New Audi S5 Avant review: a sturdy and speedy estate car

Verdict

There’s much to like about the new Audi S5 Avant, and not a whole lot to dislike. It looks good, goes well, is beautifully made inside and out, and drives as sharply as any car of its type right now. It’s also spacious, and comes extremely well equipped – as indeed it should do for north of £70,000. But unless you specifically want the extra zing from its V6, and the precision of its ‘S5’ chassis, you might be better off waiting for the plug-in hybrid Audi A5 Avant due in the spring. It could be the pick of the range, but until then the S5 is the Avant to have if you want the do-it-all A5.

To our eyes, the new Audi S5 Avant is a great looking car. It sits on the firm’s brand new PPC (Premium Platform Combustion) platform, which will now do service until at least 2030 – or possibly beyond depending on how legislation around electric cars unfolds in the meantime. 

Yet this architecture will never form the basis of a full-blown electric car, and this has allowed Audi to focus purely on making the very best petrol-based platform it possibly can. It’s the reason Audi’s Ingolstadt designers and engineers haven’t had to compromise – either on the car’s looks or its engineering, which is a big plus in this day and age. It explains why the A5, and specifically the S5 Avant, looks as clean and handsome as it does.

It also means the car isn’t compromised in its packaging, either. It has a load area that’s not just a good size (448 litres rising to 1,396 litres with the three-way split folding rear seats down) but also very well shaped, with or without the seats folded. Had the A5/S5 platform been pre-engineered to accommodate an EV powertrain either now or in the future, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as roomy as it is, and it wouldn’t look as good either. 

In this respect, despite it feeling quite old-fashioned beside so many of the EV’s we drive at Auto Express week in, week out, the A5 – in particular the S5 – feels like a welcome breath of fresh air. 

It is powered, after all, by a fairly conventional 3.0-litre V6 that’s turbocharged to produce 362bhp and 550Nm between 1,700 and 4,000rpm. The engine’s output is boosted subtly by a rear-mounted mild-hybrid battery that can propel the car on its own for very short bursts, such as when parking. It might do half a mile on electricity alone, but only on a very light throttle.

Either way, the V6’s power reaches the road via a seven-speed automatic gearbox and is deployed through a centre differential to all four wheels, with another separate differential apportioning power across the rear axle.

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Beside a similarly priced EV (such as a Polestar 2) it is nowhere near in terms of pure acceleration – not to begin with at any rate. Yet in outright terms the S5 is more than fast enough, with a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed limited to 155mph. So while the S5 Avant might not have the gut-wrenching surge of a high output EV off the line, it still feels seriously fast on the move. Plus it’s rather nice to be able to change gears, either manually or automatically, and there are numerous different drive modes to play with to further widen the car’s driver appeal.

In comfort mode, the S5 Avant purrs along most UK roads with a latent but supremely refined energy. From its steering to its throttle response, it feels sporting and quick – but not overtly so.

Its ride is also surprisingly soothing for a fast Audi, the steering well judged in both its weight and response, albeit with a slightly numbed undertone. Any unwanted noises generated by the powertrain, tyres or wind are each kept very well in check.

Long distance refinement is hard to fault; the sports seats offer a fine blend of comfort and support, while the all-new cabin features no less than three different TFT screens, each providing information to the driver and their passengers.

Select Dynamic mode and everything goes up a notch. The ride, throttle map and steering all become more focused. The ride is maybe too firm for the worst UK B-roads, though it’s nowhere near as lumpy as you’d expect given Audi’s history with poor-riding S and RS models.

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The feeling of sporting refinement is very much complemented by the new cabin, in which the main instrument cluster and centre screen blend into one long wraparound display, containing an impressive amount of tech. Apple and Android connectivity are standard on all A5s, while the S5 ‘Edition 1’ gets an excellent new head-up display with a third screen in front of the passenger that can’t be seen by the driver on the move.

All new A5s also come with wireless phone charging and a new AI voice assistant that learns your voice and anticipates your driving patterns to suggest routes – and even stopovers – it thinks you might like within the navigation system. The S5 also gets an otherwise optional new Sound and Vision Pack that includes a 16-speaker Bang and Olufsen sound system, keyless entry, fully electric seats and all-round cameras.

This is on top of the A5’s standard-fit LED lights and, in the case of the S5, OLED rear lights that feature eight different lighting signatures. The S5 also comes with 20-inch wheels and tyres and red brake calipers.

The only downsides to the S5 Avant are its emissions and economy relative to similarly priced EVs – Audi claims it will return a decent 35.8mpg on the combined cycle thanks to its mild-hybrid powertrain, but it also churns out 179g/km – making an EV (or even a PHEV) much more appealing for company car drivers. Then again, few EVs at any price are this engaging to drive, or this well equipped.

So although it won’t be a big seller within the impressive new A5 range (Audi reckons 20 per cent of Avant sales will be S5s) for well-heeled enthusiasts who want a practical fast estate car but aren’t quite ready yet to go EV just yet, the S5 Avant is hard to beat. And unusually easy to like.