BMW M3 G80 vs Audi RS5 B9
“The M3 is a sports car that happens to have four doors; the RS5 is a grand tourer that happens to be very fast.
The G80 M3 wins nearly every head-to-head that involves a stopwatch or a corner. carwow's drag strip had it 11.6 to the Audi's 11.9 over the quarter mile, Throttle House found it 'wild in comparison', and its chassis feels 'more agile in the corners and more trustworthy' — more fun at the limit, and (as Zygrene puts it) the rear-drive G80 is the one to get if you want playful.
The RS5 answers with composure. Redline Reviews calls it 'the more comfortable and more practical option' with none of the M3's 'back-breaking ride', Throttle House says the BMW's stiffness 'just never settled' next to it, and the B9 Sportback's hatch makes it the easier car to load up. Its 2.9 twin-turbo V6 and quattro keep it close in a straight line — Redline pegs it about as quick to 60 as an M3 Competition xDrive.
Choose the M3 if the drive is the point; choose the RS5 if the journey is.
you want the sharper car — the more agile, more trustworthy chassis that wins the drag strip and the lap — and you'll live with a stiff ride to get it.
you want serious pace without the punishment — a settled, comfortable ride, a practical hatch and all-weather quattro traction — and you're fine with it being 'not as fun as a BMW at the limit'.
How much of your driving is on a good road? The M3 wins every time the road turns or the lights go green; the RS5 wins the miles in between.
Performance is close to consensus for the M3, with two dissents: Redline Reviews rates the RS5 Competition about as quick to 60 as an M3 Competition xDrive, and Andrei Verestiuc's snow test had the Audi ahead. One caveat on the Audi column: Audi's new plug-in hybrid RS5 is filed under the same RS5 entry here, and it's a different, much heavier car — carwow measured it roughly 600 kg heavier than the M3 and found the BMW more agile, and Automoto put its boot at 361 L against the BMW's 500 L. Most of the comfort and practicality verdicts above are about the lighter B9 Sportback.
Performance
“The BMW is wild in comparison it feels much quicker”
“That Audi weighs 2,355 kg. This is 1,780 kg. It's like 600 kilos difference. And the power that the Audi has, the advantage in power from the hybrid system isn't enough to make up for it.”
Handling
Fun to drive
Daily drivability
“the BMW is going to be quicker, but the Audi is the more comfortable and more practical option. ... you don't have to deal with that back-breaking ride that you get with the Beamer.”
“you do get more practicality with it having that hatchback design”
Value
“if you're expecting like a luxury car interior that's not this this feels more something like a $45,000 car would be in this modern era”
“if you guys comparably add, you know, the options to an M3 competition xDrive that matches this car in terms of equipment, the BMW is just under $100,000. So it's about five grand more. ... it kind of makes the Audi a little bit of a bargain.”
