Gadgetory

outies RS cards it's their answer to AMG and M and if you need to ask me if you need one the answer is no for the rest of you let's go for a ride in the 2013 Audi rs5 finally here and check the tank spotting an RS is not difficult go to the grill when you see that chainmail ripped off the bosom of King Arthur you know you found one need more convincing go around the stern look for that little power lip on the trunk and optionally those big old kind of black finished exhaust tips they're optional but they sound as big as they look now first of all because this car is really a road story it's not gonna kill you with the usual tour of the cabin tech look at any of our other 2013 Audi videos and you'll get a deep dive on this but I'll give you the top line we have the optional nav system not standard even in this rather pricey rs5 but once you get that you've got some of the best navigation and media tech in the business two key reasons Google Earth is your mapping interface that's outstanding and Google search live through a built-in SIM card and 3G connection right there in the dash now let's get to some electromechanical tech this shifter here indicates the only transmission available in the rs5 and that is a 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual a DCT as you see you've got a pullback to drive mode another kick to automated sport mode right drops you into manual mode where it'll hold whatever gear you're choosing and that can be selected either by the shift lever or with the singular paddles on the wheel by that I mean one is for downshift one is for up shift and as an overarching principle this is where outies basic design language today really shines in a car like this every Audi kind of seems to be designed in a techno performance manner so this car really leverages that everywhere you look is kind of a technical comfortable race cabin sort of language also optional here is this little button which unlocks a world of stuff that's the drive select button when you press that you can go through several modes either a comfortable ride item steering mode as well as different throttle response and shift points you can go to what they call dynamic that's sporty you can go to auto or it kind of finds its own way or you can go to individual where you set the parameters yourself of how the car behaves but note RS 5 s in this country do not come with an adaptive suspension the European ones do up front in the RS 5 is a v8 but kind of a pocket v8 not by today's standards but back in the old days we used to call this thing a a wrap motor a little small-block it's a 4.2 liter naturally aspirated no turbos or superchargers here although out he does use those in some cases not on this guy and that makes it kind of an honest motor at 450 horsepower but note the torque 317 foot-pounds I don't think I can recall a bigger Delta between those two and any car we've reviewed lately so I'm going to be intrigued to see if it's gutless in any part of the rev range 0 to 60 on this 4,000 pound car takes only four and a half seconds so clearly something's working down here now as I mentioned this power only goes out through one transmission a 7-speed dual-clutch and only through Quattro all-wheel drive which in this case is kind of sport tuned to put 60% of the power down to the rear wheels by default a sporting choice and it's also got some cornering logics and torque vectoring as you're going around a corner hard it's going to put more power to the outside rear to kind of wheel you around and counteract this car's tendency toward understeer the three phases the me with this car first of all in standard Drive mug and maybe you've got to drive select an optional personality selector in Auto for example this is a really nice everyday driving car obviously with a lot of skills but then if you drop this guy in the sport with one more kick back on the wheel lots of things change everything sharpens up gears get held longer it's very noticeable but it's not nuts you also get your throttle blipping logic now so as you come down in speed the car will Rev and blip and grab the next gear that way it's all very cool stuff and it sounds great and all that put it over here in manual now and get on these paddles that I so wish were on the column and this is where this car obviously really shines the grip and the neutrality of it are so nice they've really dialed in this Quattro system I think my favorite of any of the Audi's and there's no drama that's interesting about this car you know a lot of cars that have this kind of pretension they're very high-strung this car is not and that I think is part of the interesting balance between horsepower and torque this is not a car that is so twitchy that when you get on the throttle you've suddenly gone to someplace you didn't want to get you can mash it and go there but you can also feather it in it's a real driver's car nuance is spoken here and that's what I like about this versus some of its more testosterone Laden competitors a couple of thoughts this DCT gearbox and you hear that that's a great sounding exhaust the sport exhaust has a real throat to it when you step on it it's got some valving technology built in it really opens it up and starts to bark when you get in it and then backs it off a little when you're not and it's got a bass note to it that you don't normally associate with German cars it's more of an American Muscle thing god this car is fun the toss okay let's price this 2013 Audi rs5 starts almost exactly at 70 grand delivered we don't even have never seen that toys in there yet so add 3500 or so for the nav package that's navigation with the Google stuff be a no audio rear camera HD radio and that Wi-Fi hotspot you don't care about now 30 to 50 more gets you a driver assistance package that is actually kind of cool to get you adaptive cruise control you also get dynamic steering so the ratio changes as the driving conditions do and you're also going to get the Audi Drive select that button they get you four personalities now as the sport exhaust for a thousand more no-brainer to me and you're in about seventy six six done seen that style and also basically loaded with the exception of a couple of wheel options this is an interesting car it's kind of a summer car for all seasons because they've softened the ride enough to make it a good daily driver and they've ended up doing pretty good on the mpg given its performance profile you