Audi’s S5 Sportback is a stylish blend of sportiness and practicality.
The S5 sits top of the four offering A5 Sportback range, which in turn is positioned alongside an eight variant A5 Coupe line-up and five takes of the A5 Cabriolet theme.
Audi’s S5 Sportback is a stylish blend of sportiness and practicality. The S5 sits top of the four offering A5 Sportback range, which in turn is positioned alongside an eight variant A5 Coupe line-up and five takes of the A5 Cabriolet theme.
With seating for four adults and considerable luggage space (480 litres with the rear seats in place; some 980 litres down), the S5 Sportback is packaged identically to its five-door A5 siblings. It steps up a gear though in boasting quattro all-wheel drive, sports suspension and a 3.0-litre supercharged, direct-injectionV6 along with a higher specification of finish and equipment.
Driving through a seven-speed S Tronic automated manual transmission, the 245 kW, 440 Nm powerplant has the wherewithal to give the S5 Sportback true performance cred, borne out by a succession of 0-100 m runs in testing that produced consistent mid-five second times.
Dogged grip levels and agreeable ride quality measures up to the car’s sporty brief, but the steering feels heavy and is a little short on communication.
If you want to delve further into the S5’s performance envelope, there’s Audi Drive Select with adaptive dampers, dynamic steering and sports differential – a $6900 option. The trick diff apportions drive via an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch across the rear axle to sharpen dynamics.