Audi RS5 review

The interior is the RS5’s trump card. It’s as wonderfully appointed in here as we’ve come to expect from high-end Audis. There are TFT dials ahead of you – or ‘Virtual Cockpit’ in Audi-speak – and when you’ve prodded all the sport buttons the rev counter goes all multi-coloured, egging you on to eke out every last rev. It also feels more mature and grown-up than the latest M4 inside. Less chintzy. That said, surely there should be more theatre about the Drive Select button, to give the driver the sense they're in something special?

If you’ve gone for the five-door Sportback – room for all the family and a rather large proportion of their things in the huge hatchbacked boot. Up to 1,300 litres of space if you’ve flipped the seats down.

The ease of driving this thing goes hand-in-hand with its supreme manners at speed, too. Even at slightly eye-watering speeds on a derestricted German motorway the RS5 proves smooth and unruffled. Those who like getting stuck into driving won’t come away impressed, but anyone after fuss-free speed really will. You can while away long distances with ease in here.

Sounds like a home run for the RS5 at last?

Not quite. Whether you're a LaFerrari or a Ford Fiesta ST, great fast cars have great seats. The RS5's are flat and featureless, lacking sense of occasion and support. If you were spending over £70,000 on one of these and spotted an A3 S-line had nigh-on identical chairs, you'd have a right to be peeved. The RS5 Competition's bucket seats are a much better effort, and hopefully a sign that the lazy days of Audi RS's can't-be-bothered era are coming to an end.