Audi S5 review

The new Audi S5 ‘Limousine’ takes over from both the old S4 Saloon and the S5 Sportback, offering a subtle but sporty take on the five-door executive car. Although it’s a bit of a halfway house between conventional A5 models and the more famous RS cars (which are expected to arrive in 2025), it’s an established genre, and the Audi has to compete with a fleet of fast but unfussy saloons that includes the very capable BMW M340i. The BMW is brilliant, and the Audi is going to have to be spectacular to beat it, so can it really compete on that level?

Tasty technology

Because it’s based on the A5, the S5 looks very similar to more conventional models at first glance, but if you look closely, you’ll spot a host of minor tweaks. Larger, 19-inch alloy wheels are fitted as standard, along with sports seats that are covered in leather and microsuede. You get a sportier steering wheel, too, and some posh sports pedals.

Those accoutrements embellish a cabin that was already smart and high-tech, but not exactly minimalist. Although Audi has followed the crowd by largely removing buttons from the S5’s interior, the dashboard still has lots of different shapes and materials on show. It isn’t messy — in fact, it looks and feels every bit as upmarket as it should — but it isn’t as featureless as some other premium brands’ latest interiors.

It is, however, very technology orientated. The dash is dominated by a massive, curved housing that plays host to both the digital instrument display and the central touchscreen, both of which are remarkably sizeable displays. They’re sharp and modern, too, although the touchscreen isn’t always that easy to navigate and the instrument cluster isn’t as customisable as that of the old S5.

Yet it makes up for that if you choose the optional passenger display and driver’s head-up display. Both are clear and well presented, and the passenger display gives the front-seat passenger easier access to the on-board infotainment systems than the central touchscreen, which is angled towards the driver and less intuitive to use.

Driver’s Audi

But the S5 is really billed as the A5 for people who like to drive, and to that end, it does away with the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines fitted to conventional A5s and replaces them with a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine. With 367hp heading to all four wheels via a seven-speed automatic gearbox, it’s easily the fastest car in the A5 range so far, getting from 0-100km/h in a sprightly 4.5 seconds. That puts it right up there with the BMW M340i in terms of straight-line speed, and Audi has tried to match the BMW’s well-documented brilliance in the handling department, too.

Audi has worked hard on the new car’s steering and suspension, and the S5 is now even closer to its nemesis than ever before. It isn’t quite as lively or engaging, but it’s almost as sharp in corners, and it’s far happier to be thrown around than its predecessor ever was. And while it might not quite have the BMW’s agility, it makes up for that with a greater sense of stability and security. It’s fun to drive without being threatening or unfamiliar, and though the petrol-heads won’t necessarily appreciate that, everyone else will.

Sporty and spacious

They will also appreciate the way the S5 manages to deliver more thrills than the A5 without damaging the standard car’s practicality. Boot space is unchanged and remains roughly on a par with the BMW, while there’s just as much space in the back — i.e. lots.

The S5 isn’t much less comfortable, either, despite its sportier suspension. Yes, the improved body control and handling means the S5 isn’t quite as good at soaking up bumps, particularly around town, where the big wheels and stiffer suspension are more evident. But even then, the S5 is still more comfortable than the equivalent BMW, and it’s still great on the motorway.

But you will quite literally pay the price for this capability, with prices starting at just under €100,000. And if you start ticking a few boxes on the options list, you’ll pass the six-figure mark before you know what’s hit you. In effect, even choosing a nicer paint job, leather upholstery and some big wheels will make it roughly twice as expensive as the cheapest A5, and though it might have more than twice as much power, it isn’t twice the car.

And it definitely is less fuel-efficient. Where a 2.0-litre diesel A5 will burn around five litres of diesel every 100km, S5 drivers will be lucky to get through less than 7.5 litres of unleaded over the same 100km. And because of the S5’s emissions, the tax bill will be much higher, too.

The result is a car that is certainly more appealing than the A5 in a lot of ways, but also much harder to justify. Those who value the driving experience will opt for a BMW instead, while the others will prefer the cheaper, more comfortable and more efficient versions of the A5. Yet that shouldn’t detract from what is a very impressive all-rounder that has enough to make BMW buyers think twice before signing on the bottom line.

What next for Audi?

Audi has a massive line-up, and it’s constantly being refreshed. Not only have the new A5 and S5 models just been launched, but the all-electric A6 e-tron is also now available to order. That follows an updated e-tron GT, which in turn came hot on the heels of the revamped A3, while we’re expecting a new high-performance RS 3 model to join the range in 2025, alongside the forthcoming A4 e-tron electric saloon.