Audi S5 Ultimate Test: Complete three-part review

DESIGN
When you think of car companies with emotional and evocative designs, what brands come to mind? I suspect you probably pictured some of the famed Italian marques like, Ferrari, Lamborghini, or even Alfa Romeo. The chances that you thought of a German company though, are pretty slim.

Audi is attempting to change this perception by adding a good dose of Italian flair to its already excellent German engineering. How exactly? By appointing an Italian named Walter de'Silva as the company's Chief Designer.

Working for the Volkswagen Automotive Group since 1998, and now its head of design, de'Silva has influenced the Audi product range with a sense of style not typical of German brands.

De'Silva introduced the Audi single frame grille, which hasn't exactly been universally applauded. So he's not afraid of controversy. You can think of him as an Italian Chris Bangle: all the brilliance and risk taking, but arguably with better judgment.

The Audi S5 is one of De'Silva's newest designs, and according to the designer himself, it's his most beautiful. While de'Silva's portfolio is impressive and includes some great-looking Alfas Romeos, one look at the S5 will convince you that he's right. This car is his masterpiece. It is quite simply, gorgeous.

Previewed loosely by the Nuvolari Quattro concept of 2003, the S5 is one of those rare production cars that improves on its concept version. From the side window graphics, to the tauter surfacing, to the now more mature Audi grille, this car is miles ahead of the Nuvolari Quattro concept in its execution.

From every angle, the big Audi coupe holds your attention. From the side we see the main character line flowing gracefully along from headlight to taillight, cresting over the front fender and then the rear fender with seductive curves that your eyes can't help but follow.

From the rear three-quarter perspective, you can follow that same line forward as it disappears over the front fender, and you also see the highlight from the lower body flare up toward the rear bumper integrating nicely with the bumper part line. The taillights and exhaust outlets complete the look from the rear, feeling very purposeful without being overly aggressive.

On to my favorite part of the car: the front. Much has been made of that now-trademark, single frame Audi grille, but with the S5 any negative comments can finally be put to rest as the grille is very well integrated and doesn't look tacked on as it did on some past models.

The headlights are also beautifully designed with LED daytime-running lights that seem to catch everyone's attention. These are becoming Audi trademarks as we've seen them on the R8, the S6, the S5, and soon, the new A4.

The more you look at the S5, you start to realize that not only is it a gorgeous car, it is also a very confident car. It doesn't scream "hey look at me!" like some cars simply because it doesn't have to. It is secure, composed, and confident. And as we all know, confidence is beautiful.

INTERIOR & USER EXPERIENCE
It's difficult to find a review of an automotive interior without Audi being mentioned as a benchmark - and for good reason. Audi puts together some of the best-built interiors in the industry. Audi's interiors - even on their least expensive cars - continue to raise the bar.

No longer content with just being the best in terms of fit and finish, Audi is now gunning to have the best-designed interiors as well. Enter the new S5 with its beautiful exterior design and an interior to match.

The S5's exterior sheet-metal design adds a heavy dose of Italian flair to the Teutonic brand - not surprising since the car's designer hails from Lombardy, the epicenter of fashion and high-end industrial design in Italy.

That Italian flair is also evident inside the S5. We know that Audi has been making some of the best interiors in the world in terms of materials and fit and finish. But to that we can also add design, as the interior of the S5 is just sensational.

The first impression you get of the S5 is the very solid feel of the door handle - something fewer automakers seem to be paying attention to. You can also feel quality when you shut the door. The quality continues with the feel and smell of the rich leather that covers the sculpted seats. The steering wheel has just the right thickness to it, as does the shifter. It's apparent that the guys and gals at Audi really sweat the details because there's not a single flaw in the interior.

It not only looks and smells great, it is also quite comfortable - at least in the front. Being a coupe, the emphasis clearly isn't on back seat comfort, but you'd still expect to have a little more legroom than there is. At least you can distract the rear passengers with the sound of the Audi's powerful stereo.

The S5's 14 speaker Bang & Olufsen system with 505 watts of surround sound is fantastic, giving you a second audio choice if you choose not to enjoy the aural delights the car's V8 engine.

Another great feature of the S5 that we're finding in more and more cars these days is the back-up camera. I know this seems frivolous in a coupe and it's probably more appropriate in an SUV, but after you live with it for a little while, you really start to appreciate how easy it makes backing up or parking.

Lastly, we can't sum up the interior without commenting on Audi's MMI system. While BMW has caught a ton of underserved flak for its iDrive system - it works well once you've lived with it a bit - Audi's system is more intuitive and therefore easier to master.

However, the dial that controls the MMI system is the only misplaced control in the car, as it's positioned a bit too far rearward to be used comfortably.

In Audi's S5 we find all the best of this German brand - great materials and build quality, solid performance, and reliability, plus some unexpected flair in its exceptional and emotionally inspiring design - inside and out.

PERFORMANCE
If Bo and Luke Duke could have driven an Audi S5 around Hazzard County instead of a '69 Dodge Charger, Roscoe P. Coltrane and his fellow crooked sheriffs wouldn't have had a chance of catching the Duke boys. Of course, they would have had to come up with a different name for their car than The General Lee...

Regardless of what you call it, the new Audi S5 and its Quattro all-wheel-drive system provide such a traction advantage over rear drive cars on low-friction surfaces that it's almost unfair. But you don't need a dirt road to feel the advantages of the S5's Quattro system, any road will do.

The Quattro system is rear biased to the tune of 60 percent drive to the rear axle and 40 percent to the front axle. That's in a perfect world at a constant speed with no crosswinds or other variables. The minute you turn the wheel though, the system goes variable, adjusting the drive on the fly. The system makes you look like a hero and allows you to get out of situations that would spell trouble in other cars.

The electric power-assisted steering in the S5 has decent feel, but the upcoming Audi Drive Select, which will feature an active steering system, promises to be even better.

The direct injected 4.2-liter V8 makes 354 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. It will accelerate the S5 to 60 mph in just under 5 seconds, but curiously, it doesn't feel that fast. Credit a flat torque curve as well as the stout chassis that is composed at all times thanks to Audi's Quattro system.

So it doesn't feel as fast as it is, but the S5 will still annihilate distance with ease. The V8 does its part with loads of character. Everything from the sound it makes, to the immediate throttle response, to the constant surge of power it delivers through the smooth shifting six-speed manual gearbox will have you enjoying every mile.

On the braking front, the Quattro system comes into play once again. Most people only think of the traction advantages of all wheel drive system in terms of acceleration. But there is also a big advantage to Quattro when decelerating. Just as there is drive to both front and rear axles, there is also drag at both axles when you're off the throttle.

In a rear drive car, a sudden lift off of the throttle will immediately upset the balance of the car as the drive is suddenly disrupted to the rear axle while the front axle is still free-wheeling. In an all-wheel-drive car, both axles go from drive to drag and the disruption is minimized giving the car greater stability. So the car remains well balanced while you're on the very effective brakes.

The S5 is based on the B8 chassis and is the first car to employ Audi's MLP - which stands for Modular Longitudinal Platform. Essentially, MLP moves the front axle forward, thereby improving the cars weight distribution by 5-6 percent toward the rear, according to Audi. This helps immensely in ridding the car of the nose-heavy handling that has afflicted past Audis.

This results in a car that is more responsive to your inputs. You can even adjust the S5's cornering attitude by rotating the car into the corner, and that's something that hasn't been on Audi's handling menu in the past.

In fact, excluding the rock star R8, the S5 is by far the best handling production Audi. And yes, it's even better than the RS4 - by a wide margin.

So maybe instead of The General Lee we could call it, The General Rommel. Now, if I could only find a sophisticated, Teutonic Daisy Duke¦

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Audi S5

Performance
- Acceleration: Difficult to launch due to all that grip - pulls strongly from anywhere on the tach
- Handling: THE best handling Audi (excluding the R8) by a mile - finally more options than just understeer
- Braking: Excellent feel, stability, and effectiveness

Design
- Exterior: A candidate for world's most beautiful coupe, just stunning
- Interior: Typical Audi levels of quality now, with great design as well

Utility
- Comfort: Good ride/handling compromise - solid, vault-like structure
- Space: Great in the front, not so much in the rear

Safety
- Dynamics: Definitely leans toward safety with its moves, but still fun and adjustable
- Technology: All the airbags - excellent stability control that can be defeated - and of course, Quattro

Value
- Price: Sits in an interesting valley between 335i and M3 in both performance and price - a lot of car for the money
- Mileage: Direct injection does its part to keep the thirst of the V8 at acceptable levels given its performance

Emotional Appeal
- Heart thumpin' factor: Just looking at it gets your pulse racing, driving it is a bonus - stunning car
- Fun to spank: It's reluctant to rotate, and with Quattro, it's difficult to break traction, so not the most fun car to spank

SPECIFICATIONS

Layout: Front engine / all-wheel drive
Engine: 4.2 liter, DOHC V8
Power (SAE): 354 hp @ 6800 rpm
Torque: 325 lbs-ft @ 3500 rpm
Redline: 7000 rpm
Gearbox: 6 speed manual
Curb Weight: 3891 lbs.
0-60 mph: 4.9 sec.
1/4 mile: 13.3 sec.
Top Speed: 155 mph (electronically limited)
Mileage: 14 city / 21 highway
Base Price: $50,500
Competitors: BMW 335i, Mercedes-Benz CLK550