Motor Australia — January 2018

First Fang

New. Fast. Driven.

everythingfromtheAudiA4tothe

Lamborghini Urus) helps shave

weightandincreasestiffness

despiteanincreaseineveryexterior

dimension bar height, while an

optional carbon-fibre roof loses

another3kg(at$4900wewouldn’t

bother) and milled aluminium

wheels drop a further 2kg each.

Regardlessofthespecortechnical

minutiae,itworks.Thisisn’tacar

that’s going to leave you a heart-

pounding, sweaty-palmed mess

attheendofalongdrive,butasa

sports tourer it excels in being a

ruthlessly efficient way to cover a

lotofgroundveryquickly.Thishas

long been an Audi strong suit, but

the RS5’s appeal lies in its increased

comfortlevelswhenyouwantto

do the touring bit, yet heightened

adjustabilitywhenitcomestimefor

thesportsbit.

In Comfort the suspension delivers

exactly that, softening the dampers

so much that bigger impacts will

send them thumping into the bump

stops; many cars are so stiff Comfort

isthedefaultsettingevenwhen

pressing on. However, the RS5

wallowsoverbumpsandrollsinthe

bends and ultimately necessitates

selectionofDynamictostiffen

things up. The deterioration in ride

qualityissuchthatit’snotamode

in which you’d want to spend a long

time in although the increase in

bodycontroliswellworthitwhen

youwanttohaveacrack.

RS5gainslittlebut

badges to signify

its importance

inside the already

sumptuous cabin;

Virtual Cockpit

and Apple CarPlay

form part of the

infotainment

arsenal

of direction. The brakes, while

powerful, are also a little soft in

initial application.

Allinall,it’sanimpressive

machine. Whether or not it’s better

than its traditional rivals (M4, C63

Coupe) is almost the wrong question

to ask, as it feels far more biased

towards road use than racetrack

abuse. Perhaps some will find that

a disappointing verdict for an RS

model, and like those switching

from 981 to 718 Boxsters and

Caymans, current V8 owners are

advisedtotestdrive the V6 to ensure

it still presses the right buttons.

However, the RS5’s beautiful interior,

searing pace and involving (enough)

handling make it an attractive

proposition.

Honestly, at the moment the fairest

score feels to sit right in the middle

of four and four-and-a-half stars,

with an equal chance to go either

way. A longer drive in months to

come will dictate which side the

hammer falls.M

And you can have a massive

crack, wet or dry, the potency of the

engine and security of the chassis

combining to make mincemeat of

the tricky Targa Tasmania stages

that constitute the launch route.

There’s lots of grip, but it feels up on

its tippy-toes rather than super tied

down. Carry the brakes – 375mm

rotors and four-piston calipers up

front, a 330mm/two-piston combo

at the rear – into a corner and the

rear will slide gently. Getting on the

throttle early lets the sports diff do

its thing and point the nose further

towards corner exit. With space

to play on a track there’s reason to

believe the RS5 may entertain like

few non-R8 Audis before it.

There are a few potential areas

of improvement. The steering in

Dynamic is a little heavy, though

this is easily rectified by backing

it off to Comfort in the Individual

Drive Select mode, certain bumps

flummox the RS5’s chassis and it’s

a bit lethargic on quick changes

24 january 2018 motormag.com.au