2012 Audi RS5 Reviews

Late last year the Australian motoring media were let loose in a range of upcoming new Audi models, including a special Limited Edition of the RS 5 coupe. The standard variation of the Audi RS 5 has been our review car all week and like its ‘Limited’ brother is a high-performance German machine that is guaranteed to bring a big smile to the face of any keen driver.VALUEAt $161,400 plus on-roads the new Audi RS5 coupe is not cheap. Two new Audi packages are available to RS 5 buyers, with Valcona leather coming with a choice of diamond quilting ($14,990) and contrasting red leather inserts (from $9400) to add even more exclusivity.Just 25 cars get the ‘special’ treatment that includes 20-inch alloy wheels, sports exhaust with dual modes and black tailpipes, panoramic sunroof and Bang & Olufsen surround sound system, all for the same price – $161,400 – as the standard RS 5 Coupe.TECHNOLOGYA worked version of Audi’s 4.2-litre V8 engine produces a stirring 331 kW of power and the RS 5 takes advantage of Audi’s seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission and quattro all-wheel drive with self-locking centre differential and torque sharing on all four wheels. In addition there’s a sport differential for variable distribution of power between the rear wheels.All of this geared technology is enough to get the Audi RS 5 to 100 kilometres an hour from rest in just 4.5 seconds, no mean feat for a vehicle weighing on the high side of two tonnes if a couple of big Aussie blokes are on board.Top speed is normally electronically limited to 250 kilometres an hour. We are told that 280 km/h is available on request to Audi if the engineers there are confident in your driving ability. Top-speed is irrelevant off the race track in Australia but the smooth and instant power delivery adds driver confidence when overtaking on country roads or merging onto motorways. Perhaps even for the pleasure some of us enjoy in accelerating away from traffic lights to get clear of the pack.Audi has officially measured the latest RS 5 at an average of just 10.5 litres of fuel per 100 kilometres. Reduced fuel consumption is, in part, due to a new electromechanical power steering. Instant response, positive feedback and sharp cornering are also welcome improvements.DESIGNThe tall single-piece radiator looks as though it takes in more cool air than the Vienna Boys Choir in an Alpine concert; the 19 or 20-inch wheels would not look out of place on a Ben Hur chariot; twin elliptical exhaust ports look about the size of a ship’s funnels and create a stirring a fanfare from the booming V8.Brakes feature internally ventilated discs. Callipers are painted high-gloss black, the front units having eight pistons each and sporting RS logos. Modifications have been made to the layout of instruments and controls with the three-spoke, multifunction steering wheel dressed in perforated leather featuring new, more intuitive, buttons and rollers.The centre console has been reworked with the optional multimedia interface hard keys for menu functions reduced from eight to six. The ignition key and the steering column stalks have also been updated. Contrasting against the predominantly black cabin décor, pedals, footrest, air vents, shift paddles on the steering wheel, the MMI buttons and other controls are finished in an aluminium look.The two-door coupe character of the car can be a chore for passengers getting in and out of the two rear seats – it’s a four-seater only – and not recommended for the less agile. The wide doors don’t help in limited parking space. However, when ensconced in the back there is room for few complaints from occupants, the body-hugging sports seats providing plenty of thigh and side support even during the most spirited driving.SAFETYBrakes are hooked up to the usual active safety systems such as ABS with electronic brake force distribution and brake assist.DRIVINGAudi Drive Select is standard and allows the driver to select between three modes – Comfort, Auto and Dynamic – changing the characteristics of steering, the S tronic transmission, throttle valves and exhaust sound valves.The electronic stability program with Sport mode can be deactivated, while an optional sport suspension-plus with dynamic ride control makes use of variable suspension damping, while high-performance brakes, with front carbon fibre ceramic discs are also available as an optionDuring our time with the ultra-hot Audi RS 5 fuel consumption ranged from 10.6 litres per 100 kilometres in highway cruising to 18-plus litres per 100 kilometres in stop/start city traffic. While high in their own right these figures aren’t bad for a car with this sort of performance and indicate the efficiency of the big V8 powerplant.Stability is also improved by a spoiler in the rear hatch which deploys electronically at 120 km/h or at the push of a button by the driver. A flat-bottomed steering wheel, now standard, adds a further sporting feel to the RS 5.VERDICTAudi RS 5 is a stunner of a coupe both in looks and actions, displaying all that Audi stands for in style and automotive technology.Audi RS5Price: from $161,400Warranty: 3 years/unlimited kmCrash rating: n/aEngine: 4.2-litre 8-cyl petrol, 331kw/430NmTransmission: 7-speed auto; AWDThirst: 14.4L/100km, 246g/km CO2Dimensions: 4649mm (L), 1860mm (W), 1366mm (H)Weight: 1715-1790kg

Two sports coupes released within weeks of each other represent unprecedentedly polar extremes of two-door fun. One you see on this page. The other wouldn't normally be mentioned in a review of a prestige car. Having just returned from as legal a fang as it's possible to have on public roads, I'm wondering whether Audi - and its uber-sophisticated rivals - might not learn something from Subaru's BRZ?Chalk and cheese, you say? Industrial beer to Dom Perignon? Ignoring the $130,000 disparity, the game-changing Soob shows us that less can be, if not more, then enough.Autobahn-stormingstyle acceleration means little unless you've regular recourse to a track. Certainly I can't claim to have had any less fun in the much “lesser'” car. Rather more, actually.That said, the RS5 is, of course, clinically excellent, a rousing muscle car with naturally aspirated V8 stonk and sound to deliver on its aggressive and now mildly enhanced lines. “Muscle car”' is the motif. In a sense, the A4/A5 range hero car doesn't have a direct competitor. Sure, it's always slapped up against BMW's M3, but lack of imagination doesn't make a comparison valid.The Renn (Racing) Sport 5 is more an uber-HSV, more American in its visual and dynamic execution - a kilometre-crushing grand tourer and ballsy boulevard cruiser. Despite being a midlife remake rather than a new model per se, it is discernibly improved.Purveyor of the least satisfying steering feel of any car maker to call itself "sporty", Audi's new electro-mechanical set-up flouts convention of bettering the old hydraulic system. But you will want to tick the $2400 dynamic steering option that imbues the tiller with a sense of feedback.Our tester was optioned up to $176,140, with $6300 bucket seats and a package including 20-inch alloy wheels. Take these if you must, but don't whine about getting a numb bum from the unforgiving pews and the terse ride.Also newish, despite the familiar 4.2-litre displacement, is the naturally aspirated V8 that revs to a sky-high 8500rpm, a bit more powerful and markedly cleaner than the previous motor. That's driven through a seven-speed twin-clutch auto that's been successfully recalibrated for smooth delivery at low speed. No DSG-like stuttering here.Hard to complain of the newest quattro all-wheel-drive transmission, which can send 70 per cent of torque to the front wheels and 85 to the rear, enhanced by a sports diff. Again, it's clinically excellent but not the most visceral or engaging get-up.Even ignoring the naughty launch control trick (one warning from the constabulary in a day is enough for me), the RS5 gets from zero to licence-shredding velocity in less than 5.0 seconds with the gear lever in Sport, triggering all the aural response you could want.This is two distinct cars or three or even four, depending on what combination you dial up via the drive select modes, now selected via a dash button rather than by distracting knob-twiddling. Most are redundant. Auto leaves the various suspension, throttle, steering settings to the car's mighty brain; Dynamic engages sport and loosens the leash, but never to any eye-widening degree.Traction is cat-on-curtain adhesive. The bulky two-door isn't easily shifted from any well-chosen line, carrying highly impressive speed with next to no body roll through the tightest bends with a wide open window before the stability control sticks its nose in. After years of absurdly touchy brakes, these mighty stoppers have real feel through the pedal.VERDICTThe RS5 is an inherently well-balanced, hugely capable and deeply forgiving device. It's also one that - ignoring the scandalous Subaru comparison - doesn't offer much more than the $30K cheaper S5. Nor, for that matter does it crease the corners of the mouth in the same way as previous RS gambits. As we say, that's, well...clinically excellent.Audi RS5 CoupePrice: $161,400Warranty: 3yr/unlimited kmResale: 56 per centService interval: 12 months/15,000kmSafety features: 6 airbags, ABS, EBD, EBA, TC.Crash rating: 5 starsEngine: 4.2-litre V8 petrol, 331kW/430NmTransmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto; AWDThirst: 10.5L/100km, 270g/km COf2Dimensions: 4.6m (L), 1.9m (W), 1.4m (H)Weight: 1753kg

Audi has stunned with a massive $13,500 reduction in its hot-headed RS 5 Coupe.