I appear to be in a minority of one in not being smitten by the looks of Audi’s A5 Sportback.
The essence of the A5 coupe’s elegant shape seems to have been lost in translation – the aggressive, subtly muscular front end remains, but the rest of the car, and in particular the fastback rear, just looks a tad apologetic to me.
Which makes the storming performance and brilliant dynamics of the Audi S5 Sportback even more of an eye-opener.
The sportiest model in the A5 Sportback range is powered by the now familiar 333bhp 3-litre supercharged V6.
It’s already appeared in the S5 Cabriolet, the S4 and, in slightly detuned form, the A6 3.0, but the sheer explosive torque that’s unleashed on that first exploratory prod of the throttle never fails to surprise.
There’s no lag, no drawing of breath, just tremendous, linear punch from tickover to the 7000rpm redline.
Low and mid-range wallop is astonishing – there’s no other word for it. The Audi S5 Sportback hurtles away from standstill and belts past other traffic with just a squeeze of throttle.
Subjectively, it feels more eager than even its 450bhp RS5 sibling. And with good reason, because the Audi S5 Sportback’s 440Nm of torque shades the RS5’s 430Nm and is delivered much earlier to boot, at 2900rpm instead of the RS5’s 4000rpm.
Something the V6 does lack is the delicious low-rev burble and high-end throb of the 4.2 V8 which powers the RS5, as well as (in lesser guise) the S5 coupe.
Audi S5 Sportback has a strong supercharged V6 to help this writer get over the “apologetic” rear styling.
The V6’s high-rev wail is purposeful enough, but the eight-pot still trumps it in the goose-pimple stakes.
The 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox on our test car was a bit of a duffer, frequently changing down with a lurch and a muted clunk.
We’ve tried enough of Audi’s dual-clutch ’boxes to know that they’re usually effortlessly seamless, so this particular specimen was probably an aberration.
The chassis is as magnificent as the engine.
It rides beautifully, resists roll strongly, grips ferociously, and when equipped with the optional Sport Differential, even feels amusingly rear-driven when you’re powering out of bends, while still giving you the security of its quattro drivetrain.
To make things even better, the Audi S5 Sportback has Audi Drive Select as standard – this allows you to choose one of three pre-set modes (Comfort, Dynamic or the default Auto setting) for gearbox/throttle, suspension and steering.
I prefer to have suspension on Auto (it serves up an excellent blend of compliance and body control), gearbox/throttle on Dynamic (for a useful degree of extra immediacy) and steering on Comfort (in Auto and Dynamic, the steering gains a degree of artificial resistance which, instead of endowing the helm with more feel, merely makes it stodgier).
Despite gaining two doors and some extra length over the coupe, the Audi S5 Sportback still isn’t spacious in the rear – headroom and legroom are tight for taller builds. Blame the low roofline. If you need more room, buy an S4 Avant, which is cheaper to boot.
But otherwise the Audi S5 Sportback is a brilliant all-rounder. It’s refined, comfortable and searingly quick. I’m still no big fan of its looks, but having driven it, I’m practically a convert.
Audi S5 Sportback 3.0 (A)
ENGINE 2995cc, 24-valves, V6, supercharged
MAX POWER 333bhp at 5500-7000rpm
MAX TORQUE 440Nm at 2900-5300rpm
GEARBOX 7-speed dual-clutch with manual select
0-100KM/H 5.4 seconds
TOP SPEED 250km/h
CONSUMPTION 10.6km/L (combined)
PRICE INCL. COE $259,950 (as of August 2010)
Check out the latest S5 Sportback
