Motor Australia — January 2018

UDI HASN’T so much

performed a u-turn with

the new RS5 as an abrupt

handbrake-induced 180.

It’s goodbye screaming naturally

aspirated V8, dual-clutch gearbox

and hello twin-turbo V6, eight-speed

torque-converter automatic with a

more relaxed suspension setup to

match. So the RS5’s gone soft? To

a degree it has, yes, but that’s not

necessarily a criticism.

It’s easy to bemoan the loss of

the awesome 8000rpm-plus V8,

but switching to a boosted bent-six

actually takes the RS badge back to

its roots – remember, the first RS4

Avant was powered by a 2.7-litre

twin-turbo V6. Using the S4’s 3.0-

litre turbo V6 as a starting point Audi

Sport reduced the stroke by 3mm and

wedged another turbo into the ‘hot

vee’ between the cylinder banks.

Power remains the same 331kW

as the V8, albeit produced at 5700-

6700rpm rather than a dizzying

8250rpm, but torque spikes to a

whopping 600Nm from just 1900rpm,

a significant 170Nm lift. Combine this

with all-wheel drive, eight closely

stacked ratios and a 60kg weight

cut (31kg of which is thanks to the

engine) and it’s little wonder the

0-100km/h sprint has been slashed

from 4.5sec to 3.9sec.

The rate at which it rips through

the lower gears to the highway

speed limit suggests that is easily

achievable, but the fullness of

the power curve means it doesn’t

necessarily feel as fast as the number

suggests. Boost builds quickly and

using the torque feels more effective

than chasing revs; essentially each

corner is taken a gear higher than

would traditionally feel natural.

The engine emits a nice enough

whirr as revs build with the odd

supercharger-like whine under

heavy load and the token blurts on

Audi RS5

Downsizingleadstoachangeinpersonality

full-throttle upshifts. It won’t make

the hairs on your arms stand up, but

norisitabadnoisebyanymeans.

Try as it might, the torque-converter

auto can’t deliver the instant shifts

of a dual-clutch. However, it’s more

than quick enough and allows

plenty of revs on downshifts – if

slightly slower changes are the price

to be paid for seamless everyday

operation then we’ll pay it.

On paper the new RS5’s chassis

is similar to its predecessor’s. The

quattroall-wheeldrivedefaultsto

a 40:60 front-to-rear split but can

shuffle between 85:15 and 30:70 as

the conditions dictate. The sports

rear differential also distributes

poweractivelytohelprotatethe

car and the hydraulically linked,

three-way adjustable Dynamic

Ride Control dampers aim to reduce

overallpitchandroll.

Undertheskin,however,the

newMLBevoplatform(usedon

ENGINE2894cc V6, DOHC, 24v, twin-turbo / POWER 331kW @ 5700-6700rpm / TORQUE 600Nm @ 1900-5000rpm/WEIGHT1655kg/0-100KM/H3.9sec (claimed)/PRICE$156,600

A

While the power

of the V6 remains

the same (331kW),

the extra torque

transforms the RS5

experience

d motorofficial f motor_mag^23

Like

Accessible

performance;

compliant ride

STAR RATING

Dislike

Sonorous V8

soundtrack

deleted; not as

focused as rivals

4.0

by SCOTT NEWMAN