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Cape Town - The simple explanation for a 'Grand Tourer' is "car designed for comfortable long-distance touring."
Generally, a GT car has two-doors, a powerful engine and rear wheel drive, that's the traditional formula. However it's not something that's set in stone and there have been many variations.
Audi's latest interpretation is the S5 coupe, the new model was launched in South Africa earlier in 2017. We've had the sportiest version, powered by 3.0-litre V6 turbo, on test.
What's it like to live with?
Comfortable, rapid and loud: three words that sum up what the newest generation S5 is like to drive around town. Push the four-ringed coupe into a bend and it doesn't suffer from understeer, down largely to its impressive all-wheel drive system, that's mostly rear-end biased.
The steering can feel quite neutral and doesn't offer a ton of feedback it must be noted.
But where does the S5 really impress? The V6 engine revs freely to 7000rpm and makes a decent noise (especially in dynamic mode) and does a good job of making the cabin feel special when you're driving hard. On that note, the S5's cabin is a blend of high quality materials and crystal-clear graphics. You immediately know it was designed with all the attention focused on the driver.
It lacks the raw pace, but will scoot to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, nothing to be scoffed at. I enjoyed the manner in which the car uses every ounce of grip and to put the power down on the road. 260kW may not sound like loads but the S5 is almost the perfect car to tackle fast, sweeping bends because of its predictable handing traits.
All that power comes with responsibility however and I needed to keep my right foot in check because the three-litre V6 is thirsty, I averaged around 12-litres/100km.
The S5 can easily tootle around in Comfort mode and you wouldn't know you've got a large V6 under the hood.
What sort of kit do you get in the R928 000 S5?
• 19" alloy wheels
• LED headlights
• LED rear lights with dynamic indicator
• Audi pre-sense basic
• Comfort key
• Door sill trims with aluminium inlays and S rhombus emblem, illuminated
• Electrically adjustable front seats
• Lumbar support, pneumatically adjustable with massage function
• Fine Nappa leather trim
• High-gloss package
• quattro with self-locking centre differential
• S front sports seats
• S sports suspension
• Sport contour leather steering wheel, 3-spoke design, flattened-bottom with multifunction features
Remember, that's over and above what is already standard on the normal A5 model. Which you can read about here.
In summary
The S5's four-pipes and 19"wheels are the main indicators that the S5 means business. But hop in and the sports seat hug you in a reassuring way rather than a 'hold on for dear life' sort of way.
The S5 has its own charm and feels different to a BMW 440i, but that's what makes it good. It offers a unique proposition for someone who wants to travel in comfort and when they have a hot streak knowing the all-wheel drive solidity will keep them out of trouble.
The S5 is definitely a grand tourer, it ticks the boxes and then some.
