Audi RS5 Sportback: Vroom for four, or more

Singapore

FAST cars should have two doors, and very fast cars should wobble the parts of you that tend to wobble. Those are two rules of motoring that seem reasonable, but the Audi RS 5 Sportback merrily stomps them in the face.

Indeed, as cars go, this one is more stompy than most. Like all Audi RS models, it packs a serious amount of kick under the hood, in this case 450 horsepower, same as a Porsche 911 Carrera S.

Engage launch control, let 'er rip and the Audi pounces on 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. Numbers aren't everything, of course, but the Audi's 0 to 100km/h time makes it quicker than a key rival, the Mercedes-AMG C 63 S, by 0.1 seconds. That sounds marginal but in terms of bragging rights, it's gold.

The RS 5 Sportback is also a more obvious choice than another competitor, the BMW M4 Gran Coupe, but mostly because the latter isn't imported here and you can't buy one.

Anyway, this is the sort of car that you can tell is blazing fast just by looking. A regular A5 Sportback is handsome and toned to begin with, but the gym time that turned it into an RS 5 really packed the muscle onto its five-door body.

Its flanks bulge out by 15mm, widening the car at both ends enough to accommodate small air vents on the outer edges of the lamps. They're fake, and thus merely there for style, but then they were also fake on the racing car that influenced the RS 5 Sportback.

To add even more visual drama, the bumpers, grille and sills are all different on this car, and in fact, it's hard to spot any body panels that both the normal A5 and the RS 5 Sportbacks share.

As far as I can tell, the roof and tailgate might be common, but that's it, which must make the RS 5 a scarily expensive car to produce.

Inside, there's a steering wheel with a flat bottom (not so it can clear your stomach, but because some racing cars have them to let drivers jump in and out more easily) and surprisingly little allusion to the car's ability to impersonate a rocket.

If anything, the cabin is nicely understated and business-like, with little more than racy-looking front seats embossed with "RS" and an extra mode on the head-up display and digital instruments to let you know that you're driving something special.

Maybe this is a car that lets its speediness do the talking.

Sure enough, the RS 5 Sportback is capable of supreme feats of athleticism. The acceleration is effortless, the way I imagine it would be effortless for Mike Tyson to twist my head off my shoulders with his hands, yet the brakes feel like they could stop one of Tyson's haymakers dead.

Under those flared wheelarches are broad, sticky tyres carried by a suspension design specific to the RS 5, so you'll need an unhealthy level of derring-do to pry the Audi's grip from the tarmac.

Yet, there's a sense of involvement missing from the proceedings. The way the RS 5 hugs the road like a lost lover, the driver ends up feeling a bit like an outsider trying to cut in.

There's not enough drama, either. In a Mercedes-AMG, being heavy-footed with the accelerator means the traction control works overtime to keep you from restyling the body against a lamppost, and the engine howls like a son of Belial. Disable the driver aids altogether, and you'd better say your prayers. Yet, it's precisely that flirtation with danger that makes an AMG car so irresistibly thrilling.

Here in the RS 5, there's no such sense that disaster is only a bit of bad judgment away. With this much power, braking and purchase available, fast lap times are a given, and all you have to supply are the commitment and a smidgen of skill. But that means you sometimes feel as if you're merely along for the ride.

It doesn't help that the engine chuffles and occasionally snarls, but never really howls. The last RS 5 had a revvy V8 that brought the house down with its rumbling and growling, so there's not much for the ears to savour by Audi's own standards.

But maybe that's part of the game plan with the RS 5 Sportback. The absence of boisterousness means it's an uncommonly refined car for the class. The suspension absorbs bumps with calm (and calming) efficiency, and there isn't much in the way of wind noise on the highway.

As sleek at the RS 5 Sportback looks, its cabin has room for four adults to recline in comfort, and the boot offers a useful 465 litres of space. If you're sitting up front, you even have massage chairs to sink into.

All told, a weekend drive somewhere with friends (or the kids) and plenty of luggage might be something you think a sport utility vehicle is for, but the RS 5 Sportback can do it in comfort, style and speed. Plenty of speed.

Better than most, this car violates the rule that 450 horsepower should leave you exhausted after a few hundred kilometres behind the wheel.

But if you're thinking of buying one, self-restraint is essential. Driving something this velvety without vigilance means you might as well set fire to your licence and let the RS 5 Sportback stomp all over the ashes.

Audi RS 5 Sportback 2.9 TFSI quattro

Engine 2,894cc, V6, twin-turbo Power 450hp at 5,700-6,700rpm Torque 600Nm at 1,900-5,000rpm Gearbox 8-speed automatic 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds Top Speed 250 km/h (limited) Fuel Efficiency 8.9L/100km Agent Premium Automobiles Price S$387,000 with Certificate Of Entitlement Available Now