2023 Audi RS 5 Review and Test Drive
A timelessly designed, German-engineered, absolute blast to drive.
Christian Wardlaw
QuickTakes:
As evidenced by the countless unsuccessful challenges to the driving dynamism supremacy of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Porsche, German engineering is difficult to decode.
No matter how many test laps are performed at the Nürburgring Nordschleife — a popular and challenging race track in Germany — or how many executives are wooed from Ingolstadt, Munich, or Stuttgart, automakers from the United States, Korea, and Japan typically fall short in their attempts to unseat Germany's Fab Four from the top of the fun-to-drive mountain.
Take the 2023 Audi RS 5, for example. Available in two-door coupe and four-door hatchback — or Sportback in Audi-speak — configurations, the Audi RS 5 is a performance-tuned version of the equivalent Audi A5 and S5 models. With 444 horsepower, a hardware massage designed to ensure drivers can use all that power, and a more aggressive, yet subdued design, the latest RS 5 is an absolute delight.
Christian Wardlaw
2023 Audi RS 5 Prices Reflect Plentiful Power and Equipment
The 2023 Audi RS 5 Coupe and Sportback come in a single specification level with a base price of just under $80,000, including the destination charge to ship the car from the Ingolstadt, Germany, factory that builds it to your local dealership.
For this RS 5 review, I test-drove the Coupe in Southern California. It included extra-cost Ascari Blue paint, the Competition package, navigation, and a pair of packages that added safety tech such as blind-spot monitoring and lane-keeping assist.
Those options brought the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $100,690, including the $1,095 destination charge. Audi provided the vehicle for this RS 5 Coupe review.
Christian Wardlaw
Unassuming Style, Coldly Decadent Interior
The Audi RS 5 doesn't advertise its capabilities, which is how I like my performance cars. Sure, it's got a more aggressive look than a standard A5 and sporty S5, but unless you choose one with red paint, the RS 5 may go unnoticed — until you put the hammer down.
Open the door, drop into the interior, and you'll find the RS 5 is coldly technical but decadently outfitted with premium honeycomb-stitched leather upholstery, carbon-fiber trim, and metallic accents. My test car's Competition package added Alcantara artificial suede to the seat inserts, steering wheel, center armrest, and shift lever.
Audi Virtual Cockpit, an impressive digital instrumentation display I feel sets the bar for electronic gauges, is standard. It pairs with a touchscreen infotainment system that sits proudly at the top of the dashboard and is underscored with the center air vents, traditional climate controls, and a smattering of buttons. A stereo volume and radio tuning knob lives on the center console to the right of the shifter.
While I feel the RS 5's touchscreen lacks the deft design integration of some other Audi models, I prefer it to the company's dual-display setup that eliminates nearly all physical controls. I think Audi could improve the RS 5's layout by tossing the lower-left cruise control stalk in the trash and adding its functions to the steering wheel.
Christian Wardlaw
Challenging Entry and Exit but Room for Four
The RS 5 is 10 mm lower than its less-athletic siblings, making ingress and egress more challenging. The wide doorsills and S Sport front seat bolsters don't help, and the long doors require contortions in cramped parking spaces.
Once settled in, the RS 5 Coupe's front seats are comfortable, offering power-adjustable side bolsters, heating, and massage. They're effective at keeping you planted behind the heated steering wheel, especially if you've dialed in some extra squeeze from those bolsters.
Unexpectedly, adults can fit into the two-passenger back seat if the driver and front passenger are willing to slide forward, helping explain the triple-zone automatic climate control system. With the front seats moved up a couple of inches, I fit fine and found the rear seat comfortable enough for shorter trips. However, headroom could prove problematic for taller folks.
Christian Wardlaw
Good Storage and Cargo Room, Especially for the RS 5 Sportback
Storage space is better than expected for a coupe. Besides the glovebox, the RS 5 contains several bins, trays, and compartments, including for the rear-seat passengers. Unfortunately, while the cupholders will accommodate larger beverages, they're tucked under the climate controls, making placing and retrieving drinks awkward.
The RS 5 Coupe has a 10.9 cubic-feet trunk, enough room to stow a couple of full-sized suitcases with smaller, flatter items placed on top of them. The rear seats fold down for added utility, and there is a center armrest with a pass-through to the trunk for carrying longer items and people simultaneously.
If you want even more practicality, get the RS 5 Sportback. It has smaller front doors for improved entry and exit in tight parking situations, rear doors for easier back-seat accessibility, and a huge 21.8 cu-ft trunk. Fold the Sportback's back seat down, and you've got even more cargo space, but Audi doesn't provide that measurement.
Christian Wardlaw
2023 Audi RS 5 MMI: Skip the Navigation Package
The Audi RS 5 has a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system that provides clear haptic feedback to inputs. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, SiriusXM satellite radio, a wireless phone charger, and a Bang & Olufsen premium sound system come standard.
While the voice recognition system worked well, I think the navigation system could use improvement. After repeated tries, it could not find a favorite restaurant in my hometown. It also gave me inaccurate directions to a restaurant in Culver City, California, where the city has enacted changes to traffic flow. The delay related to the outdated software nearly caused me to arrive late for a meeting.
Christian Wardlaw
Helpful Surprise-and-delight Tech
If the navigation system's software was outdated, its ability to transform the 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit instrument panel into a navigation map remains an impressive trick. You can even switch it to a view with Google Earth images.
In addition, Audi RS 5 owners who live in regions with toll roads will appreciate the car's standard Integrated Toll Module technology, and the test car's RS Driver Assistance package installed a head-up display, a semi-autonomous parking assist, and a surround-view camera system.
Outward visibility from the RS 5's driver seat is good, thanks to the relatively slender windshield pillars, flat hood, large side mirrors, and clear view to the rear. However, the surround-view camera system helps ensure you won't scrape a wheel or crunch the front air dam.
Christian Wardlaw
2023 Audi RS 5 Safety Features Are Optional, not Standard
The 2023 Audi RS 5 has just a handful of standard safety features, including automated emergency braking and lane-departure warning. My test vehicle also had blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, and lane-keeping assist.
Unfortunately, I experienced the automated emergency braking while driving in traffic on a suburban street. With all three lanes of traffic accelerating after a traffic light turned green, the driver ahead of me suddenly braked for no apparent reason. It caught me off guard, but the Audi's technology was ready with warnings, a cinched seatbelt, and immediate braking.
As it turned out, the Audi braked too hard and too much. The offending Kia ahead suddenly accelerated, leaving the RS 5 approaching a standstill and becoming the new obstacle. Fortunately, the driver behind me was attentive enough to avoid a collision.
As for the adaptive cruise control, it's a smooth operator. When drivers cut into the gap ahead, you're barely aware that the RS 5 is slowing in response. The Audi quickly returns to the desired speed when slower traffic moves aside. The lane-keeping technology is less pleasing. It can be too insistent, and the driver is too frequently aware of its corrective activity.
Christian Wardlaw
Twin-turbo V6 Accelerates the Audi RS 5 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds
Audi equips the RS 5 with a twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6 engine, making 444 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. Power flows to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and an Audi Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Audi claims the RS 5 Coupe can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds.
My test car had the new-for-2023 Competition package, which adds 20-inch wheels, sticky Pirelli P Zero tires, ceramic front brakes, and a sport exhaust system. Keep your foot buried, and the RS 5 can hit 180 mph.
Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, and programmable RS1 and RS2 driving modes modify the RS 5's behavior, but considering its 275/30R-20 tires and track-ready suspension, the car feels firm at a minimum and unyieldingly stiff when driving with enthusiasm.
Christian Wardlaw
The 2023 Audi RS 5 Is a Canyon Assassin
Unsurprisingly, the Competition package makes the RS 5 Coupe a track-ready beast. Still, cruising in Comfort mode reveals a docile nature suited for daily driving. There is a noticeable touch of compliance in the ride, and the power is easy to manage.
With the lowered suspension, however, you need to take care not to scrape the front end when entering and exiting driveways, crossing drainage dips, and traveling over speed humps. In addition, the Competition package's ceramic front brake discs make it more difficult to stop smoothly.
I used the Auto driving mode most of the time, which gives the RS 5 a decidedly firm ride and improved responsiveness in everyday driving. The Audi RS 5 effortlessly accelerates onto fast-flowing freeways and clearly communicates road texture and noise. A delightful engine note accompanies higher revs.
Christian Wardlaw
Switching to Dynamic mode, the RS 5 adopts instantaneous response to accelerator inputs, unforgiving suspension tuning, heavy steering, and a burbling, rat-a-tat-tat soundtrack.
With hearty enthusiasm, I drove the RS 5 down Malibu's Piuma Road, a writhing ribbon of pavement that descends rapidly from its peak elevation, and is packed full of bumps, dips, and decreasing radius curves. In this punishing environment, the Audi's speed, grip, precision, and brakes proved fantastic.
As for gas mileage, my RS 5 nearly matched its official EPA fuel economy rating of 18/26/21 mpg city/highway/combined. On the evaluation route, it returned 20.5 mpg.
Christian Wardlaw
An Exclusive Path to German Engineering and Performance
Though the current-generation Audi RS 5 has been available since 2018, I like it better than its equivalent BMW and Mercedes rivals. I prefer the Audi's no-nonsense design, simple yet luxurious interior, and practical Sportback variant.
As with its primary competitors, the M4 and AMG-tuned C-Class, the RS 5 is a blast to drive. But where I live, the Audi is rare to see on the road, adding to its exclusivity. And that's part of the allure of a car like this.
