[Auto] Audi S5 Sportback 2020 long-term review

[Alcooliks ;x]

Petrol power and sound versus diesel torque and fuel economy: the debate has raged for years. And despite the decline in po[CENSORED]rity of cars fuelled via the black pump, it seems, given Audi’s recent internal flip-flopping, that the argument is alive and well.

Ingolstadt’s S-car saga began in 2012, when it introduced the diesel-only SQ5. It was the first oil-burning Audi S model, and the logic of pairing a two-tonne, four-wheel drive SUV with a well-endowed diesel V6 was undeniable. Then Dieselgate became the portmanteau of the decade, and with Audi’s 3.0-litre unit under the microscope, its future looked untenable.

The brand responded with the second-generation SQ5 in 2017, adopting the 3.0-litre petrol V6 found in the S4 and S5 of the time. That lasted all of, well, a year, as the introduction of the WLTP testing regime and looming CO2-based European fleet average legislation led to the SQ5 disappearing until a new version arrived last summer with (yep, you guessed it) a diesel V6.

Audi’s indecision continues to this day – the SQ7 and SQ8 have just switched from diesel to petrol – meaning there’s now roughly a 50/50 split between petrol and diesel in the S model range. Experience has told us that performance diesels such as these aren’t cars that wow you from the outset, instead taking a while to get under your skin. The perfect excuse to run this Tango Red S5 Sportback for a few months, then.

As we’ve come to expect from premium German brands, this isn’t ‘merely’ a £51,000 base S5 Sportback. Audi has gone to town a bit on the options. For starters, it’s effectively a Vorsprung model, with upgrades including 20in alloy wheels, a panoramic roof, adaptive Sport suspension, a Bang & Olufsen stereo and all the LED lighting cleverness you could possibly need. We’ve also got Audi’s super-bright laser lights, which aren’t seeing much use in the midst of summer but will surely be welcomed as the nights close in.

More superficial additions include red brake calipers and gloss carbon cabin inlays. Practical boxes ticked include the larger 24-litre AdBlue tank (the cheapest option at just £60) and the ‘Tour’ Driver Assistance Pack (the most expensive, at £2700), bringing a suite of active safety systems too numerous to list here. All in, this is a £70,000 car – well into RS4 Avant money. So, as the months tick by, I shall aim to provide some consumer advice and tell you which boxes are worth ticking and which aren’t.

Back to the car itself. I was hoping for a subtler colour to really sell the diesel S5’s Q-car status, but flash Tango Red will do; with the big wheels, quad tailpipes and other S details, it certainly distinguishes itself from the fleet-spec Audis dominating every motorway in the land. You’d think the illusion would be shattered once that TDI V6 is awoken, but the S5 gets an exhaust sound actuator that (largely) drowns out the diesel clatter with a faux-V8 burble at idle and low revs. I’ve yet to make my mind up; inside it adds a little theatre, but outside it’s a touch more narrowboat than sports car.