Living with an Audi S5 Avant: my honest first impressions after one month

My Audi S5 Avant has certainly been getting a workout over the last month. It was almost immediately put in a drag race lineup against a bunch of old Audi RS models, and a few weeks later it took on our Volvo V60 and BMW M5 Touring long termers.

But away from the Carwow drag strip, what’s this car been like to live with? Well, here are my first impressions.

Living with an Audi S5 Avant: first impressions after one month

I do a lot of miles in my job, slogging up and down the country for video shoots. The S5 has been a very comfy cruiser for soaking up these miles, because the adaptive suspension is super-supple in its softest setting.

I’ve also been averaging over 30mpg over the past few thousand miles, something Mat Watson took the mickey out of me for. He says I’m not driving it hard enough, I say it’s just quite economical. I’m not a light-footed driver, and this car has completed several drag race runs. I’m impressed with its fuel economy.

What’s not so good is the driver assistance systems, because I’m finding them to be more intrusive than a lot of cars. It beeps constantly, and if it’s raining then it starts beeping because the systems aren’t working.

I was driving down a single-track road a few weeks ago, when a motor home appeared in the other direction. I tried to steer towards the edge of the road to get around it, and the lane keeping assist yanked me back into the path of the camper.

So it’s safe to say I’m not a fan of modern driver aids, which is why I’m sometimes glad to jump in my old Mazda MX-5 at the weekends and enjoy a beep-free B-Road blast.

But if you ignore the S5’s nannying electronics, it’s quite good fun when the road gets twisty. Being an all-wheel drive Audi, you get tons of grip on pretty much all conditions. This means it’s not quite as playful as something like a BMW M3 Touring, but the S5 inspires loads of confidence to get a wriggle on.

I like the engine note as well. The soft limiter means you can’t enjoy it at a standstill, but when you rev out the 3.0-litre V6 on a slip road it makes a nice noise.

So my feelings are a bit mixed after the first month with the Audi S5 Avant. It’s a comfy cruiser with a lovely engine, and it handles really well. The estate boot is also plenty big enough for all my camera kit, and the red interior looks great.

But the constant beeping, bonging and tugging at the wheel starts to grate pretty quickly. Keep an eye on our long term test car home page to see if I can work around these systems, or if they end up being a deal-breaker.

Report #1: An introduction to my Audi S5 Avant

Let’s start with the important stuff: what’s powering my Audi S5 Avant?

Under the bonnet is a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine with 367hp and 550Nm of torque. This is sent to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and 0-60mph takes 4.5 seconds. That’s exactly the same pace as a BMW M340i Touring, despite being over 20hp down on that car.

My car is the Edition 1, a special trim level which was only available for a brief time when the car was first launched. It has a Bang and Olufsen sound system, surround-view cameras, adaptive cruise control and 20-inch alloy wheels.

I’ve also gone for this dark blue paint job, a £750 option, as well as the red leather interior. The carbon mirror caps cost an additional £560, and my car also has a deployable tow bar for an extra £1,160.

That tow bar is important to me, not because I tow anything but because I use it to mount our camera gear for tracking shots. This S5 will be working hard on video shoots hauling kit between locations, but I also want to see if it can be just as fun as my beloved BMWs on a weekend B-road blast.

All in, this car will set you back £75,120. I specced my ideal BMW M340i with some nice wheels, special paint and a couple of option packs, and it came to just over £70,000. The Audi is going to need to be really good to win me over.

Car change? Carwow!

Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.

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