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First drive: Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.

First drive: Audi RS 5
Audi updates its RS 5 with more equipment, sharper looking lights and greater economy. We'd still have an M3 or C 63 AMG though.

   



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| First Drive | Jarpen, Sweden | Audi RS 5 |

Overall rating: 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

We sample Audi's revised RS 5 on an ice lake in Sweden, where its quattro four-wheel drive and optional sports differential make it a hugely entertaining steer. However, fun on the snow doesn't necessarily translate to an engaging road car.

Key Facts

Pricing: £58,725
Engine: 4.2-litre V8 petrol
Transmission: seven-speed S tronic automatic, four-wheel drive
Body style: two-door coupé
Rivals: BMW M3 Coupé, Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG Coupé, Lexus IS F
CO2 emissions: 246g/km
Combined economy: 26.9mpg
Top speed: 155mph (electronically limited)
0-62mph: 4.5 seconds
Power: 450hp at 8,250rpm
Torque: 430Nm at 4,000- to 6,000rpm

In the Metal: 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.5

Audi's RS 5 has always looked good and the A5 range revisions only add to its sharp style. The LED surround headlamps are particularly neat, framing the front lights, while the front grille is slightly re-profiled. Like that grille you'll need to look very closely to notice the sharper contours to the bonnet and restyled front and rear bumpers.

Inside, Audi has cut the bottom off what was once a perfectly decent, round steering wheel. Now it's flat at the bottom, which might give a sense of sportiness, but is hopeless when you're twirling it on ice. Not perhaps such a problem on the road, but why Audi habitually cuts the bottom off its sporty steering wheels remains a mystery. More useful inside are the changes to the MMI system, improved air conditioning controls and mirror adjustments.

Driving it: 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5

Like the interior and exterior there's little really changed to the way the RS 5 drives. Little we could judge on the snowy, icy lake we drove it on at least. It's a bit quicker, reaching 62mph in 4.5 seconds (0.1 seconds brisker than the outgoing model), though its top speed remains electronically limited at 155mph.

A new electromechanical steering system demands nothing from the alternator; this and several other technologies including an energy recuperation system allow the V8 engine to reduce its consumption and CO2 emissions, with 26.9mpg and 246g/km marginally better than before. Judging the steering feel is tricky on a surface with as little grip as an icy lake, but its speed is decent, even if the cut-off bottom does interrupt busy hands when correcting oversteer. Yup, oversteer, lots of it, thanks to a combination of both an optional sports differential and a low threshold of traction thanks to the frozen surface.

That's never likely to manifest itself on the road unless it's snowy, or you're just about to have a sizeable off. Previous experience of the RS 5 suggests massive traction and grip and a chassis that's prone to understeer if you push it too hard. Stay within its considerable limits of grip and it's largely neutral, the quattro drivetrain splitting its output 40/60 front to rear. Surefooted and fast, unquestionably, but it's nowhere near as engaging or enjoyable as its Mercedes-Benz AMG or BMW M division rivals - even if the V8 does sound pretty tremendous.

What you get for your Money: 4 4 4 4 4

You get more than ever for your money in the 2012 model, and so you should with this being the range-topping A5. Revisions include not only the looks and the silly steering wheel, but more equipment. Sadly the sports differential remains an option, but the RS 5 now has Bluetooth, cruise control, DVD satellite navigation and iPod connection included.

Worth Noting

Audi makes buying the RS 5 without that sports differential a no-brainer thanks to its Sport Package. Add £2,250 to the list price and your RS 5 gains the sports differential along with larger 20-inch titanium finish wheels, a sports exhaust, dynamic steering and Audi's dynamic ride control. That represents a saving £2,915 over optioning these all separately.

Summary

More economical, better equipped and a tiny bit quicker than before, the new Audi RS 5 is effortlessly rapid, but remains relatively detached to drive. Lacking the drama of its German rivals it's a sensible choice if going fast and looking good is all that matters, but if you're after fun then AMG and M do it much better - icy lake japery or not.


Kyle Fortune - 23 Feb 2012



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2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.



2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 

2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 

2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 

2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 

2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 

2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 

2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 

2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 

2012 Audi RS 5. Image by Audi.
 






 

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