Compare the2025 Audi RS 5 SportbackVS 2025 BMW M5

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi RS 5 Sportback 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 M5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The RS 5 Sportback’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The M5 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi RS 5 Sportback 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 M5 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the RS 5 Sportback and M5 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The RS 5 Sportback 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 M5’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.

Both the RS 5 Sportback and M5 offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the RS 5 Sportback with Rear Cross-Traffic Assist also has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The M5’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the RS 5 Sportback and the M5 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, 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, rearview cameras and available blind spot warning systems.

The RS 5 Sportback’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the M5’s 40 series tires. The RS 5 Sportback’s optional tires have a lower 30 series profile than the M5’s 40 series front and 35 series rear tires.

The RS 5 Sportback has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the M5; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

For better maneuverability, the RS 5 Sportback’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the M5’s (38.7 feet vs. 41.3 feet).

The Audi RS 5 Sportback may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1300 to 1450 pounds less than the BMW M5.

The RS 5 Sportback is 1 foot shorter than the M5, making the RS 5 Sportback easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The RS 5 Sportback has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the M5 Sedan (21.8 vs. 16.5 cubic feet).

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the RS 5 Sportback to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The M5 doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Laser headlights, standard on the RS 5 Sportback, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the M5’s LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The RS 5 Sportback has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The M5 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 RS 5 Sportback has standard extendable sun visors. The M5 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Audi A5/S5/RS 5 outsold the BMW 5 Series by 6% during 2023.