Audi S5 Sportback 2021 Review

There’s a ready market for mid-size performance passenger cars that deliver practicality and prestige in the one package. That’s a lot of ‘p’ words, but Audi has a riposte – and it starts with S.

At $106,500 plus on-road costs in standard form, the 2021 Audi S5 Sportback does offer pretty good value for discerning and cashed-up buyers, and makes a good impression right from the start, riding on 20-inch alloy wheels and featuring metallic paint and a gesture-controlled electric tailgate.

The power fold-in exterior mirrors are linked to the driver’s seat position memory and the passenger side mirror dips when reversing.

Inside, the comfort and convenience features kick off with sports front seats boasting power adjustment (including lumbar support), seat heating and a massaging function. Nappa leather upholstery is used throughout the cabin in what Audi describes as an ‘extended upholstery package’.

Privacy glass is standard, as is the three-zone climate control system. For infotainment, there’s a Bang and Olufsen surround-sound audio system which incorporates digital radio and advanced smartphone integration (Apple CarPlay/Android Auto), operating through a 10.1-inch touch-screen. The smartphones can be recharged from an inductive (wireless) tray.

Satellite navigation, a head-up display and Audi’s Virtual Cockpit multi-mode instrument display are also standard.

The test vehicle was also fitted with a selection of extra-cost options, comprising the quattro sport differential for $2990, a black exterior styling package for $1495 and ‘carbon atlas’ interior decorative inlays for $1000. Total price, as tested, is $111,985 plus ORCs.

One of the new features for the updated 2021 Audi S5 Sportback is the Matrix LED headlight system, which dips the lights in town and progressively dips the light elements that shine on high-beam directly at an oncoming car. The functional upshot of this is high-beam lighting either side of the road – and ahead of the Audi – without blinding the driver of the approaching vehicle.

It is, for want of a better expression, a brilliant system. During a run at night, the lights proved most effective, although the system did refrain from selecting high beam on the return leg of the test drive for some reason. On low beam, the headlights are great anyway, shining a long way ahead in the dark.

But the S5 Sportback isn’t limited to just excellent headlights. Other driver assist features fitted as standard include 360-degree camera monitoring, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go function, active lane keep assist, lane departure warning, rear cross traffic alert, autonomous emergency braking (forward and reverse) and acoustic guidance with ultrasonic parking sensors.

The ANCAP safety rating for the Audi A5 is five stars, based on the 2015 test protocol. That’s applicable to the S5 Sportback as well, despite the different engine fitted in the latter case.

This is now an outdated testing regime, but the S5 Sportback’s high level of equipment stands it in good stead.

There’s been no upgrade for the turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 powering the 2021 Audi S5 Sportback, nor the eight-speed automatic that transmits torque to all four wheels through Audi’s quattro drivetrain.

But any change to the engine would have been overkill. The V6 produces prodigious torque everywhere in the rev range, and delivers that torque with no-nonsense throttle response and an exhaust note to match.

The V6 is actually delightful to the ear, with a menacing growl in the mid-range and an attention-grabbing howl up to the 6500rpm redline.

It’s also very quiet at speed. When sticking to the open-road limit, the engine ticks over at 1500rpm with only a bass murmur apparent at that speed – and barely audible. In fact, the engine is really refined from idle right through to redline.

The ZF transmission shifts with extreme smoothness, but also shifts up automatically at the 6500rpm redline, even in manual mode. It’s a responsive transmission that’s also quite adaptive when operated appropriately in a hard-driving scenario.

Over the course of a test drive, the S5 Sportback returned a fuel economy figure of 11.1L/100km. That’s a far cry from its notional combined-cycle figure of 8.8L/100km, but with so much engine output on tap, the temptation is always there to drive for fun rather than thrift.

Even with that, the as-tested figure is not unreasonable for a mid-size car with a 3.0-litre turbo engine bolted to a torque-converter and driving all four wheels.

With all-wheel drive and all the other accoutrements for safe motoring, the 2021 Audi S5 Sportback almost feels underwhelming at times.

In reality, it’s a car that brings to the table plenty of driving satisfaction.

Set to its Dynamic mode – which is chosen using the Audi Drive Select system – the S5 Sportback turns in responsively and precisely, maintaining a steady line with the power applied.

Lift off and the weight shifts around enough to be felt at the rear of the car – which is definitely preferable to the alternative.

And to be quite frank about this, the S5 Sportback can muster a lot of grip for the type of vehicle it is. It’s right up there with nimble hot hatches and exotic sports cars.

When it comes to braking, the pedal feel is commendable, as is braking performance, but bringing the S5 Sportback to a gentle halt without that final lurch is difficult with the idle-stop system enabled.

Left in Auto or Dynamic modes, the S5 Sportback offers a ride quality that’s about as firm as one would anticipate in a car of this calibre. Switch to Comfort mode, however, and the suspension soaks up bumps much better. There is quite some latitude between the Dynamic and Comfort modes, leaving the driver real choice.

There’s a whisper of wind present on the freeway, but contact between the road surface and the Dunlop 265/30ZR20 tyres contributes the highest level of noise in the cabin – although it’s still very well suppressed.

The driving position is typically Audi, which is to say it’s comfortable and commanding. Audi’s Virtual Cockpit has been overtaken by BMW’s recent efforts, but it’s still a visually attractive interface.

As we’ve found on other Audi models, the touchpad function in the infotainment screen is not as intimidating for right-hand dominant persons as older systems have been in the past.

Using the left hand to inscribe letters, numbers and even whole words on the car’s touchpad for entering a destination in the satellite navigation system has become easier.

In the rear, the headroom is marginal for adults 180cm or taller, as is to be expected from a car with a lower roofline, but legroom is quite generous.

The rear vents feature separate buttons to adjust the temperature for the third zone of the climate control system. And there are two USB ports for recharging and one 12V outlet in the rear of the centre console.

The rear seats don’t fold entirely flat, but the boot floor is flush with the rear of the seat when lowered, so loading longer items and sliding them forward with the seats lowered shouldn’t pose a problem.

Not only is the boot itself large enough to be practical for most uses, the two-piece parcel shelf/cargo blind is a clever piece of design. One removable panel is fastened to the tailgate, the other sits horizontally in a slot either side of the load compartment, to be removed easily by sliding it out.

With the powered tailgate lowered the contents of the boot are concealed, but the two pieces of the solid cargo blind are easily removed for loading larger items.

Finally, the S5 Sportback is supplied with a space-saver spare, which is not ideal in Australia, but also somewhat excusable in a car like this.

It’s well established that passenger car sales are in decline – probably terminal decline, at that.

Cars like the 2021 Audi S5 Sportback will likely be the last bastion of traditional passenger models. The Audi provides the kind of dynamic driving traits, the comfort, refinement and safety that enthusiasts will always want.

They won’t be placated by owning an SUV. That’s fine for the family car, perhaps, but there will be an ongoing need for cars like the S5 Sportback to meet the demands of drivers who actually like driving – and fast.

Is the S5 Sportback a better car than its rivals? That would be a yes, in the case of the more expensive Mercedes-AMG C 43, and a qualified yes in the case of the BMW M340i xDrive.

The BMW in its ‘Pure’ form, develops more power, for a lower price and also features all-wheel drive.

But the Audi is a good looker, its liftback tailgate is handy and it does offer more equipment in standard form than the BMW. More audio speakers, bigger alloy wheels, sophisticated headlights and more seat adjustment – the list goes on…

So the Audi is definitely worth checking out if you’re in the market for the BMW.

How much does the 2021 Audi S5 Sportback cost?
Price: $106,500 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-petrol
Output: 260kW/500Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 202g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2015)

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