2013 Audi S5 3.0T Coupe Features

Powerplant

The delicious growl from the V8 will no longer be heard from the hardtop Audi S5 coupe. The gearbox with which the V6 will be paired will be a S-tronic twin-clutch auto. The V6 engine, which is also shared with the S4 saloon, will have less power than the outgoing V8. The V6 produces 333hp versus the V8′s 354hp, though the torque remains the same at 325lb/ft.

The V6 offers torque lower in the rev range at 2900rpm compared to the 3500rpm in the V8. Both the engines are nice pieces of engineering but have different characters. The smaller engine makes the car appear smaller than the one with V8. More of a muscle car rather than a saloon it was with the V8.

The nice thing Audi has done is to retain the manual gearbox in the V6 version which will further differentiate the two cars.

The automatic transmission matches the V6 powerplant like a well fitting glove but the same can’t be said about the manual mode, which was slow in reacting and couldn’t digest multiple downshift requests in one go. Though it was smooth once the shifts were initiated.

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Steering Set Up

All hydraulic steering systems in Audis have been converted to more efficient electromechanical systems. Though other manufacturers may fined tuning this set up but Audi has done it quite well and the S5′s old hydraulic system has been replaced and the new system fine-tuned to give a better overall feeling.

On models which have the dynamic steering system as optional — the ratio of which varies according to the speed — the buyers can opt for the auto lane keeping system.

There are two levels in this system and these can be loosely described as early and late, when the car takes over steering control from the driver if, inadvertently, he changes a lane. The “early” setting worked well during hands-free driving as the steering wheel moves on its own correcting the car’s course.

The suspension on the S5 has been slightly updated with revised tuning of the dampers and the trailing arms at the rear. We can’t tell you if there has been any improvement because the outgoing model was not at hand for the sake of comparison.

Looks

The facelift for 2013 makes the car look even more seductive and brings it at par with the recent line of sedans from Audi.

The sharp edged headlamps have a slightly more tapered grille nestling between them and the fascia is more aggressive than before.

Interior

There has been a subtle update of the interiors. The steering wheel is new and has features borrowed from larger Audi sedans. There is the latest version of the MMI which can now be connected to Google Earth for helping in navigation.

Sum up & Price

The updated S5 coupe and the cabrio will be on sale in the US in June 2012. There won’t be much of a price increase or decrease — with the deletion of two cylinders — and the estimated price of the coupe will be around $57,000. People in love with V8s will have to scour the used car market to buy one. But if you want something really powerful then wait for the RS5, which will be available at a higher price.