Audi RS5 – Driving Video

The Audi RS5 - Driving Video below

It’s a bit sad, but the majority of the attention on Audi at the Geneva Motor Show has been on the Audi A1. Which is understandable. Not only is it Audi’s first serious foray in to the super mini market (the only premium compact, Audi modestly declare) but even more headline-grabbing because of the A1 e-tron.

The Audi A1 e-tron is a very credible attempt at a city EV but with a range extender, wankel 1-pot to make inter-city travel viable. In one hit Audi has demonstrated the only serious use for EVs is as City Cars, but with inter-city travel built in. And a proper car – not a superannuated milk float.

See, we’ve done it too; wittered on about the A1 when we wanted to talk about the new Audi RS5 which is, in its own way, as stunning and impressive as the A1. From our own, petrol-head perspective it’s the performance that’s the stand-out. 0-60mph in 4.4 seconds from the 4.2 litre V8 and the one thing that’s been missing from an Audi with a V8 – a proper gearbox. The RS5 gets Audi’s seven-speed S-Tronic dual clutch transmission which makes the RS5 the stand-out performance gem in the Audi range (well, perhaps the manual ‘box R8 V10 grabs that award, but a manual ‘box is sooo yesterday).

We also love the subtle style. Many have complained that the RS5 is visually too much like the S5; too understated. For us that’s its joy. As the effective replacement for the RS4 we think it’s a triumph in terms of style and performance. But that’s all subjective and we can’t really judge until we’ve driven it. But so far so very good.

We’ve managed to grab a VT of the RS5 driving so you can judge if the style suits the car. Audi has thrown in a quick overtake on the original quattro to show the heritage of the RS5 (the bulging wings in particular are a styling hat-tip to the qauttro) and there’s some very good noises going on.

Enjoy.

By Cars UK