Audi RS 5 Coupe 2017 Review

Audi took us through the buyer profile for the new RS 5 Coupe. It went something like this; bloke, impossibly rich, impossibly handsome, impossibly smart.

Often a company CEO, an early adopter of new tech and … oh I don’t know, by then I was feeling so inferior I was wondering if the car would even unlock its doors and let me drive it.

Yep this is not a car for the everyman. In seven years on sale in Australia, Audi sold about 500 examples of the original RS 5.

Basically, this is the ultimate version of the Audi A5 coupe you can buy. Sitting between the two is the warmed-up S5 we loved at ABDC earlier this year.

Only months after we drove it in Europe, the second-generation RS 5 is on sale in Australia.

It trades in its predecessor’s 4.2-litre 331kW V8 for a new ‘hot vee’ 2.9-litre biturbo V6, it is the first RS based on the Audi MLB evo longitudinal all-wheel drive architecture and it costs $156,600 — $900 less than the last one despite the addition of a claimed $24,000 in standard gear.

The new Audi RS 5 makes the exact same power as its predecessor, but churns out 600Nm from 1900rpm, a handy boost of 170Nm across a broader range. The smaller engine also chews 16 per cent less fuel at 8.8L/100km.

Audi Sport (Audi’s hot-shop equivalent of AMG and BMW M) claims the RS 5 can accelerate to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds and race on to a top speed of 250km/h – or 280km/h if you pay extra.

Add those sort of numbers to the price and the RS 5 shapes up as logical competition for the $139,900-$168,010 BMW M4, the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Coupe at $163,611 and — yes I know it’s a sedan – the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV ($143,900).

The obvious difference between the RS 5 and these rivals — well obvious at least to the tech-heads — is the Audi drives all four wheels while the other three are traditional rear-wheel drives.

Audi’s injected some two-turning/two-burning spirit into the RS 5’s quattro all-wheel drive by setting it up with a static 40/60 front/rear torque split and it can channel as much as 85 per cent of drive to the rear, which is then distributed side-to-side by an electro-mechanical sports differential. It can also brake wheels individually to aid turn-in.

Other techno attributes include bodyroll, squat and dive-quelling hydraulically-linked shock absorbers for the new generation five-link front and rear suspension, new electro-mechanical power steering, an eight-speed auto that replaces the old seven-speed dual-clutch, a maximum 60kg reduction in kerb weight to 1730kg (31kg of that achieved by the swap from V8 to V6 alone) and 375mm six-piston front brakes.

And there’s no doubt the RS 5 absolutely does impress. Its capability is simply outstanding. On greasy, intestinal roads that flicked left and right, up and down, blind or open; second, third or fourth gear, a dab, a press or a solid shove on the brake pedal; the Audi was absolutely trustworthy.

The RS 5’s front gripped, it transitioned through the corner with disciplined body control and then fired out with foot flat to the floor, engine howling and speedo needle arcing.

That exit grip is where it simply has the rear-drivers beat. Where they would be spinning and sputtering, traction lights flashing, the RS 5 would undoubtedly create gaps out of ever tight corner every time.

But would I enjoy myself as much in the RS 5 as I would in the tactile, raw AMG, or the edgy, demanding BMW? I don’t think so.

In the RS 5 it’s more about sheer, towering competence. In the rear-drivers it’s a more involving, emotional journey. Bugger the destination, they are just about the drive. The RS 5 is about getting there more efficiently.

Having said that, against its fellow Germans the RS 5 is the choice for the everyday. It’s a comfortable car because of the more compliant ‘comfort’ settings of its adaptive dampers.

The dynamic setting isn’t rock hard either, so setting ‘drive select’ to auto and letting the software sort out the mode is the easiest solution most of the time.

However, the rougher sections of our drive route did prove too much for the dynamic suspension setting, but changing to the comfort mode produced a faintly unsettling body float when pressing on. The solution? Dunno, sorry.

Other driving conclusions? The engine is terrific when wound up, with no lack of grunt or immediacy of response. It only irritated when cruising because a drone invaded the cabin at low revs.

Noise was not an issue on 20-inch Hankooks, but Continentals are also standard on the RS 5 and on past history they have struggled to contain tyres roar on coarse Aussie roads.

The torque converter auto is a positive step forward from the old dual-clutch. It’s far smoother around town and seems to lose nothing the translation to the open or winding road.

Flick to the aggressive sport mode and you’ll never have to change manually when the going gets twisty, unless you really feel the need.

Give in to temptation and the steering wheel paddle changes are super-quick, downchanges are rarely blocked and refusal to upchange simply ends with the engine bouncing against the limiter, the standard sports exhaust belching, growling and spitting.

Steering weight but not feel is adjusted via the dynamic select button. The heaviness works fine when there’s a lot of tiller-work required, but most of the time you don’t need to go there.

The exterior, with its 15mm wider wheel-arches and much larger single-frame grille than the A5, is a modern fusion of edgy aggression and low-slung grace.

Audi design director Marc Lichte’s evolution of Walter De Silva’s wonderful original is like Terminator 2 — a great sequel.

Inside, it’s a typical high-end Audi, infused with leather, metal and carbon-fibre trim overlayed with carefully deployed and well-presented technology. Audi’s Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster remains a highlight, as do smaller touches like the tactility of buttons and switches.

RS front sports seats are deep and supportive. The only jarring note comes when you realise this mega-expensive coupe requires manual adjustment of the steering column. In the back it’s part-time seating for two people you don’t really like that much.

Other important standard equipment includes autonomous emergency braking that is active up to 250km/h, six airbags, adaptive cruise control, various drive assist functions to prevent collisions when turning, reversing and because of blind spots, a 360-degree camera, tri-zone climate control, sat-nav and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connection.

Options abound, including a $10,900 carbon exterior pack to add to the standard black or aluminium garnishes, ceramic front brakes for $11,900 and a carbon roof ($4900), the latter never previously offered by Audi.

No, it doesn’t play on the heart strings as lyrically as some of its rivals, but it does everything it’s required to do exceptionally well.

Logically speaking, it’s a hard car to argue against.

Audi RS 5 pricing and specifications:
Price: $156,600 (plus ORCs)
Engine: 2.9-litre V6 turbo-petrol
Outputs: 331kW/600Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.8L/100km
CO2: 199g CO2/km
Safety rating: Five-star ANCAP (A5)