Compare the2025 Audi S5VS 2025 BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe

The S5’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi S5 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the S5 and 4 Series Gran Coupe have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The S5 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The 4 Series Gran Coupe’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the S5. But it costs extra on the 4 Series Gran Coupe.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The S5 has Car-to-X Services, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

Both the S5 and 4 Series Gran Coupe have rear cross-traffic warning, but the S5 has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The 4 Series Gran Coupe’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the S5 and the 4 Series Gran Coupe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than BMW vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 1 place higher in reliability than BMW.

The S5’s 3.0 turbo V6 produces 107 more horsepower (362 vs. 255) and 111 lbs.-ft. more torque (406 vs. 295) than the 430i Gran Coupe’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The S5’s 3.0 turbo V6 produces 8 lbs.-ft. more torque (406 vs. 398) than the M440i Coupe’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid.

The S5 offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the S5’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the 4 Series Gran Coupe:

The S5’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the 4 Series Gran Coupe’s 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the S5 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the 4 Series Gran Coupe.

The S5 has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The S5’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the S5’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the 4 Series Gran Coupe (114 inches vs. 112.4 inches).

The S5 has 1.4 inches more front headroom, 2.1 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, 1.2 inches more rear legroom and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the 4 Series Gran Coupe.

The S5 has a much larger trunk than the 4 Series Gran Coupe with its rear seat up (22.6 vs. 16.6 cubic feet).

The S5’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The S5 Premium Plus/Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To shield the driver’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side window, the S5 has a standard extendable sun visor. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the S5 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The 4 Series Gran Coupe doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The S5 (except Premium) offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the 4 Series Gran Coupe.

The Audi A5/S5/RS 5 outsold the BMW 4 Series by 14% during 2024.