DIAL S FOR SEX APPEAL
Have Audi produced this year’s sexiest car? Asks Paddy Comyn. after a test drive he finds that it oozes opulent appeal and elegant design
Sometimes when I take a car for a test drive you get a few people taking a second glance. They are usually ‘petrol heads’ that have yet to see a new model and are interested anyway. But on occasion there is a universal turning of heads, where man, woman and child are drawn to a car. It doesn’t happen that often these days, but it did with the Audi S5.
ELEGANCE AT ITS BEST
The S5 is the flagship model of the new A5 range and this is Audi’s Coupé rival to the ever-popular BMW 3-Series Coupé. Styled by Walter de’Silva, Audi’s Italian head of design and in his own words, it is “the most elegant car I have ever designed.”
And it is not hard to see why he is so rightly chuffed. The car is a stunning piece of design and never more so clad in its S5 finery. But even without spending this sort of money on the top model, for under €50,000 you can get into the A5 with a very useful 170bhp 1.8-litre TFSI engine.
POWER CHECK
But for now its all about over indulgence and under the bonnet of the S5 is a 4.2-litre V8 putting out 354bhp, with all this power kept in check by Quattro all-wheel drive.
This car has a surprising amount of space both up front and in the rear and our test car was fitted with red Nappa leather, which was stunning. But the best place to be in the S5 is in the driver’s seat where you get to play with that V8’s power, safe in the knowledge that all the power is going to the ground and that you have limpet-like grip.
STATUS SATISFACTION
Having already driven the 3.0-litre TDI diesel model however it seems hard to justify the extra €20,100 on the S5, impressive as it is. If you are after outstanding performance you can have the diesel Quattro with 238bhp and it will be almost as rewarding, but perhaps without the kudos the S badge brings.
In the S, the 4.2-litre V8’s throbbing soundtrack is addictive and it is hard not to resist snarling it at any opportunity. If you don’t have a good relationship with your filling station you soon will.
Sales of the S model will very much be in the minority with most buyers likely to choose the 1.8-litre TFS model, which arrives at year-end. But until then, if your budget allows, then the S is a superb machine. Expect an even faster RS5 version in the near future and a convertible model next year too.
Published in the September 2007 Issue of Irish Entrepreneur
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