Top 4 Audi RS 5 features that stand out from the competition

Audi’s mid-level high-performance offering is available with two body styles, both of them endowed with mountains of power and unbreakable all-wheel drive traction. Let’s take a closer look at the top 4 Audi RS 5 features that stand out from the competition.

Martin Pretorius

23 Apr 2021 · 09:23Buying a Car

Inspired by the Autobahn

It takes serious willpower to stick to the speed limits while piloting an Audi RS 5 (in whichever recent form). Such is the reservoir of urge, that merely cruising at 120 seems to be doing such a road rocket a severe disservice. But, although it’s designed for very high cruising speeds, the Audi RS 5 is also very capable of dealing with the demands of everyday use.

This duality of character is part of what makes an Audi RS 5 so appealing. Make no mistake, it takes some clever tricks to provide this much usable performance with such apparent ease alone, let alone keep it comfortable enough for regular use at another extreme of its usage profile as well.

Related: Shop for new and used Audi RS 5 cars for sale here.

1. Highly-developed AWD system

Audi has been doing their quattro all-wheel drive thing for more than four decades already, so it’s only logical that they’ve gotten quite good at it over the years. The latest RS 5 showcases Audi Sport (formerly quattro GmbH) at the peak of their technical expertise, using science and computers to bend the laws of physics.

AWD is becoming more commonplace in this segment, but Audi still has a few tricks up their sleeve, such as a rear sports differential (a R 30 000 option, which manages the left/right torque distribution on the rear axle), and a 60/40 default rear-bias torque split (which can then vary the front-to-rear torque distribution as well). Add well-honed stability control to the equation, and the result is a car that sends every one of its plentiful supply of ponies to the tarmac.

2. Digital Cockpit Plus

This is currently Audi’s ultimate digital dashboard, with a 10.1-inch infotainment display and a 12.3-inch instrument display, both of them with HD colour graphics and a touchscreen interface for the centrally-mounted one. For the RS 5, drivers can select RS-specific displays for both screens, giving info on everything from the engine outputs to drivetrain temperatures to cornering g-forces to lap times.

Also included in the package is Audi Connect (which gives the car its own 4G internet connection and a complete suite of connected technologies), as well as full smartphone mirroring, multiple USB ports, and navigation.

3. RS Sports Suspension with Dynamic Ride Control

Its name is a mouthful, but so are its abilities. Using technology pioneered on the second-generation Audi RS 4, this clever (optional) arrangement diagonally links opposite ends of the suspension to reduce body roll without the aid of ride-comfort-destroying stiff anti-roll bars.

As the RS 5 moves through a corner, the suspension compression on the outer front shock creates a similar compression on the inside rear shock, giving a leveling effect to the car’s body motions. This system only operates under heavy cornering loads, but doesn’t interfere with the ride quality in a straight line. The result? Flatter cornering without a bone-jarring ride. Clever.

4. Two body styles

At the moment, the Audi RS 5 range offers buyers a choice between a proper 2-door coupé, or a 5-door fastback (named the “Sportback”). We expect a cabriolet to join the range at some point as well, because the soft-top body has proven popular in previous generations.

While the coupé has all the drawbacks you’d expect of this body type (cramped rear accommodation and difficult entry/egress), the Sportback body turns an RS 5 into a very usable family car on top of being a blistering road rocket. And for those who want yet more space, there’s an RS 4 Avant on offer with the same mechanical bits but in an even more-practical estate car body.