Is one extra letter worth $30k?
Audi’s RS 5 coupe contains just as much GT as gee-whizz. Is it too similar to the cheaper S5? By David Linklater
You might know that Audi’s thunderous RS 5 coupe has downsized in its new generation. To the point where it’s not actually as thunderous any more, swapping the old 4.2-litre V8 for a new 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6.
That’s going to be a letdown for some. An A4-based coupe with a turbo-six engine: on paper, that sounds a lot like the $122,900 S5, which we’ve found to be a very impressive (and quick) quattro two-door in its own right.
So as the RS 5 downsizes and the S5 gets a bit more muscle, the question must be: what are you really getting for that extra $30k?
The quick answer is more than it seems. For a start, the RS 5 might have downsized in engine-capacity but it’s up 150Nm on torque over the old V8, 17 per cent more fuelefficient and actually $15k cheaper.
And of course Audi Sport (the parent brand of all the RS road cars) doesn’t do things by halves. The RS 5 is still very much a bespoke performance car: its 2.9-litre twin-turbo engine shares little with the S5’s single-turbo unit. In fact, it’s a development of the powerplant used in the Porsche Panamera 4S.
The RS 5 also has its own suspension setup and quattro allwheel drive configuration, including Dynamic Ride Control an hydraulic (not electronic) diagonal link between dampers that keeps the chassis level at crazy cornering speeds.
The RS 5 has an extra 71kW/ 100Nm over the S5, it’s nearly a second quicker to 100kmh and it’s a genuinely track-capable machine, with cooling and braking systems to handle life on the limit. And more if you opt for stuff like ceramic brakes ($15,000) or the Sports rear differential ($3850).
The RS 5 can look very similar or very different to the S5 depending on the styling package you choose, but whatever the case it does have its own exterior design, such as straight-cut wheelarch flares and those very cool vents next to the lights - an homage to the 90 Quattro IMSA GTO racing car of the 1980s.
So all’s right in the Audi Sport world then? It seems the more expensive RS 5 justifies its price and it’s way more capable and exciting than the S5.
Um, yes and no. In every tangible way the RS 5 is a leap forward over the previous version, it’s effortlessly quick on both road and track and it’s brimming with state-of-the-art engineering and Audi motorsport heritage.
It also offers an incredibly broad range of talents: you can tear up the tarmac, but the RS 5 is also incredibly refined and comfortable when you need it to be. This is very much in line with Audi’s ethos of making the new RS 5 more of a grand tourer than a super-coupe.
Therein may lie the problem. Sans the rumbling V8 and with a less edgy feel, the RS 5 has moved a lot more towards S5 character for the type of driving where you’re not demolishing track days. Which is most of it, surely?
And the S5 isn’t a million miles away from RS 5 status in terms of performance and handling ability.
Point-eight seconds difference to 100kmh is an eternity on the track, but in the real world? Especially when both cars achieve maximum acceleration with such little drama.
Getting to the open-road speed limit in under five seconds (S5) is still astonishingly quick.
If that sounds like I’m punishing the RS 5 for a change in emphasis, it’s not meant to. In fact, kudos to Audi for sticking to its GT guns. It could easily have added drama to the RS 5 with a fake V8 soundtrack (it does have enhanced sound, but very much of the V6 variety) and more nervous chassis setup. But it didn’t.
And the car still has that status and ability at the extreme end of the spectrum, for those buyers who want to know they’re driving the very best.
But my point is, try the S5 and you might find it offers 80 per cent of the RS 5 experience in realworld driving. With a lot less pretension.
One major difference with the S5 is that you can also have it as a five-door Sportback, or essentially the same powertrain package in the S4 sedan and Avant. It’s good to have choices.
Speaking of which: the RS 5 provides the base for the forthcoming RS 4 Avant. While I have reservations about this powertrain and chassis in show-off coupe form, the idea of this kind of acceleration and grand-touring ability in a practical family wagon is potentially pretty cool. Load it up, bring it on.