The middle ground between a regular Audi A5 and the fierce RS5 version was the S5, which offered plenty of performance while still civilized enough for a daily-driver car.
Audi made an unusual choice when it made the S5 Sportback. Unlike its coupe sibling, the five-door version featured a turbocharged V-6 instead of a naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V-8. While it lost some on the engine sound, it earned more on the fuel efficiency.

They say not to judge a book by its cover, and the S5 matched that perfectly. Even though its look was quite similar to a regular A5 with an S-Line package, it was still subtle enough to pass as a standard 2.0-TDI version. At the front, apart from the red and gray S5 badge, it didn’t show any muscular detail. Its silver door-mirror cases were the same as those from the S-Line version. At the back, though, things went in a different direction. Its quad pipes that flanked the rear diffuser made a real difference compared to the rest of the A5 Sportback range. Last but not least, the lip-spoiler from the tailgate was unique for it.

Inside, it was the same well-built, but not happy, interior. Still, the driver could enjoy the gray dials with S5 logos on the tachometer and the red needles from all the gauges. Its infotainment system fitted as standard took the top position above the center stack in a separate cluster. Audi installed bucket seats with high bolstering for the front passengers and a bench profiled for two in the back.

Under the hood, Audi dropped a 3.0-liter V-6 with direct-fuel injection and turbocharging. As usual in any other S-version, the power went to all four corners.