Hero models do the business
Following-up on last year’s launch of a new A4 sedan generation is the arrival of the hero cars that cap Audi’s compact luxury car range. Paul Owen samples the new A5 and S5.
We most recognise the usual suspects of German luxury carmaking for either the huge techno-laden limos that are their passenger car flagships, or the over-performing sporty cars that continually lower the production car lap record around the Northern Loop of the Nurburgring road circuit.
This overlooks, conveniently perhaps, the place in the car market where Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz do most of their business. It’s the compact segment that sees the most sales action for all three, no matter whether they’re selling ordinary cars or socalled SUVs.
BMW would be a bespoke Bavarian brand without the 3-Series or its high-rise cousin, the X3, to add volume to its economy of scale. Audi would be nothing without that car named after the world’s most preferred piece of paper, the A4. And Merc wouldn’t be an A-list brand without the C-class and the SUV equivalent that’s just been spun off it, the GLC.
These three cars, and the SUV derivatives developed from their platforms, account for more than 50 per cent of the global sales volume for all three prestigious car brands. Consider the overwhelming popularity of compact Teutons to be proof that affordability matters, even to the luxury car marque stratosphere.
Equally important: the capping of those compact car ranges with a few even more aspirational hero models.
Hence the new $98,400 Audi A5 Sportback and $122,900 Audi S5 Sportback/Coupe have a further role to play than just attracting the incremental customers that will add to Audi’s sales total in this market. These are image-defining cars that are the best compacts that Audi can currently create. It’s up to them to stimulate enough buzz that the entire comparativelypedestrian A4 range shines in their reflected glory. No pressure then.
It helps that they’re both buff, chiseled mobile works of art. The bloke who shaped every memorable Alfa Romeo during the late 20th century, Walter de Silva, proclaimed the previous Audi A5 as ‘‘the most beautiful car I ever designed’’ when it rolled off his drawing board back in 2007.
Being Italian, Monsignor de Silva has now retired from the car business to concentrate on designing his line of shoes, but I’m certain he’d applaud the handsome exterior of the new A5/S5.
Nice touches include the Maserati-like bonnet strakes that usher the eye to the four-ring grille badge, and the wavy shoulder line along the side of the cars that accentuates the sizes of the wheels, and makes them appear larger than the A5’s 18-inch and the S5’s 19-inch hoops.
These flourishes have been added to cars that maintain de Silva’s original proportions, gracefully plunging roofline, and classic stance. The new breed of exterior designers at Inglostadt have shown plenty of respect for the old maestro.
Inside, you’ll find the minimalism that is an Audi core value. A line of air vents extends across the entire dashboard, underscored by a sweep of brushed aluminium trim. As hero models, both the A5 and S5 possess Audi’s virtual cockpit, which means instrumentation is available in a wide range of formats and layouts.
It also means that owners will probably settle with a favourite configuration, then begin to question why they paid for all the ones they now don’t use. I personally enjoyed the selection of a solitary rev counter for the S5, with the standard-fit heads-up display reflecting speed info and a linear tachometer on the back of the windscreen.
It was Bauhaus-inspired in the way it cut back the clutter yet still transmitted essential car info while encouraging the driver to keep their eyes on the road.
The S5 has some pretty special pews in the high bolstered sports seats with diamond stitching and a wealth of lateral support. You need the latter because the car is capable of generating plenty of sideways g-force, even when driving through the stormy weather on saturated roads that we encountered during the car’s recent media launch in and around Auckland.
There’s plenty of longitudinalgees generated as well, whether courtesy of the 260kW/500Nm 3.0 turbocharged V6 engine, or the powerful brakes that calm its performance.
But two things are missing from the S5 despite its much improved steering in both agility and road feel, and its paranormal ability to hold the road. It’s a second turbo, and a sportier driving mode than the one boringly labeled ‘dynamic’. If these are considered essentials, you’ll have to wait for the 331kW/600Nm RS 5 to arrive later this year.
With a 2.0 turbocharged four developing a mere 185kW/370Nm, the A5 was in danger of being overshadowed by its quicker cousin during the driving phase of the launch. Instead, it surprised and delighted, and asked big questions about the relevance of heightened performance for New Zealand roads.
The A5 also hung tough in challenging road conditions thanks to an adaptive four-wheel torque delivery system that defaults to a 40/60 front-to-rear dividend, but can send up to 70 per cent of the engine’s force to the front tyres when required, and up 85 per cent to the rear rubber. The A5 also possessed patrician ride quality despite not being fitted with the adaptive dampers of the S-car.
I’d be pocketing the $24,500 price differential if given the pick between these two new compact Audi heroes (nice thought).