First Drive: The New Audi S5 Is a Peppy Antidote to Boring SUVs and Crossovers
If you’re a Gen X car enthusiast, you probably grew up in the glow of sedans and wagons with nary an SUV in sight—save the occasional wild-eyed outlier like the Lamborghini LM002. Crossovers and sport utility vehicles have since inverted the automotive landscape, climbing to top-selling status while coupes and sedans appear to be headed the way of the VHS cassette.
Though some brands have sworn off non-SUVs, others are still clinging to the three-box format. Audi’s just-updated S5 is among the few, the proud, the unicorns: after 2025, the A5/S5 will replace the A4 with a single, four-door-coupe-like body style. For those keeping score at home, Mercedes-Benz has also merged its C class and E class into one in-between model, and other brands are similarly streamlining their portfolio in order to meet the insatiable demand for sport ‘utes.
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“Sedan sales have been steadily declining in market share for decades, since SUVs hit their stride in the 1990s,” says Ed Kim, president and chief analyst at AutoPacific. “Sedans now make up a minority of new-vehicle sales as crossover SUVs are the dominant vehicle type in North America.” That said, the new S5 is now a slightly larger, more premium take that ditches the sedan option and is only available in the so-called Sportback configuration, which leverages a rear hatchback. Nearly three inches longer and .5 inches wider, this S5 feels noticeably roomier inside compared to its predecessors, particularly for front seat passengers. Also notable are upscale cues like the addition of suede-like Dinamica trim panels along the dashboard, adding a bit of texture and depth to the otherwise buttoned-down, Teutonic cabin.
The new S5 also feels more tech focused thanks to 11.9-inch and 14.5-inch displays aimed at the driver, and another available 10.9-inch screen ahead of the passenger. The good news: this expanse of digital real estate means most of what the driver needs can be readily displayed somewhere within the collection of screens. The bad news: air-conditioning controls have gone from physical switches to touchscreen-menu items, and not a single driver display conveys a graphically bold representation of engine rpms that’s easily legible at a glance. (We miss the circular sweep of the tachometer against the fat, red background.) There’s also the touch-sensitive steering-wheel button’s annoying tendency to play music when it’s unintentionally tapped.
With a 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 that’s been tuned to 362 hp, and a dual-clutch configuration replacing a conventional gearbox, the S5 accelerates robustly and is accompanied by a subtle-but-present exhaust note. The car covers zero to 60 mph in just over 4.0 seconds; it’s swift, but no supercar. Audi has also stiffened the suspension and steering feel on the new platform, which brings a heightened sense of connectedness to the road below.
While the adaptive-suspension system can be set up for a milder ride, our time spent traversing Southern France’s challenging mountain passes near St. Paul de Vence never left us feeling out of our depth. The S5 corners flatly and predictably, and is capable of hanging tenaciously onto corners with plenty of grip and barely a whiff of understeer. Thanks to a standard sport differential, the S5 also rotates nicely as it turns, further aiding its cornering effort by selectively braking the inside wheels as it approaches the apex. These playful tendencies are reinforced by visual cues, such as the steering wheel’s flat top and bottom, and the large quad exhaust pipes at the rear. But the S5 also clings to practicalities like a hatchback-style rear with 26 cubic feet of storage and decent rear-cabin space for full-grown adults.
Ed Kim suggests, “People who actually want sedans in today’s market tend to be ‘car people.’ They’re often contrarians who want to sit low in the car and eschew the high seating positions that most of today’s new-vehicle shoppers want.” We would dig even further and say that the S5 isn’t just a holdout for those contrarians who would rather be caught dead than drive a crossover or SUV. The fact that Audi has ominously dubbed its underpinnings as “Premium Platform Combustion” harkens to its status as the last gasoline-powered model of its kind before becoming electrified.
With the mantle of most powerful internal-combustion Audi held by the RS Q8 crossover, this low-slung S5 deserves consideration as a practical, usable runabout that happens to not ride high on stilts. The diehards will argue that the peak of the S5 model came with earlier, simpler versions. But as a 21st century response to a sea of sport utility behemoths, the 2025 Audi S5 is a satisfying and attainable salve against the current rash of status-quo SUVs.
Click here for more photos of the 2025 Audi S5 Sportback.
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