Audi S5 Review

Audi S5 Review

Anybody with the vaguest of interest in cars will very quickly realise that Audi never does anything in a half-hearted manner. The Audi S5 quattro is no exception.

It took no more than one hundred yards of travel to realise that there was something different about this car - an inherent edginess that doesn't come from bolt-on extras but was designed in from the start.

The Audi S5 quattro is the high powered, high speed version of the Audi A5 range of 4-seat coupes but, in some respects, it isn't very different. Audi tells us that the A5 is the first to have an extended wheelbase, which has been increased by pushing the front axle forward. This allows an almost perfect, 50:50 weight distribution and that improves the handling balance. What's more, it is the longest wheelbase ever in a B-segment Audi.

On top of this, we have the new, five-link front suspension and updated trapezoidal link, rear suspension, which accounts for the innate composure and handling. In the quattro versions, the torque is split 40:60 in favour of the rear wheels, however most immediately noticeable is the steering.

Comprised of a completely reworked rack and pinion system with power assist, it is positioned just in front of the extended front axle and closer to the wheel centreline than before, so it is more direct, in a similar manner to the precise steering of a kart. The Servotronic, speed dependent, power assist is weighted just right with no vagueness. It feels just as crisp during slow speed manoeuvring as it does on the motorway.