Car_and_Driver_USA_July_2017

sects the Coronado Trail. The only way through these mountains
by car, then, is this route.
Just south of Hannagan Meadow, at about 9400 feet, the trail
reaches its zenith, revealing its full breadth. Here the terrain
opens, the road mellows, and the speed climbs again. This, at last,
is the proper dominion of the S5. At 3942 pounds, it weighs virtually
the same as the previous-generation S5, and in the triple-digit
sweepers it is a stable, connected partner. It’s also an adult’s car,
lacking both the presence and the promise of Audi’s RS models.
There’s no flourish in its downshifts, no nervousness in its throttle.
And its exhaust note, though not without character, doesn’t lift the
head of a single Arizona elk, even at full wail.
Starting at $55,575, the S5 is hardly a cheap way to cross the
Arizona mountains, but that doesn’t keep
it from being one of the quickest. All new
S4s and S5s start at the Premium Plus trim
level. Our Prestige-trim tester adds, for
$4400, the interior tech that’s beginning
to define the brand—namely its Virtual
Cockpit display, a 12.3-inch configurable
instrument cluster that, among other
tricks, overlays Google Earth imagery on
maps. Navigation and the Bang & Olufsen
audio system also tag along. Our car came
with the $1800 Driver Assistance package,
$1250 nappa leather, and the $2500 S Sport
package, which is required to get the
$1150 Dynamic Steering. All in, this S5 is a
$68,550 means to pursue Coronado.
Like the last-generation V-8–powered
RS5, this coupe is rapid and capable, and,
when it comes to passion-inducing driving
tools, somewhat antiseptic. Though eager,
it’s a picture of perfect etiquette, arcing
Dance with the devil:
U.S. Route 191 was
once known as U.S.
Route 666. Superstition,
accidents, and a
few stolen road signs
fueled the change.
into safe understeer in tightening corners. There’s no dancing with
physics here, no risk, no awe—only the cold, stoic hand of Audi
engineering aligning the S5’s abilities with its driver’s direction.
Setting a wheel wrong will always be your own doing, because
nothing about the S5 will draw you near that edge. No matter how
hard it’s pressed, it remains a sober, competent companion, one
that will never make you sweat.
There are places for an adult’s car. The Coronado Trail is not
among them. A road this wild and unhinged deserves a machine
imbued with the same general philosophy, a car honed to explore
the limit. This is the sort of place to unload a fully baked supercar
without fear of prison. But the S5, permeated by quiet confidence,
is a car that will never be that raw; it is what we’d want to drive to
this road and back from it, swapping into a Ferrari or a McLaren for
the trail itself. Coronado, whose quest for gold ultimately took him
all the way to present-day Kansas, left without his spoils. Rolling
into Springerville, it’s clear that the S5, on some level, shares his
predicament. Its ease, confidence, and stability are allies most of
the time. But on the Coronado Trail, a place as ungovernable as any
road in America, we’d want a car to match.
ROLLING START, 5–60 MPH ................................. 5.6
TOP GEAR, 30–50 MPH .......................................... 2.8
TOP GEAR, 50–70 MPH ........................................... 3.5
1/4-MILE ....................................... 12.9 sec @ 107 mph
TOP SPEED ................... 155 mph (gov ltd, mfr’s claim)
HANDLING
ROADHOLDING, 300-FT-DIA SKIDPAD ......... 0.94 g
UNDERSTEER .............................................. MODERATE
BRAKING, 70-TO-ZERO MPH
SHORTEST STOP ................................................. 150 ft
LONGEST STOP .................................................... 159 ft
FADE RATING ..................................................... SLIGHT
WEIGHT
CURB ................................................................... 3942 lb
PER HORSEPOWER .............................................. 11.1 lb
DISTRIBUTION ............................... F: 56.7% R: 43.3%
TOWING CAPACITY ................................................. 0 lb
FUEL
CAPACITY ........................................................... 15.3 gal
OCTANE ......................................................... 91 required
EPA COMBINED/CITY/HWY ............. 24/21/30 mpg
C/D OBSERVED ................................................. 21 mpg
INTERIOR SOUND LEVEL
IDLE ....................................................................... 39 dBA
FULL THROTTLE ................................................. 75 dBA
70-MPH CRUISING ............................................ 65 dBA
COMPETITORS
Among high-performance
luxury-brand
coupes, the S5 more
than holds its own.
—
AUDI S5
3.0-L V-6, 8-SP AUTO
INFINITI Q60 RED
SPORT 400 AWD
3.0-L V-6, 7-SP AUTO
MERCEDES-AMG
C43 4MATIC COUPE
3.0-L V-6, 9-SP AUTO
LEXUS RC350
F SPORT
3.5-L V-6, 8-SP AUTO
*Includes
performance-enhancing
options.
0–60
ACCELERATION,
SEC
SEC
1/4-MILE
ACCELERATION,
4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5
150
70–0 BRAKING,
FT
160
170
BASE PRICE*,
$ X 1000
12.4 13.0 13.6 14.2
180
4100 4000 3900 3800
48 54 60 66
0.80
FUEL ECONOMY,
EPA COMBINED
18 20 22 24
80 75 70 65
0.85
0.90
0.95
ROADHOLDING,
300-FT-DIA
SKIDPAD, G
70-MPH CRUISE
SOUND LEVEL, dBA
CURB WEIGHT,
LB
061