Wads on Sportscars: The new Audi S5 Coupe

19.12.2007

Last weekend Audi kindly lent me a nice black S5 Coupe so here's a quick review.

Looks: For a fairly large coupe I think Audi have done a great job with the S5, compared to the normal A5 the S has a few extra curves and bumps to make it stand out and for me it works nicely..... the S5 looks aggressive in a smart sort of way. As its still a fairly new car on UK roads it seems to attract plenty of attention from other drivers and in my four days with the car I had a couple of boy racers wanting to see how quick it was. The LED running lights (similar to the R8 Super-car) look great but I can't help feeling that other car makers will soon copy Audi and Aston Martin (Vantage) such that they will be a come sight in the not to distant future! The wheels (18'' I think) are also very nice!

"The wheels (18 inch I think) are also very nice!"

Interior: The S5 has one of the best interiors I have ever seen, all switches and controls have a quality look and feel and most things you would expect in a car of this price seem to be included (multi function computer, 6 CD changer, very good sat nav, Bang & Olafsson stereo, heated seats, dual zone climate control, auto dimming mirrors), the seats are very comfortable and adjust in every direction however I did find that the pedals seemed to be slightly off centre such that I always ended up twisting in my seat..... many functions activate the large screen display in the centre of the dash taking you directly to the relevant information.... eg. changing the drivers air con temp or heated seat settings gives you a screen showing exactly what you are doing, or when squeezing into a parking space the radar warning system pops up to show you exactly where any hazards are located. At night the interior is lit up like a Christmas tree as every switch and display has its own red illumination (as You can see in this photo), some may find this distracting but I like it and you can dim the lights easily anyway.

"2nd gear kicks you back in the seat with a moderate shove that gets stronger as you rev past 4000rpm."

Starting up: The S5 doesn't have a traditional key to unlock and start, instead it has a plastic fob that you push into a slot to the left side of the steering wheel (right hand drive), the engine fires up with a small blip of revs and a rather subdued noise in the cabin, outside the sound in much better, standing next to the car you get to hear the deep burble of the V8 (de-tuned version of the engine in the RS4). On the road its hard to hear the V8 even at high revs which is a real shame as I'm sure it would sound REALLY good! In the cockpit firing up the V8 results in the main dials lighting up with a needle sweep right round the dial before sweeping back to zero (see video).... a nice touch.

"Compared to the normal A5 the S has a few extra curves and bumps to make it stand out and for me it works nicely... The S5 looks aggressive in a smart sort of way."

Handling: On the move the S5 feels very solid and sure footed, the ride is firm but not harsh and is well suited to long distance journeys. The suspension soaks up small to medium bumps easily and is generally easy to keep pointing in the right direction. The steering has reasonable feedback but its nowhere near as good as a true Sportscar. While cornering at speed body roll is very well controlled and the Audi shows that its a fairly good in the curves. Equally the tyres (not sure which type) give good grip in dry conditions (it didn't rain while I had the car).

Brakes: I didn't have much chance to really test the brakes but they seemed pretty good with ABS only cutting in when doing an emergency stop, even under extreme pressure the car remained on course and in good shape.

"The LED running lights look great but I can't help feeling that other car makers will soon copy Audi and Aston Martin (Vantage)"

Performance: Overall the S5 is only a tiny bit slower than the RS4 Cabrio I tested recently, from a standing start the car launches well and will be hard to beat at a stop light battle. From a rolling start the torque in 2nd gear kicks you back in the seat with a moderate shove that gets stronger as you rev past 4000rpm. The best 0-60mph run that I managed was 5.1sec (4.7sec in the RS4 Cabrio). The good flexibility of the V8 resulted in a best 30-70mph time of 5.1sec (using 2nd and 3rd gears) while 50-70mph took 2.8sec. At high speeds the engine still seems eager to deliver more performance but this will not be much use to most people that live in areas with speed limits!

Buy one?: No..... its a great executive coupe but it didn't really excite me, its quick but other cars in the same price bracket are as almost as quick for less money, the V8 is good but as the driver I didn't hear much from the engine or exhaust!

If there are any questions I'll do my best to give an honest opinion.

Comments (11)

Anonymous	19.12.2007
it would be nice if car renting companies would think of it so that more people could spend this quality time ... cornering!

Heyhuub	19.12.2007
Great article, i would definetly buy one if i had the finances though. :)

FastestLaps	19.12.2007
	There are numerous exotic and sportscar rental companies across the globe. But cars like this are far too much for average person willing to rent a basic mean of personal transport for as little money possible. Anyway I like the S5. I can not afford to buy one even in my wildest dreams but it does not mean I can't like it. I understand that it's not as sportscar-ish as Honda S2000 (you described it well when you said it's an "executive coupe" because that's what it really is) but it's still faster! And it is beautiful. Not as distinctive and impressive as R8 but is has classiness, beauty and certain degree of aggressiveness in it. Which is good for an Audi with "S" badge on the boot. I also think that in black and white it looks better (at least for my personal liking) than in traditional red. Here's a nice video http://youtube.com/watch?v=Twoegah1-1U where it's lined up against it's two rivals from two other German car making companies - Mercedes and BMW. In straight line it outruns both - the CLK500 and BMW 335i and in Germany it is 7k EUR cheaper than CLK500. S5 outperformed both rivals in 100-0 km/h braking distance test as well. On track the 335i can be faster (as Fifth Gear has proved http://www.fastestlaps.com/index.php?page_id=video&id=47489e4895 3e2) and the BMW is 9k (!) EUR cheaper! But S5 is a better car. Price difference is explainable.

Wads	19.12.2007
	Although I haven't tried the BMW 335i yet I would be tempted to buy the hardtop convertible version rather than the S5 as its good value for money and only a little slower than the Audi.

JiSiN	20.12.2007
	Well done Wads ;) btw my sisters boyfriend got a 335i coupe few months ago. was not bad at all. but im not good enough to make a review like Wads. So im looking forward for next tests :) P.S: they are both working at BMW :P

Wads	20.12.2007
	Next test drive is early January in the Alfa Brera V6..... in the mean time I could do a review of any of the following: Honda S2000, Suzuki Cappuccino, Aston Martin AMV8, Scoobie WRX STi Prodrive, Audi RS4, RS6, S4, Boxster S, 997 Carrera S, Cayman S, Merc SL55 AMG, Focus ST,Nissan 350Z, Mazda RX-8, Mini Cooper S, BMW Z4

JiSiN	20.12.2007
	i would be interessted for WRX STi Prodrive... But i guess others not really :P

Wads	20.12.2007
	Sure I can do that although it was a few years ago (still have some pictures).... it was the 2002 "bug eye" version so not the new one in case thats the one you were interested in!

JiSiN	20.12.2007
	The only thing i didnt like on the bug eye version, is the "bug eye". I still wonder why they allowed that kind of design. any idea?

FastestLaps	20.12.2007
	I would be happy to see review of any of those cars. But my favourite would be Aston Martin AMV8. I have never heard of that model to be honest. What does this "AMV8" mean? Probably it's nothing else but regular Vantage V8.

Wads	20.12.2007
	Sorry yes thats what a lot of people in the UK call the Vantage V8. I tested the Vantage on road and at the UK Millbrook test track. As I'm on holiday now I'll hopefully have time to do a few more reviews. P.S. your "Top Members" article counter doesn't seem to work very well ;-)

Add your comment

Which is faster?

Click here to compare two cars using the fastestlaps.com database!

Best known cars

•  Audi R8 (27)
•  BMW M3 (E92) (27)
•  Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (26)
•  Porsche 997 Turbo (24)
•  Porsche Cayman S (23)
•  Nissan GT-R (22)
•  BMW M5 (E60) (19)
•  Ford Focus ST (19)
•  VW Golf GTI (18)
•  Mazda RX-8 (17)
•  Nissan 350Z (283bhp) (17)
•  Porsche 997 GT2 (17)

Login area

Recent comments