Audi S5 Cabriolet 2010 Review

Road Test

RRP: $138,100 (manufacturer's list price, excluding on-road costs and dealer delivery)
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic paint $1695, Audi Drive Select $6900, wind deflector $800
Crash rating: five-star (based on Euro NCAP rating for A4)
Fuel: 98 RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 9.7
CO2 emissions (g/km): 227
Also consider: BMW 335i Convertible, Mercedes E 350 Cabriolet (when it arrives)

About our ratings

Audi introduced the S5 Cabriolet to the local market just before Christmas last year. At the same time the importer also launched the very focused five-cylinder TT RS, so it was plain which car was the luxury open-top tourer and which was the two-seat sports car.

Yet compared with most other cars the S5 Cabrio would come up roses for its dynamic ability and the driving enjoyment it provides. Powered by the same 245kW supercharged V6 under the bonnet of the S4, the all-wheel drive drop-top offers potent performance to match its style and prestige.

The Carsales Network sampled the S5 Cabrio during its local launch last year and formed a positive opinion of the Audi then, but looked forward to a return engagement on a seven-day test.

After the fetching metallic blue paint, it was the V6 powering the S5 that made the best early impression. The S5 produces demonstrable torque and power across most of the rev range from about 2000rpm to the redline at 7000rpm. On the overrun the highly refined engine fires back through the exhaust. It's a snarly engine that, in character, spins up more like a four-cylinder. Highly responsive to driver input, it can be caught out at lower revs nonetheless.

Fuel consumption during the local launch averaged 13.0L/100km for the run from Audi's 'Lighthouse' HQ in the Sydney suburb of Zetland to Bundeena -- through the Royal National Park -- and back. For the seven-day test in Melbourne, the S5 was ranging between 10.7L/100km on the open roads and up to 17.0L/100km or higher for urban driving or performance motoring.

During the seven-day test of the S5, we experienced some binding through the drivetrain on full-lock from a standing start. Rather than an issue with the quattro final drive, it felt more like the S Tronic (twin-clutch) transmission at work. That transmission, which works like a self-shifting manual, suffered from some of the usual concerns -- occasionally lacking refinement during changes for example and a little slower to transfer torque from the engine to the final drive for a standing start.

Added to that, it was not as responsive through the shift paddles as the M DCT box in BMW's M3. It required a little longer to shift down two gears (and had to be babied with it), whereas the M3 would skip a gear to go to the gear you wanted immediately.

The S5 can be throttle-sensitive in corners. Accelerate out of a tighter bend in the wet (as we did during the seven-day test) and you'll provoke tyre slip at the front. During both the launch and the seven-day test, the S5 exhibited a proclivity to oversteer on a trailing throttle.

On one particular corner during the seven-day test, the S5 understeered and then, as the driver backed off, the car's tail stepped out, but the stability control corrected that smartly. Similarly, the S5 Cab meted out some oversteer, power off into one corner during the launch.

The Audi's stability control is very responsive and allows a lot less back-chat from the car than systems in some locally-built high-performance sedans. We tend to the view that Audi's got it about right in a car with the sort of performance potential the S5 has to offer -- not too little intervention, nor too late. And the quattro drive system helps with active safety also.

Steering loads up a bit of weight, but the feel is a little artificial and can be inconsistent, depending on speed and the car's attitude, but the turn-in is prompt. The tyres are noisy, as both a general roar on coarser bitumen and as a squeal in the corners -- although the noise from the tyres is more noticeable through the soft-top roof, to be fair.

Noise insulation with the fabric folding roof was more of an issue in the Audi than it will be with cars featuring steel folding roofs, such as the 335i BMW. Although the Audi felt reasonably taut, especially considering that fabric roof once again, it didn't feel as rigid and torsionally strong in the body as its stablemate, the A3 Cabrio.

On a run at night, we found the headlights of the S5 to be fabulous. On low beam they're powerful and cast a decent spread of light -- and the driver won't feel blinded when dipping the lights for an on-coming car.

From a packaging standpoint, the rear seat of the S5 is an occasional seat for adults and if you have a couple of long-legged types in the front seats, even kids are going to feel short-changed for rear-seat legroom. Headroom in the rear with roof raised will be tight for average-sized adults, but will be passable for shorter trips.

Luggage space is helped by the car's fabric roof, which requires less space when folded than a metal roof, such as that of BMW's 3 Series Convertible. Still, the Audi's boot is not especially practical. You won't fit large items with any great ease, but a lot of smaller items can be packed in there.

The driving position for the S5 was generally very good with seats that were both comfortable and aggressively contoured to hold the occupant in place during harder cornering and braking, but the dreaded A4/A5 transmission tunnel encroaches on the left of the driver's footwell. At least this vehicle doesn't have a clutch pedal, so the driver need not sit askew to the instruments for the sake of the relationship to the pedals. Ergonomically, the S5 is set up in the no-nonsense way for which Audi is renowned. Instruments are highly legible and the controls are easy to use.

If we had one other misgiving, it would be the placement of the disable switch for the stability control and the controls for the Audi Drive Select system, which was fitted optionally to the seven-day test vehicle. We've said it before about this system, but it's just about worth the ($6900) extra cost. Ride comfort is significantly improved and the car provides markedly better feedback in Dynamic mode. In the case of the S5, the Drive Select system doesn't furnish the same breadth of dynamic settings as in lesser models (A4, for instance), but it's still worth the cash.

Audi claims 15 secs and 17 secs for the folding roof to open and close, respectively. Even 17 seconds might be too slow in a sudden downpour. We liked the motor drive for the seatbelt pulley to extend forward for the driver and front passenger. When the engine is switched off and the seatbelt is unfastened, it retracts to allow the rear-seat passengers easier egress. Some will say it's a bit gimmicky, but in our view it's neat and functional.

To a large degree, that's how Audi has presented the S5 Cabriolet overall. The car is loaded with luxury features that lend it a toy-like quality (the folding roof for example, the power-driven seatbelts for another), but it remains a practical, comfortable car that can be hurried along.

Up against BMW's 3 Series Convertible -- and we're thinking specifically of the much more expensive M3 here -- the S5 is a little less fun to drive, but it's quite a safe, capable car, thanks to its quattro all-wheel drive system and the commanding presence of its stability control.

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