Audi confirms £90k starting price for new RS5
Audi Sport's first plug-in hybrid is on sale now - tempted?
Having been received well on the international launch, we now know precisely how much the new V6-powered RS5 will cost: £89,400 for the saloon, and £91,300 for the Avant. Audi reckons that its first plug-in hybrid models will take ‘usability, performance and excitement to an entirely new level.
That £90k entry point buys a standard RS5, with spec including forged 20-inch wheels, a black styling package, RS sports suspension plus, the sports plus diff and Nappa leather seats. With Carbon Black and performance Vorsprung models also available, however - and proving popular on other Audi RS cars - don’t expect many ready salted RS5s to be on UK roads. Which means you shouldn't expect many to retail at less than £100,000, either…
Carbon Black is the next rung up the RS5 ladder, costing £95,486 as a four-door or £97,385 as an estate. Over the standard spec, it adds forged 21-inch wheels plus high gloss carbon bits inside and out. All RS5s come from the factory with the OLED Audi MMI Panorama, comprising the 11.9-inch Audi virtual cockpit, the 14.5-inch MMI Touch and the 10.9-inch passenger display. Plus HUD, just to make sure.
While performance Vorsprung elevates the RS5 comfortably over the six-figure threshold (£107,485 for the saloon, £109,385 for the Avant), there’s plenty included that might persuade buyers to pay the premium. That includes a Bang and Olufsen 3D premium sound system, a seat upgrade with serpentine green contrast stitching, whatever ‘carbon camouflage’ is for both exterior and interior, a sports exhaust, a pano roof, a speed limit raise to 177mph, organic LEDs… all the stuff that’ll probably going to get optioned on, basically.
As for the alternatives, the BMW M3 Competition is the obvious RS5 rival; it starts at £91,315 and, while it’s down on power, the standard xDrive means comparable acceleration. If not quite the same torque vectoring tricks as promised from the Audi. For the Touring, the price is £93,585. They’re absolutely as closely matched on paper as might have been expected.
The Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio remains on sale, too, even if it will feel like a Nokia 3310 against the Audi's iPhone-esque tech; it costs from £87,055. And for those that must have a hybridised six-cylinder, the Mercedes E53 is priced at £96,365. Plenty for the prospective RS5 owner to think about, then. Expect first customer deliveries to kick off in the summer, just after we deliver a UK verdict...
This would have been out of date if it had been released 5yrs ago.
PHEVs are, with very few exceptions, the worst of all worlds.
We own a PHEV, mainly because I couldn't get the OH over psychological issues
For that particular car's purpose we tend to keep them for 100k miles, so subject to it's unnecessary complexity not spoiling things it will be a while before we replace it... But it will not be for another PHEV. This would have been out of date if it had been released 5yrs ago.
PHEVs are, with very few exceptions, the worst of all worlds.
We own a PHEV, mainly because I couldn't get the OH over psychological issues
For that particular car's purpose we tend to keep them for 100k miles, so subject to it's unnecessary complexity not spoiling things it will be a while before we replace it... But it will not be for another PHEV. B5 RS4 Avant
Length - 4.5m
Width - 1.8m
Weight - 1620kg
Boot space - 390L
B7 RS4 Avant
Length - 4.6m
Width - 1.8m
Weight - 1,700kg
Boot space - 442L
B10 RS4 Avant
Length - 4.9m
Width - 2m
Weight - 2,400kg
Boot space - 361L
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