► Revised Audi S5
► Sits on new combustion platform
► Avant and Sportback options
This is it – the all-new 2024 Audi S5. Ingolstadt’s recent lineup rejig has involved the merger of some product lines into others, as a revised brand naming system now deems all electric vehicles should end in an even number while all combustion-powered cars end in an odd number. Since A4 has been absorbed by A5, it was only natural that a warmer version be launched too, and here it is.
Built on an entirely new platform, the Audi S5 embodies a declaration of intent from the brand to pursue the development of engines just a little while longer. A ban on fossil fuel power may loom in the UK, but the new Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) platform on which this 2024 S5 sits will serve as the basis for several more upcoming models, according to Audi, all of which will include efficient and partly electrified engines.
But what about this car, the vanguard of the line? To find out how the S5 stacks up, I’ve flown to the south of France to drive it. Read on for the full review from CAR, or head over to our how we test cars page to find out how I reached my verdict.
At a glance
Pros: Comfortable, changeable character, loaded with tech
Cons: Cluttered dashboard, could be hotter
What’s new?
The new S5 is essentially a slightly hotter version of the old Audi A4, albeit on a new platform. Of course, a few styling tweaks were in order: the front end now features a wider and flatter grille, while the rear light signatures have been revised to involve a light bar, comprised of cutting-edge OLED panels, among other updates. The new S5 is a low-slung beast, with short overhangs and an RS-style mesh grille. I’ve got time for the cosmetic tucks, but I’ll leave that verdict up to you.
The 2024 S4 has a new interior – I’ll go into more detail on that later – as well as a revised power unit: a 3.0-litre petrol engine, fitted with a 48-volt mild hybrid electric motor. The MHEV system has been implemented to attenuate some of the S5’s environmental impact, all while supplementing the engine with a helping hand during acceleration, or while cruising on open roads.
What are the specs?
The Audi S5 is powered by a turbocharged V6 petrol engine that produces 362bhp and 405ft lbs of torque. With its Quattro all-wheel drive system, the S5 can reach 62mph from zero in 4.5 seconds, before going on to a top speed of 155mph. The car is only available with a seven-speed S tronic automatic gearbox, but also benefits from mild-hybrid electric drive.
As for fuel efficiency in the new S5, Audi quotes a best combined economy range of between 35.3 and 35.8 mpg from WLTP, along with an emissions range of between 181 and 178 g/km. The S5 is 4835mm long, 1444mm tall and 1860mm wide in Avant form (15mm shorter in Sportback guise), and weighs 2,040 kg. The boot in the S5 Avant can carry up to 448 litres with the seats up and 1,396 litres with them folded down. The Sportback version can carry 417 litres or 1,271 litres, so opt for the Avant if you need the extra luggage room.
What is it like to drive?
The S5 benefits from adaptive dampers as standard which, in conjunction with a few other tweaks the car can perform on itself, allowed me to change the S5’s character depending on which mood I was in.
In comfort or balanced, the S5 had a relaxed personality. It felt relatively grounded but could still insulate me from any significant judder. It seemed to skip over the blemishes, but still with a residual connection to the road that was transferred through the steering wheel and chassis. I liked it. In these modes the engine had a subdued and refined note, even at high speeds on the motorway, which added to an overall premium feel. The engine was barely audible, or not at all when the 48-volt MHEV system was carrying out its solo performances around town.
But even in its restrained settings, the 3.0-litre TFSI unit still had a decent level of punch to it. Out on the twisting switchbacks of our test route – where the A5 felt a little feeble in its power output – the S5 could get its efforts down with greater urgency. It was a happy to work out of corners, no doubt owing to its all-wheel drive Quattro system, pulling with more of an effervescence than its siblings in the A5 range.
This sense was elevated when I bumped the car up into Dynamic mode. Suddenly the suspension tightened, the car’s power delivery seemed to sharpen, and my paddle shift gear changes got quicker. It was a noticeable shift, but I wouldn’t go as far as to say dynamic mode transformed the car.
The other new S model launched this year, the S3, received an RS3-style torque splitter on the rear axle as part of its upgrade. Along with an even fizzier Dynamic Plus mode, the newly implemented torque splitter has hugely benefitted the car’s agility when cornering by sending extra power to the outside wheel. Clever stuff. More importantly, though, it’s now set the S3 apart from the A3 with greater disparity where performance is concerned.
The S5 features no such tech. It has a little over 150bhp more than the A5 TDI, but even when in dynamic mode, the S5 felt more like a caffeinated A5 than a different animal entirely. Its steering was direct and nicely weighted, but there was no masking the weight and general lethargy of the chassis.
The car didn’t want to be flicked around, despite the steering tune inviting me to do so with its responsiveness, and it took a scrupulous and constant awareness of the car’s extremities to avoid clanging into the side of a French mountain.
The route beckoned me to evoke my inner Ken Block like some mad tarmac siren, but the car felt too big and unwieldy to get going. Like meeting Usain Bolt at Disney Land, I could tell the S5 had performance within, but also that it doesn’t take well to demands of every ounce at any given time. Be gentle with the S5 and it can be a far more rewarding car to carve up roads with.
Is it a bad thing that the A5 line’s top boy didn’t seem quite as dynamically impressive over the regular crop as I’d hoped? Not necessarily. The S5 is still a quick car, and room must be left for a potential RS, but given the upgrade that the S3 received this year – and the £20k price hike over base-spec 201bhp Quattro TDIs – I’d have perhaps wanted a little more marmite in the margarine.
What’s it like inside?
New platform, new MHEV power, new interior to match. The S5 is offered in just one comprehensive interior trim, Edition 1. It features every bell and whistle offered by Audi, and being a top-of-the-range model, there’s quite a lot to unpack.
The dashboard comprises of three displays: an 11.9-inch instrument cluster with Audi’s virtual cockpit system, a 14.5-inch touchscreen infotainment display and then a 10.9-inch passenger display on the far side. Each is encircled by a wealth of piano black plastic, the collective sum of which ends up covering half your field of vision.
If I’m being honest, I thought it was a bit much. The dashboard looks a little too maximalist, too cluttered for my tastes. While I’m not a fan of super-streamlined, minimalist Tesla-style interiors either, the S5’s dash had too much going on for me to really recline into the beautifully quilted Nappa leather seats and relax. Chopping the passenger display out of the equation might’ve made a difference, but since the S5 is only available in one spec, I’m not sure Audi will send such an order to the kitchen.
But the interior isn’t without merit. Since the first two aforementioned OLED displays are angled towards you as the driver, along with the centre console’s drive selector switch and an illuminated instrument switch panel on the driver’s side door, the S5’s hot seat has a real cockpit feel. I enjoyed this sense, while the seats themselves were incredibly comfortable, with plenty of adjustability on offer for me to find the perfect position.
I must also say that build quality in the S5 is excellent. The whole cabin has a beautifully premium touch to it, awash with quality materials including a strip of Dinamica microfibre along the latitudinal centre line of the dash that nicely breaks up the arrangement of surfaces. It’s spacious too, with plenty of headroom from front to rear, and sufficient legroom in the back for two adults to get comfortable.
Audi will throw a few unique tech features in as part of its Sound and Vision package – standard on all S5s. They include a heads-up display, an advanced ambient lighting system and a set of speakers in the headrests that will relay navigation instructions to you as though Siri’s sultry little voicer were right in your ear. I don’t know, maybe this could be your thing, but I found her demands a little… er… intrusive.
As part of the advanced ambient lighting system, the ends of a light strip along the dash will illuminate in green when indicating. The flashes a bit gimmicky, but I can’t say offensive. Perhaps they could provide some additional entertainment for your passenger? You know, when he or she gets bored of tracking your progress along the M25 from their obnoxiously large display panel?
Before you buy
This is the easy part. As already stated, the S5 is available in only one trim – the top-spec Edition 1 grade. So you get everything, but Audi has bumped its Edition 1 grade for the S5 up a little compared to what you get in the same grade on the A5, just for a little extra sparkle. The B&O sound system comes as standard, as does a panoramic sunroof with its changeable transparency settings and the ambient lighting pro package.
A lower suspension setup and some adaptive dampers also come as standard, along with that Pearl Nappa leather trim and pneumatically adjustable lumbar support. It’s healthy provision, but then the car does cost £68,700 in Sportback form, or £70,600 for the Avant.
As for rivals, the S5 has a few. There’s the competent BMW M340i xDrive and Mercedes-AMG C 43 4MATIC out of the other big German stables, while the coveted Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio starts from just nine grand more than the S5 Avant. Yes, yes, I know it’s far more powerful and really in a different class, but if you’re willing to spend around £70,000 on a hot family saloon, why not give it some thought? Decisions, decisions.
Verdict
The S5 is a highly competent car. It has the ability to relax into a smooth and considerate cruise around town or on the motorway, happy for the MHEV system to carry out most of the drive work in silence, but it can also turn on when you want it to.
The interior build is of a high standard, and there’s plenty of room inside to be enjoyed, even if the dash is a bit fussy. I just wonder if the uptick in power is worth the extra 20 grand or so over the A5. I’m not sure it is, given that the car didn’t enjoy being pushed very hard. I think if it were my money, I’d opt for the more sedate A5 TDI Quattro – no passenger display screen – then splash my saved cash on a pre-loved sports car with which we’d seek thrills together.