By Les Stephenson
Audi's R8 supercar a little too, well, brash? TT a little too cramped? OK, then how about an A5 or S5 coupe, just launched in South Africa, with four seats, great looks, all-wheel drive and price stickers that are going to make the competition blink?
Two doors, long wheelbase, big wheels and tyres and, sorry, but I think it's better-looking than the R8 that everybody and his mom have been raving about for the past few months.
The R8 is startling, a head-turner, but the A5, and particularly the S5, are solidly handsome with classic lines and a road-dominating face – not to mention the daytime running lights that, literally, underscore the headlights.
The A5/S5 are solidly handsome with classic lines and a road-dominating face.
I drove both models on the long fast straights and through the soaring passes inland from George, between the parallel ranges of the Outeniquas, and returned - thoroughly impressed - to base at Fancourt golf resort.
The cars have enormous presence in a driving mirror; wide, low, strong and firmly planted on 18" alloy rims in a choice of a half-dozen styles and low-profile tyres.
Audi sales have grown steadily worldwide for 13 consecutive years and it's cars with the pedigree of the A5/S5 that can take applause for such a happy state of affairs.
The new cars owe their design to the Nuvolari concept car of 2003 and follow a heritage established by the Audi 100 (1969-76), the GT Coupe quattro and the S2 Audi Coupe (1988-96).
Audi has enjoyed a steady growth in sales for a straight 13 years.
The automaker believes the A5/S5 will compete with BMW's 3 and 6 Series coupes, Mercedes' CLK 500 and – though much more expensive – Jaguar's XK8 and the cars' chief designer, Italian Walter de'Silva, has been quoted as saying: "It's the most beautiful car I have designed – multo, multo, speciale."
The A5 3.2 quattro tiptronic (R454 000) and S5 4.2 FSI manual (R549 999) I drove this week will be the first to be introduced to South Africa, followed by a 4.2 tiptronic (R562 000) in May.
The manual models come with a green light on the fascia that recommends and down or upshift – and addition that, Audi says, encourages "greener" driving.
Other model derivatives will be phased in during the year – September will see the arrival of the 3.0 TDI tiptronic quattro and two-litre turbo manual and January 2009 will add a two-litre multitronic (continuously variable) transmission and all-wheel drive will be reduced to an option on some models.
Limited top speed
The top-of-the-range petrol engine in the Audi A5 is a new 3.2-litre FSI V6 that, Audi says, presents "an appreciable increase in engine efficiency" thanks to a broader torque curve that has "a marked reduction in fuel consumption".
It's capable of 195kW and 330Nm, the latter from 3000 to 5000rpm, and 0-100km/h in 6.4sec with top speed electronically limited to 250 km/h. Fuel consumption is quoted as 9.3 litres/100km and the launch vehicle I drove came with a six-speed tiptronic auto transmission complete with shift paddles on the steering wheel and a manual sequential tip-shift mode on the gear lever.
Frankly, I preferred this set-up to the 4.2-litre V8's greater grunt and six-speed manual shift; the ride is smoother, the gearshifts almost undetectable, the whole effect is less brutal and, though the performance is nowhere near as devastating, this car will be easier to live with in everyday driving.
You might lose out on bragging rights but drivers who like to use brains instead of brawn to progress through traffic in cities and on freeways will find it far more satisfying than its S5 brother. Save a wad of cash, too…
Highest compression
The V8, should you choose that route, will reward you by delivering 260kW and 440Nm and be up there with the leaders of the pack with a 0-100km/h time of 5.1sec.
Each engine has the highest compression ratio of any production car – 12.5:1.
Each model is 4.63m long with a wheelbase of 2.75m and a boot volume of 455 litres. The wheelbase contributes to the cars' superb handling and the boot size will make this coupe a great "grand tourer" for holidays with the kids. Greg Levine, divisional head of Audi SA, says:
"The A5's sophisticated high-quality and level of driver involvement mark the beginning of a new era for Audi in this competitive segment of the market."
Audi says the entire cabin is focused on the driver with the instruments and centre console flowing as one unit with the large multi-media information screen high up in the design to relay audio, satnav, aircon and other information called up by four buttons and a rotating knob on the floor console.
The same console carries a switch for the electro-mechanical parking brake – which includes a new function… Brake discs expand during hard use or during a long journey so the Audi system re-applies the parking brakes three seconds after their first lock to, in simple terms, take up the slack. Clever.
Permanent quattro drive
Buyers can add a "drive select" system to their shopping list. It has three modes – "comfort", "auto" and "dynamic" - that will set engine, auto transmission and steering characteristics. A fourth mode, "individual", comes with satnav to allow the driver to select from a wide variety of parameters.
Permanent all-wheel drive is standard with both the 4.2 and 3.2 engines. Normal driving sends torque in a 40:60 front:rear split. Poor surface traction will be countered instantly by a mechanical centre differential that will send up to 65 percent torque to the front or 85 percent to the rear axle.
Audi waxes exceeding lyrical about the V8 engine in the S5; here's what the automaker says: "No figures can adequately describe the supreme free-revving character, the spontaneous response, the continuous power build-up, or the thrilling sound of this eight-cylinder engine."
It is also linked to "quattro" drive, this one delivering 40 percent/60 percent torque front/rear under normal conditions but switching instantly, as needed, to the axle with the better traction.
The Audi S5's sports suspension has been tuned to enhance the coupé's dynamic handling and comes with high-performance brakes, identified by their black calipers.
The electronic stability programme can be switched off through two levels – some and none – to, Audi says, "exploit the potential of the Audi S5 to the full on a suitable stretch of road".
S design
Both models come with a superior level of cabin equipment that, apart from the usual auto windows, aircon and power seat adjustments, come with sports seats, sports steering wheel, instruments with grey dials, and aluminium door sill plates.
Alongside the coupé's 18" rims with the new S design and 245/40 tyres, standard equipment S5 features xenon-plus headlights with impressive daytime running lights.
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PERSONAL CHOICE: The new Audi A5 coupe is less powerful and more relaxed than the S5 supercar - much of the class and pace but with a much smaller price sticker. Other models will arrive later in 2008 and in early 2009.
EASY DRIVERS: The cockpit, pretty much shared by the new A5 and S5, is superbly comfortable but, unless you're a driving perfectionist, the auto version is the easier drive.
TWO CARS, TWO ENGINES: Top is the all-powerful 4.2 V8 and below the 3.2, more conservative, more relaxed, V6 in the new Audi S5 and A5 respectively. Other engines are still to come.
