Audi RS 5 Sportback: It’s fast, smooth with a practical feel

I remember it well: last year I was sent Audi’s just launched, high-performance RS 5 Coupe, and I couldn’t wait to get some real-world road test data from this car.

It certainly had the numbers on paper, 331KW of power and 600Nm of torque on tap, to go with seriously good looks. But my main concern was that this Audi was up against two exceptionally good competitors in BMW’s M4 and Mercedes-AMG’s C63 Coupe. And from an outright excitement point of view, the other two Germans took the cake, thanks to their somewhat mormanic two-wheel drive configuration and double clutch transmission.

The all-wheel drive, torque converter transmission-driven Audi RS 5 Coupe offered a mostly similar level of straight-line performance, but in a composed package I didn’t think would suit hardcore performance junkies.

Fast forward a year and now, Audi’s high-performance RS 5 Sportback is with me – and there is no denying that Audi Sport build some of the best-looking cars out there. For the record, this is the first time you can get the RS5 in Sportback guise. Although technically without competition, this more practical five-door model is closer competition to BMW’s M3 Sedan and Mercedes-AMG’s C63 Sedan than the just-released Audi RS 4 Avant.

Watch out for the RS 4 road test next week, where Motoring Editor Jaco van der Merwe will set out to explore some of its limits and more than likely get sent to the dog box for the week by his wife as a result. As to be expected, the RS 5 Sportback shares its 2.9 TFSI V6 twin turbo engine with its Coupe sibling and the power and torque are exactly the same too. Which means Audi claims a 0-100 km/h in what would be a class leading time of 3.9 seconds.

But there are a few issues that I have to raise that spoil the clubbing M and AMG cars out on the road. The RS 5 Coupe ran a tested time of 4.17 seconds to 100 km/h, which made it quicker off the line than the M4 and C63, but from there, both of them went past and pulled away from the Audi.

Unfortunately, not much has changed with the RS 5 Sportback. It went fractionally quicker to 100km/h in a time of 4.10 seconds and from there the 65kg of extra weight it carries counts against it. It goes slightly slower than the Coupe and by default, all the competition too. We are really talking about a tenth or two here and there, but when you are in a street war, like these types of cars tend to find themselves in, these little differences count.

As do the little technical nuisances like the fact that this latest model in the segment does not have any form of launch control to use against its enemies. I messed up a little. I know I said in the RS 5 Coupe road test of last year that the owner’s manual says it has launch control – and the manual does say that – but what I didn’t see, was the little disclaimer that said this function is only available on S tronic models. And this RS 5 Sportback, like the RS Coupe, does not have a double clutch S tronic transmission. It has a somewhat more relaxed eight-speed, conventional torque converter, Tiptronic box. So, it doesn’t have any launch control, and this means you have to exercise a little mechanical sympathy for the car.

You have to left foot brake it and floor the accelerator and hold it while it builds some boost before letting it go if you want it to make some form of rapid progress. And if you don’t do this and accelerate straight off without braking the car, not much really happens for a moment or two and this means you are going to get a hiding off the line.

Getting back into the lack of mechanical sympathy required, just like the RS 5 Coupe, after three or so runs, the brakes on the Audi simply can’t hold the car stationary when you try this make-believe launch starts. I then went and checked on some Audi Owners’ Forums to make sure I wasn’t imagining things or being overly harsh on this aspect and found many owners hate this part of owning these new RS Audis.

It’s a pity because the quattro all-wheel drive system employed on this car really makes for a surefooted driving experience once you are on the move. It does leave you feeling that an RS 5 Plus type model, like the R8 offers, with a bit of a weight reduction and an aggressive and fast shifting double clutch gearbox, would change how any performance enthusiast sees this offering. And one thing is for sure, like I alluded to earlier, this is the easiest of the three to drive fast when the going gets a bit challenging out on the open road – where an Audi RS 5 Sportback will be used most.

But not the quickest on a pukka race track due to its weight and less sporty gearbox. I can’t see too many of these hitting track days every weekend though. Being inside an Audi RS model is always a pleasant experience and the RS 5 Sportback is no different. But this time you get rear doors and proper space for five people. A decent 480-litre boot is there too and by folding down the 40:20:40 rear seats, you get a full 1 300-litres of cargo space. More practical, like I said.

Of course, if you have deeper pockets than the suggested retail price of R1 312 000 expects you to have, as is the case with all German premium offerings, there are a bunch of cool optional extras you can specify to really make a dent in your wallet. My test car had R154 833 worth of extras fitted.

These included the likes of automatic climate control, MMI Navigation Plus with Audi virtual cockpit, Audi connect, Audi LED Matrix headlights, head up display, dynamic steering and a sports differential. Bottom line: what you want, you can have – and pay for.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.