Audi S5 test drive since 2007
Corrida
And again, the adrenaline warming vessels again prevents the thought, perceive, evaluateThe brain turns off, and the picture is narrowed before the eyes to the narrow strip of asphalt in front of the bumper ... Well, why immediately S5? The long -awaited acquaintance with the Ingolstadt five requires a calmer atmosphere.
Not only that is the first full -size compass from Audi over the past 10 years, so it also gives an idea of \u200b\u200bwhat the new A4 is. And here are hard pendants, the rectal V8 and, as a result, absolutely illiterate, distracting temperament from sound thoughts ...
Such cars for the vast majority of drivers like a red rag for a bull. When a 354-headed herd rushes up to the first hundred in some five seconds, the leg presses the accelerator rather instinctively. And, in general, it is the same as moving at this moment a simple curiosity, a matter of a separately taken by Homo Sapiens, excitement or adrenaline hunger bordering with madness. The result is one: gas to the floor, and nothing can be done about this, no matter how much the inflamed brain demands to stop, catch his breath, think ... this is a corrida. In this case, however, it is not a cruel Spanish, but a softer Portuguese, ending not with blood, but a moral victory of reason over force and power. About this later, but here even here it begins to understand and evaluate a person only when it all ended when adrenaline has already stopped taking it. It is then that the realization comes that S in this case it is aggressive, but still the prefix, and to facilitate the process of perception, it was worthwhile to initially discard. For a while, of course.
But to some extent, this car cannot be occupied in statics to some extent. Five Swan Song of Walter de Silva on the post of chief designer of the brand. The maestro went to increase and will definitely not be directly engaged in the Audi style. Apparently, that's why he painted A5, as they say, until the last, creating, as he himself put it, his most beautiful car. At the moment, of course. Although, you know, this time I probably do not agree with him. The most expressive car that he has ever done, Alfa Romeo 156. A5, in comparison with the heiress of the legendary Italian Juliet, is clearly not enough individuality. The rapid German shell is harmonious, attractive quite attractive, but, alas, its appearance was initially driven into a rigid corporate shell, which did not work out even by de Silva. The branded rings connecting the bumper with the hood, the chrome trapezoid, diverging to the front stands of the arrow, branded optics ... All this was supposed to remain in their places. Nevertheless, it is worth admitting that the talented master as far and capabilities still revived the picture. In the same headlights, for example, the mischievous rows of Audi R8 LEDs appeared, the shoulder horizon repeated the contours of the wheeled arches, unobtrusively giving the car at all sports dimensions, and the giant niche under the lid of the trunk even more unobtrusively gave the stern athletic features .. .
However, in some way the eminent designer nevertheless allowed himself to show principles.
In particular, I insisted on a strong sloping roof profile. Having embodied his stylistic plan to life, he visually raised his shoulder, reduced the glazing area, which added a novelty of aggressiveness. Paradoxically, the Germans allowed him to do this, even despite the fact that the supply of space over the heads of the rear passengers in A5 as a result was even less than in the far from the most spacious two -door Bavarian treshka. In a word, this question was extremely scrupulous for them. On the other hand, no one was waiting for a positive role here and the fact that no one was waiting for the spaciousness of the family sedan from A5. The compartment car for egoists, and no matter how hard the manufacturers try, are most often transported to such cars in such cars. In extreme cases, children occupy the place of accessories, but their height of the ceiling, as a rule, takes care of the least. Another thing is noteworthy: the gentlemen from Ingolstadt and in this situation did not change themselves and provided potential riders of the second row with a couple of beautiful chairs, not inferior to the front in anatomical correctness or in execution.
And as for adults, they, as always, are offered royal places in the ground, moving in all possible planes. In a word, you can not even mention the landing and comfort here.
But it’s very worth talking about the style of the salon. The principle of layout here is similar to the structure of another loud new product of last year Audi R8. True, unlike the Ingolstadt supercar, where the equipment is approximately equal in equal shares between the pilot and the front passenger, the latter is not proposed in exactly the score. Egoism in the interior of this coupe was built in a square. A central console turned to the left, a high tunnel, drowned in the deep wells of the panel of the instrument panels, all this is addressed exclusively to the driver, his neighbor in this case is prepared for the unenviable role of the silent and, importantly, disenfranchised statist.
In the best case, he will be able to practice climate setting up, and even then on his own half of the cabin. You should not even think about the branded MMI, the console’s liquid crystal superstructure is closed from the passenger with an impressive visor.
However, the Audi S5 riders are unlikely to strive to study certain on -board systems. A hundred after five seconds of this car in the city is more than enough. More than four hundreds of Newton meters that V-shaped eight give out almost immediately after the start, they press into the chair very noticeably. When the car reaches cruising speed, the craving for knowledge disappears by itself. Although, compared with the same, the BMW M3 S5 rides, in our opinion, more phlegmatic. The animal power of Bavarz is uncompromising, the driver is the king and God, but the price of the error here is appropriate. At first glance, Audi also trusts the driver, but not completely: he rides briskly, clearly, sometimes even hard, but at the same time there is some understatement in her behavior. The motor responds to the gas pedal almost immediately, but the adhesion pedal could be shorter. There are no special complaints and works perfectly to the 6-speed manual manner, but from the first at first the author of these lines still confused. The chassis settings here are also more likely civilian. Although in this case it is not at all bad. On the track, the S5 suspension may seem too supple, but on an ordinary road just right. Compared to the usual sedan, comfort here, of course, is specific, but the rolls are almost invisible and does not knock out from the saddle on the bumps.
And yet, in comparison with the predecessor (Audi S4), there is much more drive in this car. Firstly, the five has become more rear-wheel drive to the corresponding axis now supplied up to 60% of the thrust, so you can now dance at the output from the turn earlier. In addition, a ten -centimeter increase in the wheelbase gave stability. To do this, however, the engineers had to apply a fundamentally different design of the front axle, borrowed, by the way, from the flagship A8. The differential was placed in front of the box, drives and steering rack were carried forward.
As a result, de Silva received a short overhang, and designers increased base, more correct weighting and extremely informative steering wheel. Which, in general, was required of them: to make a quick, reliable and flexible compartment.
Series S in the Audi model line appeared relatively recently. Its debut took place in 1991, when the company presented a sedan built on the basis of the Audi 80 Coupe with the S2 index. Later, both S6 and S8 appeared, the release of which continues to this day. However, the Germans somehow did not work out with the ancestor. Its direct production was folded in 1997 in connection with the release of the S4 model. The heir lasted longer, but he, only celebrating his first anniversary, retired. His place was taken by the S5 compartment, but this time, it seems, for a long time.
Perhaps in the future, when creating sports and charged cars, Audi will bet on turbodieseli. The brand’s asset already has a victory of a diesel supercar in Le Man, as well as the 500-horsepower R8 TDI V12 presented this year in Detroit. Thanks to 1000 Nm of traction, such an R8 gains a hundred almost half a second faster than the basic version. In addition, in contrast to the dispersed from S-machines, up to 420 hp. Eights he is already ready for the Euro-6 standard, which will be introduced in Europe after 2014.
Vladimir Zhidkov
Author photo: Yan Segal
Source: Mkobil magazine [January/2008]