Audi S5 Sportback

The entire interior layout of the Audi S5 Sportback is similar to that of the A5 Sportback, but unlike the dual-tone black and brown leather upholstery of the latter, the S5 Sportback has an all-black leather upholstery with gloss black and satin silver inserts and trim levels. The Audi S5 Sportback creates a sporty impression on the inside too, with the cabin having Nappa leather sports seats and contrast silver stitching.

The Audi S5 Sportback has also got a three-spoke round-themed multi-functional steering wheel with chrome inserts and a very informative virtual cockpit plus an instrument console behind it. A large, standalone 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system is placed at the top of the centre console, which serves as a window for the audio and MMI interface functions.

The central layer of the dashboard here has a carbon fibre textured strip running across its width, above which there is a layer that houses sleek and wide AC vents. There are trapezoidal panels for the controls of three-zone auto AC and audio buttons in the lower centre console. The transmission tunnel also has a carbon fibre textured finish, with it having the transmission lever, cup holders and electronic parking brake.

Based on the A5 Sportback, the new Audi S5 Sportback has a lot of sportier-looking elements all around on the outside, which makes it an even more serious attention-grabber. The sloping roofline and four-door design of the A5 Sportback have been retained, though the additional sporty-looking bits make the Audi S5 Sportback look even more attention-grabbing.

The Audi S5 Sportback shares its hexagonal grille with the A5 Sportback, but here, the grille gets satin chrome surrounds and horizontal inserts over the honeycomb mesh. The all-LED headlamps with curved upper edges have been shared with the A5 Sportback, with these headlamps of the Audi S5 Sportback having Matrix LED illumination with laser lights offered as standard. The boxy-looking housings for the fog lamps on the front bumper and front splitter too have a satin silver finish.  

The side profile of the Audi S5 Sportback continues to have the sloping roofline and striking crease running sideways from the A5 Sportback. However, to make this sportier-looking car more exclusive, Audi has given it a satin silver finish for the window surrounds and door-mounted rearview mirrors. The 20-inch machined alloy wheels of the Audi S5 Sportback add to the sportier stance of the car, with the alloy wheels having red-coloured brake callipers behind them.

The rear profile of the Audi S5 Sportback has a sloping roofline ending up at the curved boot of the car, with this sporty car also having trapezoidal combination tail lamps with LED inserts and tapered inner edges. These LED tail lamps have different-looking inserts, with them also featuring more dynamic-looking sequential turn indicators. The rear diffuser over the bumper here gets satin silver garnish stretched over its width, with the Audi S5 Sportback having dual chrome-tipped exhaust ports on both sides.

Another major add-on which makes the Audi S5 Sportback a sportier car to drive over the standard A5 Sportback is the Quattro permanent all-wheel-drive with a self-locking centre differential. Along with this all-wheel-drive setup, which enhances the traction at higher speeds and corners, the Audi S5 Sportback also retains the dynamic steering setup and Audi Drive Select from the A5 Sportback on which it is based.

The heart is where the prime difference lies, for the Audi S5 Sportback has a more powerful and larger powertrain sitting under its hood. The 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol engine of the Audi S5 Sportback produces 358 PS of maximum power and 500 Nm of maximum torque. With an 8-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission, the Audi S5 Sportback claims a top speed of 250 kmph and a 0-100 kmph sprint time of 4.7 seconds.

The extensive safety equipment list of the Audi S5 Sportback includes six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, rear-cross traffic alert, blind spot monitor, auto park, lane-keeping assist, lane departure warning and assist, front and rear parking sensors, front collision warning and assist, adaptive cruise control, hill descent control system and blind-spot monitoring.

All the visual enhancers, more powerful engine and the standard Quattro all-wheel-drive combine to justify the premium commanded by the Audi S5 Sportback over the standard A5 Sportback, with the former rightfully being a sportier cart to look and drive.