vs S5 vs 530D vs GLC43: Brought home an Audi S5!

The logical choice was 530d but the S5 was more appealing in terms of the looks and the exhaust. With a fat discount further exemplified by BH registration, the price concern was nullified to some extent.

BHPian animeshc recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So the question has been answered, here's what transpired:

• The waiting period for M340i continues to be indefinite and the dates I heard from the SA changed from Dec to End Jan to sometime in May. I finally ended up giving up on the car.

• Finally got a chance to test drive the GLC43 and while the exhaust was astonishing along with the acceleration, the slightly outdated interiors didn't feel like doing justice to the price premium. Also there were no substantial discounts.

• I floated the idea of a 2 seater which was unanimously shot down by the family .

• The choice then boiled down to 530d vs the S5 (which was more of a dark horse at the point given the multiple concerns voiced on this thread around its reliability). The logical choice was 530d but the S5 was more appealing in terms of the looks and the exhaust. With a fat discount further exemplified by BH registration, the price concern was nullified to some extent. We finally took the plunge at the risk of some reliability issues. As @androdev had aptly put that if we considered all practical aspects, maybe we won't get a car that appeals to the heart. (Anyone who knows me or probably has read through some of my travelogues will know that practicality isn't exactly my forte). So here it is, the shiny new S5, fondly referred to as Lucifer for its red devilish looks.

The Thank you speech, this one is straight from the heart!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your inputs here (and a bunch of you who took the time out to chat offline) and guiding me in this process. Special thanks to ashish22@ whose ownership experience of S5 helped me finalize the decision and to Androdev, Dieselite, GTO, Turbanator whom I bugged multiple times offline. Last but not the least, thanks to Rodmart@ who is a dear friend and has been part of this almost 2 year long journey from inception to the purchase and has accompanied me on multiple TDs and multi-hour discussions, I hope this inspires him to begin the quest for his new ride too.

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