For many years, Audi’s RS division has constructed its repute on extracting astonishing efficiency from combustion engines, pairing muscular powerplants with the model’s legendary quattro all-wheel-drive system to create machines that might embarrass unique supercars whereas carrying a whole household… and their pets.
However occasions have modified. Stringent emissions laws, the hovering price of gasoline and the business’s speedy shift in direction of electrification all imply that even Audi’s most revered efficiency badge can not ignore battery packs.
Moderately than resisting the inevitable, the Ingolstadt-based firm has embraced it, introducing a plug-in hybrid powertrain to the RS 5 for the very first time. If that appears like sacrilege, bear with me.
As a result of after spending time behind the wheel of the brand new RS 5 Avant, it is clear Audi hasn’t merely bolted on some battery cells to appease legislators. As an alternative, it has used electrification to construct its most technologically superior RS mannequin but.
Audi hasn’t merely bolted on some battery cells to appease legislators.
The numbers definitely make a compelling argument. A 2.9-liter twin-turbocharged V6 now works alongside a 130kW electrical motor to supply a mixed 639hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. That is sufficient to launch the angry-looking property from 0-62mph in simply 3.6 seconds earlier than persevering with on to a high pace of 178mph.
Extra surprisingly, the 25.9kWh battery (22kWh usable) additionally permits for as much as 50 miles of all-electric driving, which means many every day commutes will be accomplished with out the V6 ever barking into life.
It is a exceptional breadth of means for a automotive that wears considered one of Audi’s most performance-focused badges. There may be, nevertheless, one unavoidable draw back.
At 2,370kg in Avant type, that is additionally by far the heaviest RS 5 ever produced. Physics hasn’t all of the sudden stopped making use of simply because there is a charging socket hidden beneath the bodywork.
Luckily, Audi’s engineers have spent years growing an arsenal of intelligent chassis applied sciences designed to disguise that weight.
Lightening the load
Spend a couple of miles behind the wheel and it is instantly apparent that the largest engineering problem wasn’t including extra energy. It was ensuring you could not really feel the extra mass the massive Audi is carting round.
The most recent RS 5 rides on revised five-link suspension at each ends, full with new bushings, refreshed suspension hyperlinks and adaptive twin-valve dampers that may independently management compression and rebound.
Even rolling throughout damaged city streets, the trip high quality is noticeably extra compliant than you’d anticipate from a automotive carrying monumental alloy wheels and packing the form of efficiency stats that must be reserved for a race circuit.
Audi says it particularly tuned the suspension for the scarred street surfaces discovered throughout Northern Europe, fairly than focusing purely on monitor efficiency, and that effort exhibits.
Choose Consolation mode and the RS 5 settles into a simple grand tourer, cruising silently on electrical energy whereas cruising the congested streets with ease.
Choose Consolation mode and the RS 5 settles into a simple grand tourer, cruising silently on electrical energy whereas cruising the congested streets with ease. It’s no tougher than piloting any considered one of at the moment’s two-pedal electrical automobiles. One pedal makes it go, the opposite makes it cease.
However swap into Dynamic or one of many devoted RS modes, nevertheless, and the automotive transforms right into a snarling beast.
Throttle response sharpens, steering beneficial properties weight and the drivetrain turns into noticeably extra aggressive, however the greatest distinction comes from a bit of know-how most drivers won’t ever truly see.
Audi’s legendary quattro system has all the time been synonymous with monumental grip, however the newest RS 5 introduces some of the vital modifications in its historical past.
The elective passenger show feels much more misplaced right here than it does on different Audi and Porsche merchandise.
As an alternative of relying purely on mechanical differentials, Audi now employs an electromechanical torque-vectoring system able to distributing energy between particular person wheels in lower than 15 milliseconds. Have I misplaced you but?
No? Good. As a result of an 8kW water-cooled electrical motor repeatedly adjusts torque supply beneath each acceleration and braking, serving to rotate the automotive into corners earlier than maximizing traction on the exit.
The impact is mightily spectacular. Regardless of carrying greater than two tonnes, the RS 5 modifications course like a hatchback, masking a lot of its weight and provoking enormous confidence by way of quicker bends.
For the primary time in an RS 5, Audi has additionally launched a a lot stronger rear torque bias in its most aggressive driving mode, permitting homeowners to bypass the unrelenting grip of all-wheel-drive and lightweight up the rear tires.
Not one to be tried on public roads, this ‘hooligan’ mode additionally features a drift analyzer throughout the infotainment system that measures drift angle and G-forces for drivers taking the automotive onto a circuit. It’s not important, however undeniably cool nonetheless.
Hybrid energy completed correctly
This ‘hooligan’ mode additionally features a drift analyzer throughout the infotainment system that measures drift angle and G-forces for drivers taking the automotive onto a circuit.
Efficiency plug-in hybrids usually undergo from a break up persona.
Some ship easy electrical commuting however really feel indifferent as soon as the street turns into attention-grabbing. Others prioritize outright efficiency however provide such restricted electrical vary that the charging port feels little greater than a tax-saving train.
The RS 5 largely avoids each traps. The electrical motor fills the torque hole earlier than the dual turbochargers are totally lit up, making acceleration really feel relentless no matter engine pace.
The transition between electrical and combustion energy is impressively easy, whereas the eight-speed transmission delivers satisfyingly aggressive shifts that kick you within the intestine when the extra focussed drive modes are chosen. It feels gloriously old-school.
Audi has additionally utterly redesigned the exhaust system, permitting the lively valves to open to virtually any place relying on the chosen driving mode. In EV mode the automotive slips by way of visitors in close to silence, however swap into the sportier settings and the V6 develops a deep, burbling soundtrack.
Equally spectacular is the braking system. Like many fashionable hybrids, regenerative braking works alongside conventional friction brakes to get better power, however the calibration right here is superb.
The transition between regenerative and hydraulic braking is sort of inconceivable to detect, whereas the elective carbon-ceramic discs ship extraordinary stopping energy as soon as speeds start to climb.
At 17 inches in diameter, the entrance brake discs are virtually as giant because the wheels fitted to many metropolis automobiles, and the stopping efficiency displays that. Most significantly, none of those methods really feel as if they’re competing with each other.
For tech’s sake
If the RS 5’s chassis is a masterclass in utilizing know-how to reinforce the driving expertise, the cabin is a extra blended affair.
Like the newest A5 vary, the RS 5 adopts Audi’s new MMI Panorama digital cockpit, changing the fantastically easy, driver-focused interiors of earlier generations with an array of shows that dominate the dashboard.
There is not any scarcity of display actual property. A crisp 11.9-inch digital driver’s show sits behind the steering wheel, joined by a 14.5-inch central infotainment touchscreen operating Audi’s newest software program. Patrons can even specify a ten.9-inch passenger show, permitting the co-driver to entry navigation, leisure and chosen car capabilities independently.
Graphics are sharp, processing is fast and the interface feels significantly extra responsive than older Audi infotainment methods. Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are each included, whereas configurable RS-specific shows present fast entry to efficiency knowledge, energy distribution and hybrid power circulate.
However the elective passenger show feels much more misplaced right here than it does on different Audi and Porsche merchandise. Throughout ‘spirited’ driving, it is troublesome to think about anybody eager to spend a lot time interacting with yet one more touchscreen for worry of shedding their lunch.
Likewise, Audi’s ever-growing assortment of configurable driving modes, suspension settings, steering weights and drivetrain choices gives enormous flexibility, but in addition introduces a stage of complexity that borders on overwhelming.
The on a regular basis supercar
Efficiency estates have all the time been about delivering supercar tempo with out sacrificing practicality, and regardless of the extra battery {hardware}, the RS 5 Avant nonetheless performs that position admirably.
The sports activities seats strike a wonderful steadiness between assist and long-distance consolation, making it simple to think about protecting a whole lot of motorway miles with out grievance.
Rear passenger area stays satisfactory fairly than beneficiant, though adults will nonetheless match comfortably sufficient for longer journeys. There’s additionally an RS 6 on the horizon should you want one thing even larger.
The plug-in hybrid system inevitably eats into baggage capability in comparison with earlier generations, with the Avant providing 361 liters of boot area or 1,302 liters with the rear seats folded.
That is lower than key rivals, just like the BMW M3 wagon, however nonetheless greater than sufficient for household duties or a weekend away. Extra importantly, the plug-in hybrid powertrain transforms the way in which the RS 5 can be utilized on daily basis.
With as much as 50 miles of electric-only driving obtainable, many homeowners might full their weekday commute with out utilizing a drop of petrol.
With as much as 50 miles of electric-only driving obtainable, many homeowners might full their weekday commute with out utilizing a drop of petrol, solely unleashing the total 639hp when the street — or the temper — calls for it.
Charging is not class-leading, with DC speedy charging capped at 40kW, which means replenishing the battery takes longer than newer EVs. However most homeowners will cost on a driveway or in a storage house, the place the battery will probably be totally brimmed every morning.
Audi’s choice to impress the RS 5 was all the time going to divide opinion. However after spending time behind the wheel, it is troublesome to argue that the know-how hasn’t made the RS 5 objectively extra succesful.
The plug-in hybrid system is not simply there to cut back emissions or enhance fleet averages. It genuinely enhances the driving expertise, delivering instantaneous electrical torque, significant zero-emission vary and seamless integration with considered one of Audi’s most subtle chassis packages thus far.
What’s extra spectacular is the sheer breadth of its means. Few efficiency automobiles can creep silently by way of metropolis visitors on electrical energy earlier than reworking right into a 639hp all-wheel-drive monster able to embarrassing devoted sports activities automobiles on a twisting street.
The suspension is great, the torque-vectoring system is nothing wanting exceptional and the way in which Audi blends regenerative braking with monumental carbon-ceramic stopping energy demonstrates simply how refined fashionable efficiency hybrids have turn out to be.
Hardcore driving followers will nonetheless bemoan the sheer quantity of weight right here, however that is the fact of contemporary tremendous saloons and estates. If you wish to keep away from eye-watering tax sums and gasoline payments, a hybrid system is the one means.
However Audi has proven that plugging in doesn’t damage the enjoyable. The RS 5 nonetheless seems like a really particular automotive.
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