Road Test: Audi A5/S5 (2007-)

This feels a big, bulky car. The pillars are thick, especially the centre pillar which, judging by the meeting of the flush front and rear side windows, the design team would rather wasn't there. The waistline is high, and you feel hemmed in if you set the seat for an appropriately sporting driving position. Those huge mirrors are great for seeing behind but not so good for the forward-three-quarter view they obscure. Instruments and switches are clear and easy to use.

So, what about this new chassis, now less nose-heavy and sharper-steering? The improvement is not immediately obvious. The steering is indeed more accurate and less springy than that of past mid-size Audis, but it still feels aloof from the road. And the nose still wants to run wide if you enter a bend enthusiastically, with no help from the tail if you ease the accelerator. It would be good if this action brought the tail around a bit, but the A5 is disappointingly inert here.

The front-drive 3.2 Multitronic feels the most immediately agile because it's lighter, just as a front-drive Audi TT 2.0 is more nimble than a 3.2 Quattro. The A5 3.0 TDI Quattro feels a touch heavier but once in a corner its four-wheel drive (with nominally 60% of torque going to the back wheels) makes it ultimately better able to stay on course so you can exit a bend more cleanly. As for the S5, pinnacle of the range, it really does feel big and heavy although it has plenty of grip on its big 18" wheels. There's no joy in hustling it through bends; ultimately the 3.0 TDI Quattro is best for that, helped by the engine's fabulous torque.

Why the dull dynamics? And why waste all that effort in developing the new platform? Audi's chief chassis engineer agrees with our assessment and would like things to be different, but Audi's marketing department insisted that the A5 must feel familiar to existing Audi owners. Which suggests that a) those owners would be unable to appreciate an improvement, which is an odd stance to take, and b) that Audi isn't interested in attracting buyers from BMW. The marketeers have shot themselves in the foot, then.

One good point, though. The brakes are nicely progressive as well as having a good, powerful bite. The snatchy, over-servoed brakes of past Audis are history, thank goodness.


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WickedRabbitWickedRabbit - 4/26/2007 8:54:54 PM
+2 Boost
Interesting article to say the least, but not sure I can agree with him on a lot of it, especially since he appears to be a poor writer with horrible grammatical capabilities. As a result, the likelihood of him understanding anything is also probably low, plus it's a Channel 4 editor's opinion; nough' said.


sewingmachinesewingmachine - 4/26/2007 9:00:10 PM
0 Boost
i somewhat agree wit the editor. from just the pics alone, it does look bloated and a little bland on the side profile. i think the front looks nice, but with the busy front, it doesnt go with the rest.


chewychewy - 4/26/2007 9:03:17 PM
-1 Boost
No real photos of the A5. Only press release photos. Did they drive the car? Probably not. I wiil start my own car reviews soon, without ever driving the car. As the British magazine writers do.


sewingmachinesewingmachine - 4/26/2007 9:10:05 PM
+2 Boost
considering they said roadtest on the site, onless their roadtest means guessing how everything looks and feels like. they usually praise the euro cars but he laid the smacked down on the s5.


StepYaGameUpStepYaGameUp - 4/26/2007 9:12:24 PM
0 Boost
i saww the a5 at the auto show in NY and i wanst impressed at all.. it relaly aint all that great looking (and it was actually an S5 on teh show floor) even the S5 screams "girl car."

im very unimpressed..
on a diff note.. i sa wthe R8.. loved it.


StepYaGameUpStepYaGameUp - 4/26/2007 9:13:24 PM
0 Boost
lol.. sorry not used to typing on this laptop.


david999david999 - 4/26/2007 9:24:56 PM
-1 Boost
This is supposed to compete against the BMW 335i? Not a very impressive review.


GX470guyGX470guy - 4/28/2007 1:29:10 PM
+1 Boost
yes, you are so right!!!!! of course!!!!! the LEXUS SC430 is a much better competitor for it, what with its fabulous steering and gorgeoussexy styling!!!!! it has Quality and Reliability!!!! unlike these POS "German Car."

Mmm... Lexus...


M316M316 - 4/26/2007 9:29:34 PM
0 Boost
Actually all the roadtests I have seen for this car say pretty much the samething.


Bighead255Bighead255 - 4/26/2007 10:21:12 PM
+3 Boost
No A5 compares with the 328 the S5 competes with the 335 this was a A5 review BMW fans be patient the real comparisons are coming soon and it will be a great battle ...ESPECIALLY THE RS5 vs M3


MunichRobMunichRob - 4/26/2007 11:31:27 PM
+3 Boost
"chewy" I hear ya loud on clear on the suspicion as to whether or not they actually drove the A5 for this article.

However this is the 3rd or 4th review I've seen on the car saying the same thing & therefore it's becoming clear the A5 isn't up to the driving tasks of a 3-coupe.

Mabye it just so happens the A5 is more relaxed like an A4 but the yet to be released RS5; like the RS4, is where Audi will save all it's ground breaking performance for.


chewychewy - 4/27/2007 1:43:31 PM
+2 Boost
Of course, it is silly to compare the S5 to the RS4. It won't be the same thing. But a review with no real photos=a bunch of BS to me. ANYONE can take some digital photos and put them up on the website. These reviews have no credibility.


Matthew1Matthew1 - 4/27/2007 2:01:14 AM
+2 Boost
No, they just made up the stuff about the brake feel and chassis response....

...C'mon Chewy, don't sink to the Lexus-fan level and make up lame excuses for a less-than-glowing review.

I think the A5 is stunning, however I am inclined to accept what the reviewer is saying, as Audi's of the past haven't been the best in terms of steering feel etc.


chewychewy - 4/27/2007 1:45:30 PM
0 Boost
Nope, these reviews have no cred at all. ANYONE can take some digital photos and put them up, of course you can't if you didn't drive the car. And I think they are trying to compare the S5 to the RS4, whcih doesn't make sense.


610looper610looper - 4/27/2007 2:43:58 AM
+1 Boost
Seems like some of these articles are just rehash from the 1st preview, they don't add an ounce of new/different information? The bad/ok reviews say the exact same things, same topics, etc..the good articles, go into detail about the whole product.

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/first_drive.php?sid=658&page=1

http://www.topgear.com/blogs/drives/042-audi-a5/

http://cars.uk.msn.com/Reviews/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4726928

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.autobild.de%2Ftest%2Fneuwagen%2Fartikel.php%3Fartikel_id%3D13902&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&safe=off&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools

http://autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/Audi-A5-4.2-V8-FSI-S5/225288/

http://www.whatcar.co.uk/car-review-summary.aspx?RT=2733


truecarlovertruecarlover - 4/27/2007 7:52:20 AM
+2 Boost
I can't say for certain if they actually drove it or not but I think the problem is that they expect Audi's to be BMW's. This is not the case - each vehicle has it's own personality. Lexus, Infiniti, Mercedes etc. That's what makes them different. Who can beat Porsche and BMW in the handling/steering dept?? Nobody. If you look at comparisons you'll see that Infiniti's and Audi's have both beaten BMW's because though they still aren't athletic - the overall vehicles are more well-rounded. Some won't want to acknowledge it - but it's the truth. Let's see how this shakes out. It's like a wife - do you want the one who does one or a few things better than anyone else? Or do you want the one who is the most well-rounded?? It comes down to the individual.


indoctrin8edindoctrin8ed - 4/27/2007 6:49:57 PM
+1 Boost
Not looking good for the RS5.

First step is to build a chassis that is solid and properly dynamic. The A5 is giving an ealy preview to its flaws. It's going to be hacks that will get this chassis into shape enough for an RS to come of it.


indoctrin8edindoctrin8ed - 4/27/2007 7:41:21 PM
+1 Boost
Why don't you suckahs start driving these cars and come to your own conclusions? I find most reviews to be wrong. You don't need to be rich to get behind the wheels of all of these. You just appear to be a schmuck at the car lot.
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