By PH Staff / Tuesday 13 August 2024 / Loading comments
While we couldn’t communicate it at the time, PH saw the new A5 in person a few days ago at a special preview event. That’s when the automaker first explained how it would separate the wheat from combustion engines from the electric straw so that consumers would have a clearer idea of what they were looking for. Needless to say, Audi was more interested in the EV aspect of the equation appearing, but, being PH, we were more interested in what it had planned for the faster versions. of the great new 5, which is then just a design mock-up.
Well, now we know. Last month, Audi showed that the new S5, available as a sedan or estate and built on the new Premium Platform Combustion architecture, will get a 3. 0-liter TFSI V6 with 367 hp. This turns out to be good news for a number of reasons. First of all, despite being a 48-volt MHEV to reduce emissions, the company did not make the mistake of trying to force a version with a four-cylinder engine; secondly, it is a petrol package, which replaces the unpopular diesel option that preceded it in Europe; Thirdly, it’s pretty tough to get the S5 to 100km/h in 4. 5 seconds, which is pretty much what we’d expect the style to be.
The price, it must be said, is well above the price we once had constant in the heads of S brand cars. Five years ago, the old petrol S4 started to cost just under £50,000. Today, the new petrol S5 starts at £68,700. Obviously, there’s the effect of wider inflation on the paintwork there – and Audi will point to the £69,250 Mercedes-AMG C43 as a direct rival – but when a BMW M340i xDrive Touring lately starts at £61,635 (according to the retail site), it suggests Audi expects the model’s novelty to do some of the heavy lifting.
Honestly, this value also takes into account a luxury “Edition 1” specification, which, for the moment, coincides with the presentation of the S5. This adds things like OLED virtual taillights, a new panoramic “smart glass” roof, stitched Pearl Nappa leather gaming seats with speakers built into the headrests, a configurable head-up display, and a Bang premium audio system.