Walter de Silva, de man (who got that?) who designed this car for Audi, once called this “the most beautiful car I have designed”. Hard to disagree with him, isn’t it? This things bloody gorgeous!
The sensible man's Audi
The Audi S5 is a car that comes with one big problem though: you have to keep repositioning your perspective when you drive it. What I mean is, you must always bear in mind that there’s an A5 badge below it, and an RS5 badge above it. This means that the S5 is neither normal, nor exceptional.
Driving the car, I had to constantly remind myself that I wasn’t in the seat of the RS5, one of the fastest and best performing Audi’s (and cars) I’ve ever driven. Thus the acceleration and performance isn’t blinding, but is rather “pretty impressive”.
This is also one of those cars that you’re never going to be uncertain of which mode you’re in. Audi Drive Select lets you choose from 3 driving modes and one individual mode from the 3-litre TFSI engine. Each mode does something dramatic to the steering, suspension and accelerator. More dramatic than in most other cars I mean, and for once it’s nice to feel the dramatic difference, rather than have it just suggested to you.
When in Dynamic for example, the steering tightens up to the point of trying to move your mother-in-law out of the way at Sunday lunch buffet. The weight probably wouldn’t be so noticeable if there was more speed to go with it, but remember, you’re buying the sensible man’s performance Audi 5.
Speaking of sensible, Audi have gone long on making the S5 as efficient as possible. Start/Stop included and 9.4L/100km. That’s nice and progressive.
Inside, it’s a very comfortable little Coupe. Two seats in the back which you probably won’t use much, but they’re there. Also worth mentioning is the quite generous boot room. You’ve got to fit your golf clubs somewhere.
At R600 000+ you’d expect some creature comforts, and you get them. Some extremely comfy leather seats, dual-climate control, a sunroof and a multifunction steering wheel. You can even get some carbon-fibre trim on the doors if you want. Don’t you judge me. There’s something about having an exclusively expensive material on just a few inches of a car that make the car better LOL
A few problems inside…
Inside though there are also a couple of irritations to note:
Music track changing cannot be accomplished via the steering wheel. For that you have to go down to the volume knob by your left thigh. Granted I am a bit young for the demographic Audi is after with the S5 Coupe, so music is still important to me. If you’re like me, you change tracks more often than you change gears.
Most iterations of performance cars come with a button that you push to unleash the fury! Not so in the S5. Getting to Dynamic or “Bonkers” mode means fiddling with the MMI system. Two button pushes and a knob turn to be precise.
Controlling the fan speed on the AC is also one step too many in the S5. Small niggles, but noticeable.
In short, this really is a decent car, and one that turns heads on the roads (not easily accomplished in 2012). But just be aware of the experience you’re buying with the new S5.
Engine: 3-litre V8
Output: 245kw and 440Nm
Drive: Quattro
0-100: 5.4 seconds
Top speed: 250km/h
