New RS5?

[Terminator x]

Not RS3 so apologies.

Anyone looked at the configurator yet? Eye wateringly expensive imho + I can't even find carbon buckets like in the RS3!

TX.

 

[Jsimba]

I was having a play earlier as well. The price starts high and then quickly goes up!

I like the car on the whole, but it was whilst I was in the configurator that I finally figured out what it was about the design that was bugging me. It's the bonnet not coming all the way down to meet the top of the lights! It's a really small thing I know, but it just looks off like that IMO!

 

[northpole]

at that starting price, even if i won the lottery, i wouldn't buy it.

 

[JKP]

It's wild how the pricing can vary over the country borders, just based on how it's taxed. Here it starts from around € 126k. Unless you tick some of the few very costly options that don't have much point here, it won't rocket up. In comparison, if you buy an RS3 and spec it even a bit, it's easily over € 100k. BMW M3's float around € 200 k which is absolutely ridiculous.

I think Audi pretty much nailed the looks of the RS5, I'm just a bit annoyed of the out-of scale exhaust tips and a bit odd colour choices. Based on what I've seen around the Internet, looks like it's one of the very few newly released cars that's got mostly positive comment about the exterior design. I think this alone will sell them several pieces - in countries where the taxes treat the price well.

 

[NWHighlander]

When Audi announced an update for the RS4 I was keenly interested to learn what they envisaged.
To cut a long story short I am disappointed.
The electrification of the VAG group is a given, it's a must do I get that.
In my opinion the replacement RS5 is a heavy beast of a car and I will not be heaving it around our Highland roads. despite it's much vaunted chassis and steering improvements. The electric range for me is utterly useless. The price is as expected, I had a brief look at the equivalent basic Carbon Black and immediately lost complete interest. I am expecting an invitation to view and possibly drive the car, I doubt I will waste 105 miles return journey.

I will hold onto my agile and lighter Carbon Black RS4 until the DAZA Golf becomes available. I am sad to say I have reached the end of the road with Audi after many happy RS years.

Mike

PS I'd settle for the new ice engine in my current set up, that would be a proper enhancement.

 

[Colin A]

Must admit I am tempted despite the price (about £125K for a full spec with exclusive colour and ceramics) but its width might prove an issue as my garage space is limited. Also not impressed with how the 4 rings sit out on the front grill. Looks odd to me. Will wait until I see one in the flesh before making any final decision but in the meantime I am very happy with my current RS4

 

[flybynite]

I have looked for ages to replace our VAG estate and RS3 with one machine. I could never find an RS4 in my spec and a condition I could keep long term. I looked ar RS6 but felt they were too big and bills on that V8 can be eye watering, more than both existing cars.

For a new car I don't mind the looks of the RS5 but it is not understated like the B9 RS4 and C7 RS6. The problem I have is they are big heavy cars, almost as big and much and heavier than the old RS6 let alone the RS4 it replaces.

Price wouldn't bother me as like other things this is just the effect of inflation, take that out and it is not much above older cars.

It is still a no from me as I still see the 2015-18 era cars as peak for my needs and wants.

 

[HM3P]

When Audi announced an update for the RS4 I was keenly interested to learn what they envisaged.
To cut a long story short I am disappointed.
The electrification of the VAG group is a given, it's a must do I get that.
In my opinion the replacement RS5 is a heavy beast of a car and I will not be heaving it around our Highland roads. despite it's much vaunted chassis and steering improvements. The electric range for me is utterly useless. The price is as expected, I had a brief look at the equivalent basic Carbon Black and immediately lost complete interest. I am expecting an invitation to view and possibly drive the car, I doubt I will waste 105 miles return journey.

I will hold onto my agile and lighter Carbon Black RS4 until the DAZA Golf becomes available. I am sad to say I have reached the end of the road with Audi after many happy RS years.

Mike

PS I'd settle for the new ice engine in my current set up, that would be a proper enhancement.

View: https://x.com/Zero2Turbo/status/2051310686198759649/video/1?s=46

 

[northpole]

mweh if i was to buy a new car, if i wanted to spend that sort of money (which i don't) i would just get the xiaomi SU7 ultra... which costs about £80k, yet has more power and is better in everyway (apart from it being fully electric) than any of the audi rs5 models and that comes almost full optioned.

Just saying sometimes one needs to look at left fielders and what you get for your hard earned money, and right now the chinese car manufacturers are killing it at prices that the establised non chinese car manufacturers can only dream off.

 

[JKP]

I have looked for ages to replace our VAG estate and RS3 with one machine. I could never find an RS4 in my spec and a condition I could keep long term. I looked ar RS6 but felt they were too big and bills on that V8 can be eye watering, more than both existing cars.

For a new car I don't mind the looks of the RS5 but it is not understated like the B9 RS4 and C7 RS6. The problem I have is they are big heavy cars, almost as big and much and heavier than the old RS6 let alone the RS4 it replaces.

Then just hope the perfect RS4 will pop up against all odds. I'm afraid there won't be anything similar to it amongst any new cars anymore.

It surely wasn't Audi's real intent to make the RS5 a weighty tech-monster, and I don't think any other manufacturers have any better means to compensate the emission fee that a single ICE-only performance car causes for them. But as this is the outcome, at least they had managed to make it feel somehow valid and interesting.

What's not valid though is that constant raving about how it's now able to drift. Surely it can but come on, who does that with a 2,5-tonne car? Two doughnuts and the rear tyres are gone. It was right on one of the first videos where the car channel guys were spurred to drift it, and after just few rounds the entire tread was torn off the tyre. I wouldn't do that even if I had an unlimited tyre deal.

 

[flybynite]

Then just hope the perfect RS4 will pop up against all odds. I'm afraid there won't be anything similar to it amongst any new cars anymore.

Given up on the RS4 now, too much time has passed and they are getting long in the tooth. I was looking for a rare spec and after 3 years of looking nothing came up in any of the colours I wanted let alone the condition. Sticking with the 8V now, estate for the kids and Land Rover for everything else

 

[Terminator x]

Saw my first one on the road today. Looks really good although the rear pipes are still an abomination! You can also see the 2 tiddlers inside the oval too when it's on the move.

TX.

 

[flybynite]

Life is not all about drag races but this showed you cant get past the extra weight that is being added to all these cars. 40 years ago cars were about 1200kg, 10 years ago that had grown to about 1500kg but in the last few years we seem to have added about an a tonne. I feel it in every modern car that I drive, even some of the ICE cars.




View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEkmtpiTpA

 

[JKP]

Also showcases how absurd all the hype about the RS5 drifting is.

...And how much better the RS5 looks compared to the M3

 

[flybynite]

...And how much better the RS5 looks compared to the M3

That's not difficult to look better than the M3, but IMHO neither of them look as good as what was around 10 years ago.

RS5 weighs more than my Land Rover even when it's fully loaded with my gear

 

[paddy]

You are basically buying the badge and its a pretty crap badge now its lost its chrome...lets be honest ? lots of plastic on show.

These things are like the City tractors of old were 20 years ago in that 95% of them will only ever use 5% of their ability in 20mph land in Surrey

 

[paddy]

That's not difficult to look better than the M3, but IMHO neither of them look as good as what was around 10 years ago.

RS5 weighs more than my Land Rover even when it's fully loaded with my gear

I was loaned an electric mini the other day, the feeling of weight when driving it was incredible especially on the brakes and cornering, it just felt like a 2 ton car.

 

[JKP]

That's not difficult to look better than the M3, but IMHO neither of them look as good as what was around 10 years ago.

Not sure about that. BMW had some amazing designs between 2005 and 2020 but somehow I didn't have the same thought about Audi's RS variants, even though I've always liked Audi's basic styling. Then suddenly the C8 RS6 and RS7 came out very striking and still remain as such, like the 8Y RS3. I thought the current A5 wouldn't transform well into the RS form but fortunately I was wrong. But then the newest Audi base models are far from pretty. I liked the A6 in the showroom but when I saw one on the street it had none of the road presence that the C8 A6 had, and the recent SUV models that came out after it are just straight ugly. One can only hope for the better future and be happy with what you've got now...

The weight thing is a though one. I drove the PHEV A3 at some point and it felt heavy and numb, and the weight difference to the petrol-only A3 isn't even very big there. But no idea if I had thought that way unless I had the direct comparison.

 

[paddy]

The point is the RS range is supposed to be the pinnacle of performance and handling ? no amount of BHP will make up for 2.5 tons going round a corner or changing direction. This hybrid RS5 has 630 bhp and its 1 tenth of a second quicker over the 1/4 mile than my 15 year old S3. Audi should be retiring the RS badge not demeaning it like this

 

[JKP]

You mean Audi should bury the entire RS brand one model by one, since the regulations make it impossible to keep the cars old-school? I don't see things quite this straightforward, but even I would rather see that happen than watch Audi go the AMG route.

Every single journalist has said the RS5 handles extremely well despite the weight and is a very capable car even on twisty roads, so it still seems to tick the performance and handling boxes. Of course it leaves you wonder what it could be like if they didn't have to make it what it is.

 

[paddy]

I dont think "old school" is really fair ? You could also say "cutting edge". The RS5 being hybrid is already on the way out like ICE. Future RS will be electric and while they might make that work fore some it will be bit like calling an intercity 125 a steam train.. Audi's selling point for me was always its quality over the cooking models from Ford and even VW. The latest models have lost that edge not only in quality but in design. I realize they cant compete with China so they shouldn't be trying to as its left them in a half way house of expensive without the quality and finish that used to justify the price. Touch screens are cheap, digital displays are cheap, i get they have to cut corners but if you do that you need to cut the price.

 

[JKP]

By "old-school" I mean rather traditional than old-fashioned. But do you rather accept the RS5 as it is now or would it be better if it wasn't made at all? This will be the question for all the performance models to come, unless lawmakers get their heads out of their *****... which isn't gonna happen.

The performance car segment looks like even worse stalemate than where the basic cars are now. When put in this way, the concept of a hybrid performance car sound truly ridiculous: You need the electric drive to keep the ICE powertrain, but this only makes the car as heavy as an EV, which doesn't struggle like the hybrid to be quick enough. So I'm kind of missing the point of the ICE in this equation - what is it there for anymore, the noise I guess?

Well of course I know which one really is the pointles one out of motors of a hybrid performane car... But we need the electicity there to fulfill the laws to protect the planet. At the same time no one talks about the huge CO2 emissions caused by ongoing futile, mindless wars.

Ok, this went a bit off on a tangent now.

But to my own question: I'd rather accept the RS5 as it is. It's sort of a pointless car, but a nice one. I visited a local dealer to see of they had one in a showroom. They didn't but the sales guy said he's already delivered one. And we certainly don't have customers here waiting in line for cars like it.

 

[paddy]

I dont have a problem with electric cars but i do have a problem with being "fined" in effect with running costs/tax etc for not having one when its just not practice to get a charger anywhere near where i have to park. Why should the poorest of us who dont have drives and garages or even off street parking have to pay 7x as much to charge the blasted thing at a charger because we cant access overnight rates at home....... even if you could find a charger in the sticks. You can buy Audi etron GT for £35k, 2023 20k miles, there is a very good reason for that.

 

[HM3P]

Life is not all about drag races but this showed you cant get past the extra weight that is being added to all these cars. 40 years ago cars were about 1200kg, 10 years ago that had grown to about 1500kg but in the last few years we seem to have added about an a tonne. I feel it in every modern car that I drive, even some of the ICE cars.




View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hEkmtpiTpA

They’ve tried to make the RS5 be master of both drivetrains lol
100k for that. No thanks

when the 5N goes next year it’s probably 6N time for me.

Interesting leaderboard on these guys channel too whereby the 8Y and both Ionic N cars are tenths apart.


View: https://youtu.be/_WP9h574BJM?si=6675osYEjk2u7yGf

 

[JKP]

Drove both RS3 and RS5 back to back today. I've driven the RS3 three times now, obviously first time for the RS5.

Very differend cars for different needs, the extremes in RS5 were much farther apart than in the RS3. While some of the appeal of the RS3 has worn off during just the three test drives, I don't think it would happen with the RS5 - for the simple reason that it felt so totally perfect for a daily. You can just drive it like any car, it's very comfy and refined, the seats are wonderful, and then if you are stupid enough to ask, it smashes your face off with a sledge hammer. The weight definitely feels, but in a totally different way than I would have anticipated. I think it's not a concern unless you go track it. For street use it's all fine. But when all that power catapults that weight into speed, that is simply brutal! I even got a slight headache after few strong accelerations. So there's way more reserve than you mostly need to use. The car feels fast even when driven quite calmly. So, don't hate it solely based on what's on the paper or how it performs in drag races.

There is room for improvement in the interior design and the virtual cockpit, but honestly I didn't mind them much during the test drive. As a negative I have to mention that there was some damn rattle in the back of the car. Maybe something you can fix, but these days I see red every time I hear a rattle in Audi, because it's way too common.

 

[paddy]

Thats a really good report thanks . I'm not surprised the RS3 pales a bit against an RS5, different markets really. I supose the next question would be how does an RS5 stack up against any other £100k performance car. M5 , C63, Panamera 4s . As you say you can read endless reports but until you drive them you are never really going to know.
My problem with the panamera would have been its too low however now they jack themselves up to make it easier to get in and out that might not be a problem

 

[flybynite]

The weight definitely feels, but in a totally different way than I would have anticipated. I think it's not a concern unless you go track it. For street use it's all fine. But when all that power catapults that weight into speed, that is simply brutal!

It is not the straight-line performance weight I have a problem with. Electric cars and hybrids have had more than enough power to overcome that weight for a long time now.

It is the completely blunted driving dynamics they have round every bend or roundabout, even Lotus couldn't mask it completely. Admittedly Audis of the past have been a bit of a blunt instrument at times, but the modern electric/hybrids take blunt to another level. I have driven the old and new M5 close together and the difference is even greater.

2017 pre-OPF M5 is something I have considered as they seem to be better looked after than the RS4/6 avant and BMW look like they will support older cars better than VAG currently do.

Also when stopping, blunted performance is even harder to disguise, most are well under-braked for the weight. Fine on first press but very little after and nothing left after a 'spirited' half hour drive. Just look at the brakes on most Teslas, smaller than on a Golf which is over a tonne lighter.

One of the reasons I liked the Polestar, at least they made an effort on the suspension and brakes.

 

[JKP]

Sounds like the amount you use the word "blunted" gives it away you're not gonna like the RS5. I didn't think that would be the adjective I'd use for either of those cars, but the RS3 definitely felt more nimble than RS5 - anybody surprised raise a hand. But city driving was a bit clunky with the RS3, and I felt like you certainly have to want to have that sportyness all the time.

The hybrid powertrain gives a crazy tax advantage for PHEV vehicles in Finland, so the RS5 isn't even considerably much more expensive than the RS3. To my personal preferences, after my test drive today, I'd choose the RS5 ten times out of ten over the RS3. Considering how much I've always liked both the A3 and RS3, that even surprised myself.

But the 5-pot sound never gets old......

 

[NWHighlander]

I too am not a fan of the RS5. Drove one for a day around the Highlands in all road conditions. It failed to light my interest, lacking the visceral growl and feel of a proper RS. Yes, all the magical electronics are amazing I grant you. But compared to my RS4 Carbon Black it is well placed in second behind it.
I was looking and hoping for an Audi with character, ICE and presence, sadly a small field to choose from now. I realised the only way was up, so I have just acquired a RS6 Carbon Black Vorsprung Performance 8k miles old, the last of the last. It may have to last me longer than my usual 2-3 years as I am adamant about not owning an EV/Hybrid especially living where I do. I am afraid [n my opinion the RS5 is a desertion of tradition forced by legislation, sadly.
Now where is the next 99 octane pump and my tame fuel tanker.
All joys,
Mike