Most of us who have enjoyed extended exposure to the S5 have been beguiled

Were it not for the unmissable daytime-running lights, the Audi S5 might lay claim to the title of most subtly impressive car on sale today. The turnaround of opinion from our downbeat press launch drive (evo 105) to this, the end-of-term report for our long-term S5, has been marked. After almost a year and nigh on 18,000 miles, most of us who have enjoyed extended exposure to the quietly potent, V8-engined four-seat coupe have been beguiled.

I admit that I was not thrilled by the arrival of our S5 last September. I had not long since bid a wrenching farewell to an Audi RS4, a car I still consider a more rewarding daily drive than an M3, so the delivery of the hottest A5 coupe in the same colour but with two fewer doors and some 65bhp less didn’t impress me. Not that it was my job to be impressed; the S5’s first custodian was our then editor-at-large Richard Meaden, and having put 2000 miles on its odometer in just over a month, he quickly became a fan.

What struck him first was the amount of attention the S5 attracted. ‘Never, and I mean never, have I driven a new Fast Fleeter that has attracted more attention,’ he wrote. In part he put this down to the LED running lights – still a novelty back then – but Walter de’Silva’s design is a fine piece of work. It embodies all the Audi signatures, it’s apparently simple – plain almost – and yet it stands out.

Why the initially lukewarm response to the fastest A5, then? A couple of reasons. First, it’s hard to love right away because the sensitive throttle, grabby clutch and sharp-edged manual gearshift conspire to make nonchalant getaways tricky; you feel clumsy until you’ve tuned in to their sensitivities.

Secondly, there was a level of expectation on the A5 dynamically, it being the first Audi with a less nose-heavy drivetrain design. Traditionally, the longitudinal layout puts the engine, clutch and gearbox ahead of the differential. In the A5, the clutch and gearbox are behind the differential, so there’s less weight in the nose. Yet the A5 didn’t take full advantage of this shift in masses because, apparently, the marketeers insisted that the familiar Audi nose-heavy feel was retained.

Thing is, the more you drive the S5 the more you appreciate that dynamically it is brighter than other Audis, more agile and responsive in direction changes. Yet whether munching motorway miles or devouring a demanding back road, the S5 is calm, total traction assured by its four-wheel drive, cornering grip strong and poise effortless. It makes speed without fuss and you seem to drive it briskly rather than hard, partly because, unlike the RS4’s V8, the S5’s 349bhp version of the same 4.2-litre unit doesn’t deliver a high-rev kick to chase. Up to 6000rpm, the point where the RS4’s motor shifts up a gear, the S5’s feels just as gutsy, its restrained rumble a soft backbeat.

Oil consumption is one thing that the two V8s have in common. The S5 required its first couple of litres at around 8500 miles and a couple more before the odometer reached 19,000 – virtually the same thirst as the RS4. Fuel consumption was better, though considering the S5’s lesser performance potential and the way it was driven, an average of 23.4mpg, just 2mpg better, wasn’t quite as good as expected. It preferred the hard stuff, too – Shell V-Power or Tesco 99 – running lumpily from cold on 95-octane unleaded and even 97-octane BP Ultimate.

With Dickie’s departure to the internet, I took over the running of the S5 at around 12,000 miles. Despite its four-seat capacity and generous boot, it never saw action as the Barker family holdall. That would have been a stern test of the impressive cockpit build quality and also the durability of the already slightly grubby ‘Pearl Silver’ leather trim, but five into four doesn’t go, so mostly it was just me and one of the boys on a booster seat. The S5 does have a genuinely practical side, though, boasting Isofix mountings on the back seats and passenger seat, while road test ed Catchpole discovered that, with the rear seats folded, it would even take a pushbike. An option I’d recommend is Audi’s ‘Advanced Key’ system (£495), which allows you to get in and drive off without having to rummage for the key. After you’ve used it for a while, cars without it feel old fashioned – a sure sign of its usefulness. 

Trim colour apart, the cabin of the S5 was a fine place to be, boasting excellent seats and superb ergonomics, aspects you take for granted after a couple of thousand miles. The same goes for the ride and handling. It was the arrival of a couple of ostensibly more sporting cars on the fleet that showed how finely sorted the S5 was. The Impreza STI and Evo X have a more sporting demeanour, but the suspension of the Audi is firmer than either. The trick that Audi’s chassis engineers have pulled off is that the S5 never draws attention to its stiffness, the dampers and suspension mounts filtering out harshness and providing sufficient low-speed suppleness whilst still delivering high-speed comfort and control. Similarly, the steering is direct and delivers enough feedback but spares you extraneous detail that would make progress tiring.

When the S5 left us its mileage had just tipped over the 19,000-mile mark and its first service was imminent, but inside it felt showroom-fresh, with not a squeak or rattle anywhere, while there was perhaps another 1000 miles left in its front tyres (Dunlop Sport Maxxes), an indication, I reckon, of the A5’s better weight distribution.

I was sad to see it go. Some long-term test cars charm you from day one (Clio V6), others have roughly equal plus and minus points and you just don’t fall for them (Monaro), but much rarer is the car that soars in your estimation. That’s the S5, which seemed better looking and much more satisfying to drive 11 months after it arrived. Respect.