ROAD TEST:
Audi S5 Sportback review
by David Finlay (4 October 2010)
If you're looking for a medium-sized performance car, you can hardly complain that Audi fails to offer a wide choice of them. In addition to the Audi RS5 reviewed here by Mike Grundon, there's the S4 saloon, the S4 Avant, the S5 Coupé, the S5 Cabriolet and the S5 Sportback tested here.
So who would choose the Sportback over any of the others? According to Audi, potential owners are younger than people who might want a saloon or estate (average age 45-48 years). More generally, they're probably male and married, they're sporty, they consider design to be a priority, and they like performance.
Ah, yes, performance. If you really want a lot of this, go for the RS 5. But the S5 Sportback, at just under £41,000, is around £15,000 cheaper, and it's plenty quick enough. Its three-litre TFSI petrol engine is supercharged and produces a maximum of 328bhp, which gives it a 0-62mph time of 5.4 seconds and would probably also mean a top speed in the region of 170mph if the electronic limiter didn't kick in at 155.
Combined fuel economy is 30.1mpg and CO2 emissions are 219g/km, though you won't achieve either of these if you use the performance potential to any extent. And you probably will, though if you have any previous experience of fast Audis this one is going to come as a big surprise. Most of them have a ride quality which motoring journalists tend to describe as "uncompromising", meaning as rough as a badger's hindquarters, but this one doesn't.
In fact, the suspension is rather soft, but sufficiently well-damped not to be wallowy, and the overall effect - an unusual one from Audi - is that it rides nearly as well as it handles. And on all surfaces, not just smooth ones, it handles very well indeed.
Now, it's quite possible that at this point some smart-alec will get up on his hind legs and point out that the S5 Sportback's suspension has a Comfort setting. I know it does. It has Dynamic and Auto settings as well, and I've tried them all. My remarks above are based on the Dynamic setting, which you might think would be the one that makes the ride too hard. On the contrary, Comfort makes it too soft. In those mode the S5 really is wallowy, and it didn't take much experimenting to persuade me that it should be avoided, and that Dynamic is the best option in all conditions.
Those same three modes also apply to the behaviour of the engine and gearbox (seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch semi-automatic only - there's no conventional manual), the steering assistance and the differential. There is no easy way of adjusting any of them - you have to delve deep into the trip computer to do this, and it would be a wise move to bring the car to a standstill before you attempt this. And again, I'd do it just once, to make sure that everything is set to Dynamic, as that provides the best compromise.
You'll have gathered by now that the S5 Sportback is by no means an extreme Audi. On the contrary, by the company's normal standards with this sort of car it's a friendly, fluffy old Hector. The operation of the steering wheel and pedals is smooth but not sharp, and while the engine certainly provides a good dose of power it's not going to get you into trouble unless you do something profoundly silly with your right foot. It doesn't even sound particularly intimidating; there's a pleasant six-cylinder roar at high revs, but of the supercharger there is practially no audible sign.
I like the S5 Sportback very much and I think I would enjoy owning one. But I'm as sure as I can be that it would never excite me.
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