But even those figures don’t reveal the silkiness and captivating appeal of the S5’s powertrain. When you drive with the windows down around town, you hear a terrific V-8 burble from the quad exhaust pipes. When feeling lazy, you can almost forget about shifting because the engine will take full throttle at 1000 rpm in sixth gear perfectly smoothly. And at any speed, the V-8 spins with an eager and refined hum.
Despite its speed and sexy looks, this coupe is always well-behaved and surprisingly practical. The driving position benefits from a highly adjustable seat and a tilting-and-telescoping steering wheel with an unusually broad range of adjustment. The S5’s beltline is high, and you feel a little buried in the car, but it’s hard for us to imagine a driver who couldn’t get comfortable behind the wheel.
The back seat is also fairly roomy for a coupe, although a six-footer will be touching knees and head when sitting behind another six-footer. Getting in and out is easy, thanks to conveniently located seatback-mounted switches to move the power seats fore-and-aft. The trunk has impressive space, too, a prodigious 16 cubic feet of usable volume.
For its price niche, the S5 offers the usual posh options, including keyless start, a rearview camera, and a navigation system. Ours also had a fine-sounding Bang & Olufsen stereo. But one odd feature is a sunroof that can’t slide and only tilts open. Why bother?
The Audi coupe’s competitors are the BMW 3-series coupes and the Mercedes CLKs. In price, the S5 splits the difference between its German rivals, given that a loaded 335i doesn’t quite reach 54 grand and a loaded CLK550 is pushing $70,000. There’s not much to differentiate these three cars in pure speed, refinement, or practicality, although the BMW, being the lightest and most balanced of the trio, feels the sportiest.
What the Audi brings to the party is a real sense of style—a combination of sculpted metal and striking interior design that makes driving it a special experience. Isn’t that what coupes are all about?
Despite its speed and sexy looks, this coupe is always well-behaved and surprisingly practical. The driving position benefits from a highly adjustable seat and a tilting-and-telescoping steering wheel with an unusually broad range of adjustment. The S5’s beltline is high, and you feel a little buried in the car, but it’s hard for us to imagine a driver who couldn’t get comfortable behind the wheel.
The back seat is also fairly roomy for a coupe, although a six-footer will be touching knees and head when sitting behind another six-footer. Getting in and out is easy, thanks to conveniently located seatback-mounted switches to move the power seats fore-and-aft. The trunk has impressive space, too, a prodigious 16 cubic feet of usable volume.
For its price niche, the S5 offers the usual posh options, including keyless start, a rearview camera, and a navigation system. Ours also had a fine-sounding Bang & Olufsen stereo. But one odd feature is a sunroof that can’t slide and only tilts open. Why bother?
The Audi coupe’s competitors are the BMW 3-series coupes and the Mercedes CLKs. In price, the S5 splits the difference between its German rivals, given that a loaded 335i doesn’t quite reach 54 grand and a loaded CLK550 is pushing $70,000. There’s not much to differentiate these three cars in pure speed, refinement, or practicality, although the BMW, being the lightest and most balanced of the trio, feels the sportiest.
What the Audi brings to the party is a real sense of style—a combination of sculpted metal and striking interior design that makes driving it a special experience. Isn’t that what coupes are all about?