Audi RS5 Review 2024

When so many performance cars have become brash and flash, the Audi RS5 has remained resolutely restrained. It’s a welcome approach and lets its drivers get on with enjoying their time at the wheel without unwanted attention.

You can spice things up with the colour choices of the RS5, but both Coupe and Sportback both suit discreet hues that are in keeping with the stealthy feel the exude.

Both RS5 models work as everyday cars, assuming you can afford the running costs, and they have cabins that look and feel as classy as any in the performance segment.

You cannot mention the Audi RS5 without talking about the BMW M3 and M4, and the Mercedes-AMG C43 and C63. The M3/M4 and RS5 have been doing battle for years, with the BMW usually appealing to those wanting a visceral driving experience. The Mercedes-AMG cars are brutally quick and now have four-wheel drive as standard like the Audis but are a shade more understated than the BMW contenders. Another option is the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, which is every bit as quick and thrilling as a BMW M3 but with an even more on-the-edge feel to its performance.

Audi has got its cabin fit and finish down to a fine art, and the RS5’s interior is a perfect example of this. Wherever your hands or feet come into contact with the car, you can be sure there’s a quality material waiting.

This impression is furthered by the tight shut lines of the interior surfaces where they join and the positive click provided by the buttons when operated.

By today’s standards, there possibly too many buttons in the RS5’s driving environment, but it is simple to work out each control does without being distracted from the road ahead.

As well as the 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit main dash display, which can be configured in a number of ways to suit the driver’s information needs, the RS5 comes with a 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen.

The screen can be worked with a finger. Sadly, the rotary controller just in front of the gear selector is no longer fitted to the RS5. This control made it easier to use when driving as you didn’t have to lean forward to reach the screen display and hope you press the right icon when driving on bumpy roads.

Audi has mounted the screen on top of the dash, so it doesn’t feel as integrated as some of its more recent models. It comes with some RS-specific information such as engine power, G-force, and on-track performance. Fun, but not that necessary.

The boot in the RS5 Coupe offers up 410-litres of luggage capacity, while the Sportback ups that to a generous 465-litres. Both offer the chance to extend carrying ability by dropping the rear bench to leave a flat floor.

Whatever your feelings about the previous RS5’s rev-forever 4.2-litre V8, the latest car’s twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 is a brilliant engine.

Start it up and the V6 makes a discreet burble that’s just enough to let you know there’s plenty of power waiting to be unleashed when you want it. It pulls aways smoothly whether you need to crawl through town or blast up to motorway speeds, all assisted by the excellent eight-speed automatic gearbox that is standard in all RS5 versions.

Choose the sportiest setting in the Drive Select modes and the exhaust emits a deeper growl with an added crackle as you lift off the throttle. However, in daily driving the engine is a real smoothy.

All of the motor’s power is corralled through the Quattro four-wheel drive system, so not a drop is wasted in wheel spin and it all goes towards making quick progress when you want to.

It’s not as powerful as some engines in this select corner of the market, with the Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio offering notably more punch. However, you won’t find anything to complain about in the RS5 when it can cover 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and romp on to 155mph, where it is electronically capped. Choose the Vorsprung model and that limiter is raised to 174mph.

Cruising around town or along the motorway, you will be hard pressed to tell the RS5 is not one of its humbler stablemates from the Audi range. That’s not to denigrate the RS5, it simply tells us this is a very refined car when driven with a modicum of restraint.

It might sit on 19- or 20-inch wheels depending on the spec, but the Audi RS5 keeps road noise at a lower level than you’ll find in its key rivals. It also eliminates wind and other exterior sounds more effectively than most, adding to the RS5’s GT credentials.

Give the engine a prod on the throttle, however, and it wakes up with a pleasingly bass growl. In the sport setting chosen through the Drive Select button, the exhaust also develops a naughty crackle when you come off the throttle, so there is a little devil inside the RS5 when you want to have fun.

The Audi RS5 has not been tested by Euro NCAP, but the A4 saloon has been and it shares a good deal of its structure with the Coupe and Sportback models. The A4 scored a full five-star rating, so the RS5 models will be similarly robust in a collision.

Every Audi RS5 version comes with ESP traction control and ABS anti-lock brakes, as well as lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, and a driver fatigue alert.

Audi also fits the Audi RS5 with its Pre-Sense City system that can spot potential hazards and obstructions to warn the driver. If the driver doesn’t respond, the automatic emergency braking comes into play to stop the car.

On top of that, the RS5 has six airbags, all-round parking sensors, cruise control with speed limiter, and blind spot monitor. It also has Isofix child seat mounts in the back seats, reversing camera, and automatic lights and wipers.

Audi might not have the golden reputation for reliability that its image always suggests, but the RS5 has a good track record for durability.

A three-year, 60,000-mile warrant is standard, and owners can extend that to as much as 90,000 mile and five years. Audi also offers fixed price servicing deals to help offset regular maintenance costs.

As a high performance car, you can reckon on the RS5 getting through pricey tyres more often than a standard executive saloon. When it gets round to changing oil and brake pads at services, these will also cost more than for a standard saloon or hatch.

The lowest insurance group for the Audi RS5 is Group 42, which puts it three groups lower than the best a BMW M3 can muster.

If you opt for the top spec Audi RS5 Vorsprung, it’s in the higher Group 47 with a consequent jump in premium to pay. Even so, that’s still lower than the Group 48 a Mercedes-AMG C63 resides in.

None of these cars are cheap to get cover for, but it comes with the territory of higher performance models and is unlikely to unduly concern anyone looking at an RS5 or its rivals.

At current rates at the time of writing, an Audi RS5 customer will be picking up a Vehicle Excise Duty tab for £1565 to cover the first-year road tax bill.

As the Audi RS5 costs well in excess of the £40,000 threshold for the additional £390 supplemental road tax cost, you will need to add that into your spreadsheet of costs. This fee also applies in the subsequent five years in addition to the standard £180 road tax charge.

It won’t come as a shock to learn the RS5 also sits in the 37% bracket for company car Benefit in Kind payments based on its emissions.

The specifications for the Audi RS5 are the same whether you choose the Coupe or the five-door Sportback.

All have the mighty 450PS V6 twin-turbo 2.9-litre engine plus eight-speed automatic gearbox. 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.

On the inside of the base RS5, if that’s what you can call this model, there are RS sports front seats, Nappa leather upholstery, climate control, electric seat adjustment, pneumatic massage function, and heating for the front chairs.

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.