Weekend Drive by Hormazd Sorabjee: The hills are alive
... with the sound of the Audi S5 Sportback, a luxury sedan that finds the right balance between comfort and performance
Balancing performance and price is tricky, especially when customers these days want as much power as possible for as little money. How to get the best of both worlds? BMW has found the sweet spot in the form of the very popular M340i 3-series, which, at a relatively modest ₹70 lakh, is the go-to performance sedan for enthusiasts. Audi has the pricier ( ₹76 lakh) but bigger S5 Sportback, which is aimed at the same set of customers. Does it hit the mark the way the M340i does? That’s what I hope to find out on a drive to Chikmagalur.
The S5 Sportback was launched almost two years ago, but it’s on long drives that you get to know a car intimately. Besides, I can never pass up a chance to drive a great car, on a great road to a great place. Chikmagalur is a picturesque hill station known for its coffee plantations and pleasant climate. In the monsoon, the hills are bathed in a soothing green. And the road to Chikmagalur, after Maharashtra’s bumpy and badly finished highways, feels heavenly too. Chikmagalur is a 4-hour drive from Bengaluru and the highway (NH75) is freshly paved, though are some diversions due to ongoing road works.
The S5 immediately reveals its practical side in the grind of Bengaluru traffic. Gearboxes of high-performance cars tend to be jerky and hesitant at low-speeds. But the S5’s 8-speed automatic, which is a traditional torque converter, has been perfectly calibrated to deliver smooth shifts, and this makes the S5 a good daily driver.
It’s when I hit the highway that I discover the trade-off: The S5’s shifts are not lightning quick like some of the twin-clutch units in other high-performance cars. In its quest for finding the right balance, the S5 leans towards comfort and refinement.
That’s not a complaint. As the road opens up, the S5 Sportback feels effortless and engaging, a tribute to the Audi engineers who have made the S5 swift, smooth and safe to a point that you can never get tired of driving it fast.
At the heart of the S5 is a 3.0 litre V6 petrol that develops a strong 354hp and 500Nm of torque. All that power is channelled through all four wheels via Audi’s famed Quattro system. The S5 shoots off to 100kph in under 5 seconds. This is not as quick as the more ferocious RS-badged Audis, and is quick enough for most occasions.
The engine has a nice throaty sound, more of a growl than a full blooded roar. It subtly highlights the sporting credentials of the S5. Acceleration too is linear and there’s a ruthless efficiency with the way the S5 builds up speed, but more impressive is the way it holds it.
The NH75 highway towards Chikmagalur cuts across rolling hills and is a driver’s delight. Fast sweeping corners, subtle undulations that gently rise and fall test the dynamics of the S5, which feels like its superglued to the tarmac. The standout feature of the S5 is how composed it feels at high speeds and the confidence it gives the driver to experience the exhilaration that comes with driving a high-performance vehicle.
The cabin isn’t quite as exhilarating. It’s made of quality materials, but the instrument cluster and on-board tech feel a generation behind the competition. It makes up by providing exceptional comfort (for a sporting sedan) with plush seats and decent space.
Easy to drive, easy to live with and easy on the eyes (It’s a great looking car), the S5 works best as an everyday sports sedan.
