Audi A5 test drive since 2007

Life is Beautiful...

We have been waiting for this for twelve years to fall in love in an instant. Now we have to make a deep exhalation and soberly evaluate the chances of the Audi A5 for success.
The Audi employee courtly warned me: here are the keys to the Audi A5 3.2 Multitronic, and please try to return to dinner. To dinner? It turns out that at my disposal only 4 hours 18 minutes, and ahead of 200 km of insidious serpentines and swift lines? Well, in this case, I need all -wheel drive, mechanics and sea of \u200b\u200bpower. Unfortunately, the car provided only answers the third point from this list, and then with some reservations: 265 hp. There are not so many 1.5 tons, and more expressive lateral support would not have prevented armchairs. So I will be late for dinner? Well, I do not! Italy has a great cuisine, and for us they probably prepared something special. But wait, over there, behind the slender rows of gray and black A5, a bright red compartment lurked. I see the eighteenth wheels, bloated arches, a v8 nameplate on the front wing, the grille of a platinum-gray radiator, apparently, this is the flagship coupe S5, and, it seems, I have a chance not to be late for dinner.
 
The red car really turned out to be S5. Perhaps the editor -in -chief will arrange a thrashing, because Verona was waiting for news of the new A5, but the desire to enjoy the branded Italian cuisine forced me to get behind the wheel of Eska. At least this is an official version of my misconduct, but I will tell you a secret. Thoughts about the S-version excited my imagination back in Moscow. Audi has said serious characteristics for this car: V8, 354 hp. and 440 nm. As befits a car with letter S, the power is distributed between the four wheels through a mechanical 6-speed gearbox, which allows you to go quickly and stably. A tempting cocktail promises a unique drive: the maximum speed is limited to 250 km/h, and to gain a hundred, it takes only 5.1 s. It seems that the incomparable treshka BMW with the new R6 Bi-Turbo engine this time remains behind. However, we will find out the alignment of forces a little later, but for now we will see what Audi engineers did to keep this power on the road.
 
The main revelation of the new compartment of the Audi chassis. Walter da Silva, Audi chief designer, said something about design, but I am most interested in the sled talents of this car. So, the A5/S5 compartment announces the capabilities of the next generation Audi A4, which is about to enter the dispute for leadership with a new C-class and not quite a new BMW threeer. The front and back multi -link pendants are designed from scratch and almost completely made of aluminum. To improve the characteristics of controllability, the steering mechanism is located near the line connecting the geometric centers of the wheels, and the differential is before clutch. Thus, the engine managed to shift deeper into the base, which made it possible to achieve an almost ideal weightlift on the axles. All these innovations and the efforts of designers are aimed at one achievement of the maximum possible comfort of driving.
 
Do you think a sports car cannot be comfortable? Of course, this is not Cadillac Eldorado Brougham in 1975, but the Audi S5 turned out to be one of the few compartment in which it shakes carefully. If you abstract from the luxury of the cabin and the seething energy of the engine, focusing on the chassis, then you begin to approvingly clatter your tongue and shake your head in response to a play, arranged by the superiority of high technologies. If anyone does not know, this is the Audi motto, and this time the union of human mind and artificial intelligence produced a car that moves exemplary. You are not shaking and does not rock you. The suspension works silently, and sometimes it seems that the road is too flat for provincial Italy. The chassis surpasses expectations even in the light of successful TT and RS4. Perhaps this praise is worthy of only S5, which has other shock absorbers, springs and silent blocks in the joints of the suspension elements, because from my colleagues I heard complaints about excessive rigidity A5. But for a magnificent combination of comfort, stability and enthusiasm, I am ready to forgive some rigidity. In corners, in a straight line, where you have comprehensive control over the car, and even at the limit of the S5 does not seek to throw you out of the saddle. Of course, this is a considerable merit of electronics and
asymmetric distribution of traction. Are you used to the fact that Quattro is 50/50 between the front and rear axle? Forget. Insufficient rotation in the past. Now 60% of the power is transmitted to the rear axle, so the car is easier to refuel into turns. And something else that we always dreamed about, powerful and effective brakes. I rode all the money down the mountain road, and if not for the Audi brakes, someone else would have written this article. Credo of new brake mechanisms: always and in any situation. You can not believe, but endless turns and 354 hp. They could not force the brakes to surrender.
 
What is the dynamics? If I were as purposeful in life as S5 during acceleration, I was already sitting in the chair of the chairman of a corporation. Just where the future owner of the S5 is working. Indeed, in order to master the superiority on the road, I will have to generously reward the efforts of Audi, and I know not many examples when convincing dynamics was cheap. Start with 1000 rpm and switch to 3000 rpm to enjoy the elastic traction of the motor and the rich sound of Bang & Olufsen, or start with 4000 rpm and switch to 6500 rpm to spoil the mood of the Porsche owner. The engine is almost the same that RS4 made one of the best super -scholes. It is slightly deformed, but also endowed with a direct fuel injection system of FSI and a dry crankcase. There is always enough traction in any gear, and if you buy on its light, steep character, then sound and acceleration are forever imprinted in memory. To accelerate from a place to 200 km/h, S5 requires only 19.1 s, and so that on onlookers open mouths, it is enough to drive the momentum, standing still. The body shakes with the pressing of the gas pedal, and now you are convinced that the sports car should sound only like that: powerfully, assertively, menacing. So, as if Harley-Davidson added metal to the voice. But Harley does not know how to switch the programs so clearly and smoothly. The PMP selector moves without much effort, and it seems that a dwarf is sitting under a leather cover, which directs the lever to the desired slot. Even the clutch drive, always long -term in other Audi models, is almost perfect here.
 
Perhaps this is a wonderful car. One of the few, capable of giving high from the ride, turning a blind eye to our driver's skills. And even if he had been dressed in a Chinese suit, the automobile world would have accepted it with a bang. But look how his figure is flawlessly drawn. This is the case when for photography, caps on wheel disks are rotated evenly. Otherwise? Otherwise, we risk violating the harmony of the forms of external surfaces. In front, the branded grille of the radiator Single Frame, which we see on all new Audi models. But the overall lights at the LEDs have so far been noticed only by the R8. Now, even on the darkest night, fog, rain, snow surrounding will know that A5/S5 is approaching. The back optics, however, like the front, does not differ in the originality of the form, but this severity is a bright distinctive feature of A5/S5. At first it even seems that Silva has nothing to do with the appearance of this coupe, but if you look at the S5 in the profile, you will see the influence of southern temperament. The lateral line is feminine, and in the area of \u200b\u200bthe thresholds, on the contrary, a rough male force is visible. At the same time, its proportions S5 resembles a compartment of the classic layout: a short front overhanx, a long hood, a salon, shifted to the rear axle of such an Audi, I like.
 
And of course, Audi again demonstrated its talent in creating exemplary interiors. Acquaintance begins with anticipation when you recall other brand models and expect something special behind a weighty door with low glass. The expensive aroma of dense skin, delicate plastic, natural materials of the finish are genuine premium class in the best manifestation. You can not go anywhere, but simply inspect and feel this salon. But it’s better to ride. Then it will be possible to evaluate excellent ergonomics and the advantages of MMI over alternative multimedia complexes. The system is extremely logical, so it is better to concentrate on the road.
 
Now I can admit the main thing: the Audi S5 is damn fast, and so I arrived for dinner 45 minutes earlier. But the aperitif nevertheless missed, because S5 is pleasant and in everything else, and not just in sports maneuvering. And while everyone was eager for both cheeks, I enjoyed the Italian beauties at the wheel of German perfection.
Technical characteristics Audi S5
Dimensions, mm 4635x1854x1369
Base, mm 2751
Equipped mass, kg 1630
V8 FSI gasoline engine type
Working volume, cubic meter. cm 4163
Max. Power, L.S./rpm 354/7000
Max. moment, nm/rpm 440/3500
Mechanical transmission 6-speed
The drive is complete
Max. Speed, km/h 250
Tires 245/40 R18
Acceleration time 0-100 km, from 5.1
Fuel consumption (average), l/100 km 12.4
Tank volume, l 63
 
Stanislav Goncharenko
Photo by the author
 
 

 

Source: Avtopanorama magazine