Audi RS5 Review 2024

In a world where many are looking for more efficiency and lower emissions, is there still space for a raucous performance coupe? Of course there is, and the Audi RS5 is just such a car: engineered to take on the BMW M4 and Mercedes-AMG C63. It’s powerful, fun and surprisingly practical, but don’t expect it to be cheap to run.

Audi has always made great performance saloons, the mighty RS4 being the most iconic of them all. Then along came the A5 coupe, a two-door version with slinky styling and a dynamic personality. Naturally Audi’s go-faster RS division got to work on it and provided enthusiasts with this car: the RS5.

Not such a sledgehammer as the Mercedes-AMG, Audi has combined raw power with elegance and a degree of practicality. The latter is even more present in the Audi RS5 Sportback, a five-door version that means you can pack in the kids and all the family paraphernalia for a weekend away.

It’s not even that compromised when it comes to ride quality, with Audi engineers doing a fine job of balancing comfort and performance.

There’s decent space inside too – more in the Sportback, of course – and all models have Audi’s interior design with great layouts, Audi Virtual Cockpit instrumentation and infotainment, and all the essentials we expect in a modern premium car.

At its heart, though, beats a 2.9-litre turbocharged V6 that thumps out 450PS. It is thrilling when pushed, and quattro all-wheel drive provides plenty of grip when you do so. The ride is composed enough to ensure your golf clubs won’t get thrown around too much in the boot, either.

How much longer we will be able to enjoy the work of Audi’s RS engineers and the sound of a car like the RS5 we don’t know. But for now, we are very glad that we can.

The Audi RS5 is engineered for driving thrills and everyday comfort, and for the most part it ticks both boxes nicely.

Drive Select driving modes provide settings to suit your demands and Audi’s renowned quattro all-wheel-drive system and a sport differential ensure the RS5 gets all its torque down to the tarmac in the most efficient way, providing copious amounts of grip on acceleration and through the corners.

It doesn’t feel as nimble on its feet as the BMW M4, which is far more enjoyable on twisty roads. The Audi RS5 feels less confident, preferring to stretch its legs on longer stretches of road. The steering isn’t as communicative as rivals either, and requires more effort than you might expect.

In truth, the Audi RS5 is more a GT car than an outright performance coupe. It’s easy to enjoy the power, but it’s the everyday ride comfort and ability to let miles pass by in comfort that define its true character.

Under the bonnet of the Audi RS5 and the RS5 Sportback sits a superb 3.0-litre V6 engine that is shared with Porsche. It produces 450PS at 5700rpm and 600Nm of torque from 1900rpm.

The low-down torque is pushed through an eight-speed Tiptronic torque converter gearbox that provides great acceleration out of corners and from a standing start, with a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds.

That puts the Audi RS5 firmly in the same league as the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, BMW M4 Competition and Mercedes-AMG C63. The top speed is limited to 155mph, but go for the Vorsprung version and that’s unlocked to give you access to the full, unrestricted 174mph. Perfect if you’ve got a holiday home close to a German autobahn.

While not as precise as the BMW or as visceral as the Mercedes-AMG, the engine in the Audi RS5 is the heart of a muscle machine, providing a feeling of abundant but manageable power. Tap into the Audi Drive Select driving modes and the engine alters its character dramatically, being relatively docile in town or an athlete on the open road.

Vehicle safety organisation Euro NCAP hasn’t tested the Audi RS5. However, as it shares much with the Audi A4 saloon, it inherits that car’s five-star rating. As well as airbags, Isofix child seat anchor points, traction control and ABS, the RS5 also has autonomous emergency braking and blind-spot monitoring.

Add in the Driver Assistance Tour Pack, standard on Vorsprung models, and you get adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, Audi pre-sense collision detection, active lane assistance and collision avoidance assistant.

All Audi RS5 models are rated to tow up to 750kg unbraked, If pulling a braked trailer or caravan, the towing limit is 2000kg.

It might be a coupe, but there’s loads of space in the interior of the Audi RS5 – even for those sitting in the back. Admittedly, getting into those back seats is never the easiest with a three-door car, but if you’re a performance-oriented family then Audi has you covered with the five-door RS5 Sportback. This delivers much more practicality without compromising its sporting character.

Standard luggage space is 410 litres for the coupe and 465 litres for the Sportback. Audi’s great luggage system allows you to tie down loads and the rear seats fold almost flat.

There’s plenty of storage in the front, with deep door pockets and space in the centre console. It’s more practical than its coupe design would suggest, especially the Sportback.

Premium quality is a given in the Audi RS5. There’s a real feeling of solidity everywhere you look and touch. The dashboard features an excellent mixture of materials, including thick padding across the top and carbon fibre-look plastics. These continue in the centre console and are combined with piano black that provides both a luxurious and sporty feel.

The buttons are all well-placed and feel solid, while the leather Super Sports seats are sumptuous and supportive. Engineered to be driven, the materials all seem hard-wearing and built to last, even after many miles of enthusiastic driving.

Audi’s Virtual Cockpit provides an excellent 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with views that can be changed at the touch of a button.

Themes alter depending on driving mode and there’s plenty of information to take in while you drive without it being distracting. This includes RS-specific information such as tyre pressures, torque and G-force meters, and you can also monitor your lap times on-track. If you want all this info right in your field of view, there’s the option of a head-up display.

The main infotainment system is a 10.1-inch touchscreen mounted on top of the dashboard, rather than integrated into it as with other, more up-to-date models. It’s still easy to use, but you do have to stretch more to select from the many icons and menus, especially since Audi stopped including a rotary controller in the centre console.

Prices across the model line-up are the same for the three-door coupe or the five-door Audi RS5 Sportback. The range starts at £71,715 for the standard RS5 quattro. Move up to the Carbon Black versions with their 20-inch alloy wheels and carbon black styling pack, and the cost rises to £78,115.

At the top of the range sit the Vorsprung models, priced at £89,615. These include the black styling pack, but add a panoramic sunroof, head-up display, Matrix LED headlights with Audi laser lights and dynamic indicators.

It also has the Driver Assistance Tour Pack with adaptive cruise control and RS Sports Suspension Plus with dynamic ride control and dynamic steering. Vorsprung models can reach a higher 174mph top speed.

Options include a Comfort and Sound Pack at £1,395, which includes a Bang & Olufsen sound system and 360-degree camera. Tick the carbon fibre roof on the options list and it will add £3,650 to your invoice.

It goes without saying that if you’re counting the pennies, the RS5 is going to keep you busy. If you’re lucky, you might get close to the claimed fuel consumption figure of 29.7mpg, but if that’s a goal then it’s best you look at something more efficient.

CO2 emissions are very much at the upper end, fitting into the 191-225g/km bracket for VED (annual road tax). That means a first-year figure of £2,220 and £180 in years two to five, plus the ‘expensive car’ tax of £390 a year.

Service intervals are every two years or 19,000 miles and the standard warranty is 3-years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first.

Specifications are the same across both the regular coupe and the five-door Sportback. As well as the mighty 450PS V6, the standard model gets 19-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels, Audi Matrix LED headlights, dynamic front and rear indicators, an RS exhaust system and RS sports suspension. It also has the Audi Virtual Cockpit digital instrumentation display, 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Audi Drive Select driving modes and Audi Beam RS logo puddle lamps.

Carbon Black models get a more menacing look, with gloss black 20-inch Audi Sport alloy wheels, black badging and other black exterior details. There are also carbon twill inlays inside the car.

Vorsprung models top the line-up and come with the full black styling pack, along with a panoramic sunroof, Audi laser lights, the Driver Assistance Tour Pack and Dynamic Ride Control. Inside is a head-up display and coloured LED interior ambient lighting. The Vorsprung is also derestricted, providing a top speed of 174mph – where conditions and the law allows, of course.