Compare the2024 Audi S7VS 2023 BMW 5 Series Sedan

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi S7 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi S7 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 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the S7 and 5 Series Sedan have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The S7 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 5 Series Sedan’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 S7. But it costs extra on the 5 Series Sedan.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the S7 Prestige helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The S7 offers an optional Top and Corner View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The 5 Series Sedan 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 S7 and the 5 Series Sedan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The S7’s 2.9 turbo V6 hybrid produces 196 more horsepower (444 vs. 248) and 184 lbs.-ft. more torque (442 vs. 258) than the 530i’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The S7’s 2.9 turbo V6 hybrid produces 109 more horsepower (444 vs. 335) and 111 lbs.-ft. more torque (442 vs. 331) than the 540i’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the Audi S7 is faster than the 540i 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder:

On the EPA test cycle the S7 gets better fuel mileage than the M550i (19 city/26 hwy vs. 17 city/25 hwy).

The S7 has 1.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the 5 Series Sedan (19.3 vs. 18 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the S7’s brake rotors are larger than those on the 5 Series Sedan:

The S7 stops much shorter than the 5 Series Sedan:

For better traction, the S7 has larger tires than the 5 Series Sedan (255/35R21 vs. 245/45R18). The S7’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 5 Series Sedan (255/35R21 vs. 245/35R20).

The S7’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the 5 Series Sedan’s standard 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the S7 has standard 21-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the 5 Series Sedan. The 5 Series Sedan’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the S7 is 2 inches wider in the front and .7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the 5 Series Sedan.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the S7’s rear seats recline. The 5 Series Sedan’s rear seats don’t recline.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the S7 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The S7 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the S7 has standard extendable sun visors. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The S7 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the car heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the 5 Series Sedan.

The S7 Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Park Assist Plus Remote will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The S7 will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the S7 will retain 50.46% to 51.17% of its original price after five years, while the 5 Series Sedan only retains 42.28% to 44.93%.