Compare the2025 Audi S5VS 2025 Volkswagen Golf R

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 Golf R doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the S5 and Golf R 4dr 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 Golf R’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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the S5 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Golf R doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Audi S5 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Golf R doesn’t offer knee airbags.

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 Golf R doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

The S5 offers an optional Top View Camera System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Golf R only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the S5 and the Golf R have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 and driver alert monitors.

The Audi S5 weighs 838 pounds more than the Volkswagen Golf R. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The S5’s corrosion warranty is 5 years and unlimited miles longer than the Golf R’s (12/unlimited vs. 7/100,000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen With 12 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Audi higher than Volkswagen.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2025 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volkswagen vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 11 places higher in reliability than Volkswagen.

The S5’s 3.0 turbo V6 produces 34 more horsepower (362 vs. 328) and 111 lbs.-ft. more torque (406 vs. 295) than the Golf R’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

The S5 stops shorter than the Golf R:

For better traction, the S5 has larger tires than the Golf R (245/40R19 vs. 235/35R19).

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the S5 offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Golf R’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the S5 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Golf R doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

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 Golf R doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the S5’s wheelbase is 10.5 inches longer than on the Golf R (114 inches vs. 103.5 inches).

The design of the Audi S5 amounts to more than styling. The S5 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .31 Cd. That is lower than the Golf R (.33) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the S5 get better fuel mileage.

The S5 has 1.5 inches more front headroom, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear legroom and 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Golf R.

The S5 has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the Golf R with its rear seat up (22.6 vs. 19.9 cubic feet). The S5 has a much larger trunk with its rear seat folded than the Golf R with its rear seat folded (37.5 vs. 34.5 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the S5. The Golf R doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the S5’s power liftgate can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Golf R doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening liftgate.

The engine in the S5 is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Golf R. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

If the windows are left open on the S5 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Golf R can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The S5’s standard Audi Advanced Key allows you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the trunk, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Access standard on the Golf R doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

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 Golf R doesn’t offer headlight washers.

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

The S5’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Golf R has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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 Golf R.

The Audi S5 has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the rear view mirror. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Volkswagen charges extra for Homelink® on the Golf R.

The S5 Premium Plus/Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Golf R’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park.

The Audi A5/S5/RS 5 outsold the Volkswagen Golf R by almost six to one during 2024.