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Our Cars: Audi S5 Avant
14 hours ago
A family holiday tested the Audi's carrying capacity to the limit
We’ve done all the standard car magazine assessments of the S5 Avant, including a comparison test with its rivals from BMW and Volvo, but this was always going to stretch it far harder than those. Would the Audi accommodate the extraordinary amount of stuff two adults and a couple of small kids apparently need for a few days away at an overpriced holiday park? Would it convey us in comfort? Would it let us down anywhere along the way? The potential consequences varied greatly from the minor, like any number of beloved items having to be left at home for lack of space (Lola’s scooter; still not over it) to the major, such as the four of us being stranded beside a motorway, the car refusing to budge, bonnet up, storm clouds gathering, our 11-month old not yet over her gastric illness and, oh no, that was the last spare nappy…
In the end, though, it was absolutely fine. As I’ve said before, the Audi really is an effortless everyday machine, thanks in large part to its comfortable ride and excellent seats. Space is its only real shortcoming. Our three-year-old’s car seat takes up so much room behind me that I must drive sitting a little closer to the pedals and steering wheel than I would like, which is fine for an hour or so, not so much for three. Mrs Prosser, the best part of a foot shorter than me, does at least fit comfortably enough alongside me with the baby snuggled into her car seat behind.
The truth is, for a trip like this you really would be better off with a car one size larger. The A6 Avant e-tron that I ran briefly before this car arrived would’ve given us the space we all needed.
"The Audi does nothing to annoy me, and I stand by that – although I have identified a number of very small irritations"
Despite all that, I think the ultimate endorsement of the S5 was that we arrived at Center Parcs in good spirits, pleased to be able to alight and stretch our legs but not desperate to do so, and when the time came to cram all of our stuff and ourselves back into it several days later, we were happy enough to do so. When a car takes care of your family like that, you grow to like it even more.
As the miles pile on – close to 5000 now – the engine seems to be loosening up a little, which is most apparent in its improved fuel efficiency. The S5 averaged 27mpg for the first couple of thousand miles, but nowadays it’s returning around 29mpg. Better, but still not great.
I’ve written before that the Audi does nothing to annoy me, and I stand by that – although I have identified a number of very small irritations. One such example is the car’s insistence on starting up in Individual mode. This is the first Audi I’ve lived with that does this, and it means I’ve had to completely rethink how I use the customisable setting. Ordinarily, I would configure that mode for spirited driving, typically with the powertrain in its sportiest configuration with the adaptive dampers left as soft as possible. When the road does eventually open up, I am just a couple of button jabs away from having the car just as I like it for that sort of driving.
“Ideally the S5 would just default to Comfort on start up, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how to instruct it to do so, or if it’s even possible. Answers on a postcard, please”
But since the S5 defaults to Individual every time, it would therefore start up with a burst of revs and too much exhaust noise for my tastes if left that way. You can quickly switch to Comfort, or switch on the ignition and only fire the engine once you’ve chosen that setting, but that’s extra faff I really don’t want. The solution? Configure Individual to mirror the Comfort mode.
In which case the car starts quietly, which I like, but then I don’t have my perfectly configured Individual mode waiting for me when I do get the chance to stretch the car’s legs. Ideally the S5 would just default to Comfort on start up, but for the life of me I can’t figure out how to instruct it to do so, or if it’s even possible. Answers on a postcard, please.
I also find the ADAS start up ritual a bit irritating, which possibly says more about me than the car. It only takes a couple of seconds to kill the speed limit warning (saved to the shortcut button on the steering wheel) and lane-keep assist (its own button on a stalk, requiring a long press) but I resent having to do so. That’s true of many modern cars, but not all – I don’t feel the same need in the Alpine A290 I’m also running just now, for instance.
If this car does have one meaningful flaw, it is the calibration of the V6, the small mild hybrid electric motor (that’s just about burly enough to get the car rolling), the dual-clutch gearbox and the four-wheel drive system. This is a complex powertrain, but I still believe it should be easier to manoeuvre and pull away from rest in a smooth and relaxing manner. Instead it can be quite grabby and snatchy in those moments, at least until you learn to precisely meter out throttle applications at very low speeds.
I was interested to read Andrew English’s recent review of this car’s far more serious sibling, the Audi RS5. With its massive power, overhauled chassis and bogglingly complex rear axle I’m sure it’s far more exciting to drive than the S5 – and I look forward to finding out for myself. But I can’t see how it will be anything like as good at the mundane family stuff the S5 does so well. My guess is it’ll be less comfortable, noisier, compromised in poor weather and not as practical with a chunk of its boot taken up by the hybrid’s large battery, as well as far more expensive to buy and run.
Center Parcs? I’ll take the S5, thank you.
