Slides

Time stamp @ 5:48

Surprised to hear that even in the RS5 in dynamic mode, throttle response has been nerfed by Audi. At least according to this reviewer. Have never driven one, so I don't know of course. Any owners with their own thoughts?

mmeads

No idea about throttle response in a RS5, but I like Mat Watson's reviews. He's fair and unbiased, even when I disagree. He works for a car buying service on the UK so his reviews tend to be more positive than critical.

BashAudi

I don't truly agree the throttle response is not so aggressive and sensitive only if u compares it to Porsche or M division but I also agree that the power is not aggressive u tend to go very fast without realizing it!

NoMoreBMWs

1. He noted the excellent 30 mpg (imperial no doubt). Audi may be struggling with balancing their B-cycle thriftiness with throttle response across models.
2. Only 13,000 pounds difference! In Canada the spread to an RS5 assuming MSRP (versus $5000 discount on an S5) is more like $30,000.

Nikon1

uniqueMR

RS5, pretty machine...

NoMoreBMWs

But the difference between an M3/4 and a garden variety 3/4 series is qualitative (night and day) - especially due to the lack of an M differential on the 3/4 series and no sports suspension on xDrive models. RS5 vs. S5 is more subtle and quantitative.

superswiss

Yeah, his review is pretty accurate. It came out almost a year ago when the RS5 was introduced in Europe. I've taken one out on a 250 miles canyon loop to put it through the wringer and my sentiment was pretty much the same. The powertrain is just too similar to the S5. You get more power, but for most of the driving you need to be reminded that you are driving an RS. At the limit in the canyons it's very good, though thanks to the suspension. The DRC suspension is by far the best feature it has over the more garden variety adaptive damper suspension the S5 can be ordered with and it has an excellent range between comfort and dynamic. It's probably the best adaptive sport suspension I've driven so far. It's actually comfortable in comfort mode, firm and very controlled in dynamic mode. That part is well done Audi Sport! The rest of the car just doesn't live up to what I expect from an RS model, though. It's not an exciting car to drive until you take it to the limit. The engine is indeed pretty much the same engine at the core as the S5. If you think back to the B8 RS5, it was vastly different from the S5. It introduced the crown-gear center differential along with four wheel torque vectoring and had a fundamentally different engine that has more in common with the R8 than the S5. While the former was later adopted by the S-tronic B8.5 S5, the engine still made it very different. I miss that in the new RS5. It's basically the S5 dialed up a notch instead of being a different car at the core. I somewhat feel Audi was saving money on R&D for this one and just decided to dial it up a bit and fit it with RS bits such as the DRC suspension, which is nothing new, but this implementation has the best tuning yet.

markcincinnati

I too took an RS5 out for a reasonably long (1 hour) test drive -- afterward, I covered the same route in my S4 and found that although there were some differences that would favor the RS5 (notably power), I just couldn't find the $10,000 difference. To be clear the difference in MSRP was about $20K, and I was willing to spot the RS5 $10K for the improved power and the remarkable three position suspension settings. But, without finding $10K in the glove box, I am pretty much in the CAR WOW camp.

Don't get me wrong, if there would be an RS4 sedan and it would be about $10K more than my 2018 S4, it would merit serious consideration. But for a number north of $80K, the RS5 didn't impress me as being that much more car (for use as my daily driver). The RS5 SB would be my choice, but I have to assume there will be yet another price bump for that -- too close to $90K for a car that is too similar to its "S" cousin. Here is my conclusion: "Even if I had 'calling in well money' (Well, Jim, I'm not coming in today), I'd buy an "S" version and pocket the difference."

freshpow78

Sounds like a pretty good assessment of a subjective topic. I'm sure your opinion is widely held among people that have performed the same test as you. But you have to remember, part of the premium you are paying is to have that RS badge and the slightly different RS styling that sets it apart. Prestige alone is worth quite a bit to quite a lot of people. I'm guessing very few people are buying the new RS5 strictly for performance on the track, so the badge probably has a lot to do with a large percentage of the purchases. Audi, of course, knows this and there will never be a 1/1 price/performance markup.