5892-7215 miles



Winter continues for us here on the East Coast. Since making our drive to the Detroit Auto Show last month, we haven’t encountered conditions anywhere near as bad as those in Ohio and Michigan. Still, the S5’s quattro all-wheel drive and added traction of our car’s Dunlop Winter Sport 3D snow tires have been most welcome.



With the winter doldrums comes recognition that our S5 has not gone so far with us completely unscathed. On the outside, we’ve noticed a few chips on the leading edge of the hood – enough that it’s good argument for a clear bra or one of the other protective products out there, at least for the harsh winter months. No doubt these chips could be the result of the several salt trucks we’ve been bold enough to pass over the last few weeks. Passing a plow may seem like a dumb idea, but sitting behind them and getting stoned (tee hee hee) when the Audi is nearly as adept in the snow as in the dry made us prefer the fresh powder ahead of the municipal trucks over the piercing clatter of road salt from behind.





Inside the car, some surfaces are also showing dirt and wear. The white salt stains on the black carpet will surely wash out with a little bit of work, but the light Pearl Silver leather is showing some discoloration. One can tell blue jeans are a favorite of the car’s regular drivers as there’s the ever-so-slight hint of blue on the bottom of the driver’s seat. We never had this problem with the silver Alcantara of our long-term S4 and it makes us wish we’d have gone for the suede-like interior option or, at the very least, black leather, which wouldn’t show this bleeding. Perhaps when things warm up a bit, we’ll ring up Griot’s Garage and see what the leading leather conditioners and detergents can do in removing the discoloration.



Want to hear more about how the car is running? Sorry, but there’s not much to report right now. Mechanically, the S5 has been absolutely flawless. There’ve been no error codes or warranty work necessary thus far. Simply turn the key and go. The car continues to please both its drivers and any number of admirers who make comment to us on a weekly basis. Once the sun decides to hang in the sky a bit longer each day, we’ll get back to serious driving and hopefully, a bit of modding as well.







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