Audi's RS5 Sportback blends blistering performance with five-door practicality

Automobiles, like many things in life, can be an exercise in compromises and no segment epitomises this more than the sportscar market.

Performance and practicality are often at odds with one another. Adding another set of doors or increasing boot space often translates to unwanted weight that dulls both handling and speed.

However, Audi reckons they have cracked the formula by adding two more doors and a liftback boot to its already immensely capable RS5 to gift the world the first-ever RS5 Sportback.

Adding two rear doors and a liftback boot to Audi’s RS5 Coupe to produce the RS5 Sportback means the new RS4 will remain strictly a wagon.

While the RS4 will continue as a wagon only proposition, the RS5 Sportback will fill the need for a hotted-up mid-size Audi sedan.

Like its brethren, the RS5 Sportback will be powered by a Porsche-derived twin-turbo 2.9-litre petrol V6 capable of belting out 331kW of power from 5700-6700rpm and 600Nm of torque from as low as 1900rpm.

Sent through an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission and down to the blacktop via Audi’s rear-biased quattro all-wheel-drive system, the RS5 Sportback will scoot from zero to 100km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

Like its less-practical sibling, the RS5 Sportback is powered by a 2.9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine developed in part by Porsche.

For reference, the Audi five-door sedan will just pip its German rivals to the landmark triple digits, as the BMW M3 Competition and Mercedes-AMG C63 S will complete the run in 4.0s.

Despite its 110kg weight penalty, thanks to the extra doors and liftback boot, the RS5 Sportback matches the RS5 Coupe for acceleration and will even match much more exotic fare including the V12-powered Aston Martin DB11, Jaguar F-Type R and a manual-equipped Porsche 911 GT3.

Pretty potent for a German saloon that can also swallow 480 litres of volume in the boot and seat five passengers with comfort.

For those who want to get their kids to school in the fastest possible time, the Audi RS5 Sportback will accelerate from 0-100km/h in just under four seconds.

Although no pricing has been revealed for the more practical RS5, it could land Down Under this year costing the same as the $156,600 before on-roads Coupe given the S5 Sportback and two-door share the same asking price.

Expect the RS5 Sportback to mirror specification as well, meaning 20-inch wheels, red-painted RS brakes with front and rear ventilated discs, a sport differential and adaptive suspension.

Inside, the five-door RS5 is likely to land adorned with front sports seats equipped with heating and massage functions, an 8.3-inch infotainment system with Wi-Fi hotspot, satellite navigation, digital radio and Bluetooth, a 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, and a flat-bottomed steering wheel adorned with shifter paddles.

The RS5 Sportback is treated to front sport seats and an 8.0-inch infotainment system, but it’s the all-digital Virtual Cockpit that is likely to grab all the attention.

The RS5 Sportback should be pretty easy to pick from the A5 Sportback line-up too, thanks to its aggressive front facia, gaping air intakes, chiselled body work and bulging bonnet.

From the rear, a boot-lip spoiler, darkened tail-lights, an eye-catching rear diffuser and massive oval exhaust tips give away the RS5 Sportback’s performance potential.

Unlike its RS5 Coupe sibling though, the RS5 Sportback will offer seating for five thanks to a three-pew second row – although large adults need not apply.

An aggressive body kit and 20-inch wheels give a clear indication of the RS5 Sportback’s performance potential.

Although Audi Sport has never put out an RS5 Sportback before, it has flirted with hot-blooded mid-size sedans in the past.

The second-generation RS4 built between 2006 and 2008 was available in a four-door body style – the first and only RS4 to do so.

Powered by an all-alloy 4.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol V8 – the same engine used as the base for the first R8 supercar – the RS4 sedan produced a whopping 309kW of power at 7800rpm and 430Nm of torque at 5500rpm.

The only other mid-size sedan available with an RS badge was the RS4 from 2006 that was propelled by a 309kW/430Nm 4.2-litre V8.

Paired exclusively with a six-speed Getrag manual shifter, the high-revving RS4 could propel from 0-100km/h in just 4.8s and carried a $164,500 before on-roads pricetag in Australia.

Audi’s less high-performing S4 vehicles were all available in sedan guise since first being introduced in 1991, while Audi Sport-fettled versions of the first-generation A5 were only available in coupe and cabriolet form.

We’ll have to wait and see whether the RS5 Sportback has what it takes to beat the likes of its German rivals, but if the coupe is anything to go by, Audi should be onto a winner.

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