Driving Audi’s five-door, five seat RS-5 Sportback today – a luxury all-wheel-drive GT car with dynamic styling and without overstating it perhaps the best car I’ve driven from the German manufacturer. At $157,700 the same price as its two-door coupe sibling. A 2.9-litre twin-turbo eight-speed automatic Quattro or all-wheel-drive – with 60 per cent of the drive to the back wheels. An with a sport rear differential, RS sports exhaust and with Dynamic ride control with adaptive dampers all round its very sophisticated sports package – drive-ability superb with its peak torque, a healthy 600Nm’s is available from 1,900 to 5,000 revs. The road grip impressive, the steering superbly weighted and the acceleration impressive – 0 to 100 in just 3.9 secs. But it’ not just about performance, the Audi RS-5 Sportback unlike some high-performance GT cars is just as happy dawdling about town. And it’s this dual personality that gives it some much appeal. Internally, your cossetted in sensible sports seats, not overdone in fine Nappa leather, a well thought out dashboard and instrumentation that can be configured in several ways – materials and comfort levels are first class and it wants for nothing in safety and convenience equipment.  Over a week I tried desperately to find something I didn’t like about the Audi RS-5 Sportback but simply couldn’t apart from the three year warranty now bettered by most of the mainstream brands at five years.

I’m David Berthon

A front view close up shot of an angry looking dog in the back yard.

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