2027 Audi RS5 first drive: A performance PHEV with split personalities
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Is there some law against integrating the dashboard? Why do they all have to look like someone just glued in a tablet? It's not like sun glare has vanished from the universe.
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ubercurmudgeon
Ars Praefectus
If one of these things collides with you, that mass will come out of its hiding place.
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No kidding. That was one thing I really liked about my 2015 S4. Then later models had what looked like an aftermarket tablet attached to the dash, ugh.
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Wow the progress is astonishing. Maybe I'm not comparing apples here, but I have an Audi A4 Avant Sport 2.4L V6 made in 2003 and it apparently has 168bhp. It would be rude to ask it to provide that these days, particularly as it has CVT. And also I bought it on eBay for £600 in 2016, yet it still behaves.
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FTA: Since it’s a PHEV there’s obviously no DC charging ability..
Not that obvious, really: the Outlander Phev has always had DC charging, the Range Rover has it, and so do BYD Seal, Cupra Formentor, some Mercedes, Toyota RAV4, VW Passat, for instance.
Not that obvious, really: the Outlander Phev has always had DC charging, the Range Rover has it, and so do BYD Seal, Cupra Formentor, some Mercedes, Toyota RAV4, VW Passat, for instance.
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Give me the Wagon, Give me the Wagon!!!!
(shall start whinging to Audi Canada... )
what a machine. and I even like the colour
(shall start whinging to Audi Canada... )
what a machine. and I even like the colour
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was about to say, we had an offer from our dealer for our 2025 RAV4 PHEV and were considering trading up for the 2026 to get DC charging. But then we realized after considering the EV credit on the 2025 we'd be spending ~$7k just to use a fast charger!
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Thought the same thing. Wtf. WHO wants piano black?!Is that piano black on the centre console? In 2026?
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Looks like it has mainly touch capacitive controls (center console) or the top display? Are the controls on the driver side door real buttons or touch capacitive? I thought Audi was getting away from that and having at least some real buttons. Don't tell me you need to adjust the vents using the touch screen…
I would totally buy one of these (in wagon form), but still loving my 2021 Macan GTS with the nice, clicky, physical buttons. That give a satisfying click when you press them. (Am I making my point here, Porsche/Audi?)
I would totally buy one of these (in wagon form), but still loving my 2021 Macan GTS with the nice, clicky, physical buttons. That give a satisfying click when you press them. (Am I making my point here, Porsche/Audi?)
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I loved my Subaru Crosstrek PHEV, but after seven years (and only 22,000 miles) at 45.6 mpg average, I am never buying another PHEV. I've come to the realization they are simply tools by the manufacturers to drag their feet into the 21st Century as slowly as possible. I'm preparing to trade it in for a Rivian R2 Premium trim. It's a hundred hp less than this Audi. But space, off-road capabilities, and all the other amenities make it a much more interesting option for way less than half the price of the higher priced RS5.
There's simply nothing that would convince me to: 1 - Buy a car from a traditional dealer again. Period. End of story. 2 - Spend any time breathing fumes at gas stations and spending as much time hunting down a gas station near a freeway that doesn't charge a dollor more per gallon than average, than the time taken to charge at a Supercharger. Costco is simply not in enough locations to take away that annoyance. Finding a place to charge is vastly easier when your navigation system plans your stops, tells you how much time you'll spend charging, and what food places are nearby. No more gas station food deserts to boot.
There's simply nothing that would convince me to: 1 - Buy a car from a traditional dealer again. Period. End of story. 2 - Spend any time breathing fumes at gas stations and spending as much time hunting down a gas station near a freeway that doesn't charge a dollor more per gallon than average, than the time taken to charge at a Supercharger. Costco is simply not in enough locations to take away that annoyance. Finding a place to charge is vastly easier when your navigation system plans your stops, tells you how much time you'll spend charging, and what food places are nearby. No more gas station food deserts to boot.
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What kind of range do they have? There's simply no reason to DC charge most PHEVs. Of course at level 2 mine charges in two hours. But that gets me at best 22 miles. I know they've gotten better since 2019, but that much? Still, you can get an adapter to charge from any charger. The car controls how fast it goes.
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No, you can't just "get an adapter" to charge from a DCFC. DC Fast Chargers are called that because they connect directly* to the battery and provide the appropriate voltage to match the pack. Your home charger or other L1/L2 "charger" is not a charger at all, it's a fancy extension cable with contactors that only close the circuit when connected to an appropriate load. It then feeds AC straight from the grid to the actual charger which lives onboard the car, which then handles rectifying to DC and adjusting the voltage appropriately.
Connecting a DC charger to a car without DC charging will, luckily for the user, do absolutely nothing because the car and the charger have to handshake before anything happens.
*Directly-enoughly. Let's not split hairs.
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Alright, someone that actually has a PHEV that I can ask this question to, finally. Assuming you've put some thought into it since you considered making the trade.
When would you DCFC your PHEV? And why would you?
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You can be for or against the looks of screens in cars, totally up to you. But I have never had glare issues on my Mach-E screens. They automatically adapt to ambient light so they've always been visible, though sometimes you might get a second of low visibility if it quickly switches to "dark" ambient light to suddenly direct light such as going under a long overpass.
I've actually had more issues with glare on my Mustang's gauge cluster screen, which is set deep in a binnacle like a traditional cluster. I think because it is inset and you can get Sunlight reflecting in the binnacle, counterintuitively. The binnacle protects it from mid day overhead Sun I suppose, but that's not really when glare happens. When the Sun is low in the sky is when glare strikes.
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I liked everything until I read the last paragraph on the price. Can’t believe it’s going to be over $100k. I still remember the days not too long ago when you can get top of the line sports cars like the GT500 for $50k.
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Correct.
Moreover, its exactly VW group that has one PHEV combination that it pushes in all PHEV cars: Cupra Formentor, Leon, Skoda Superb and Kodiaq, Golf 8, Tiguan, Tayron and others and it is specific that it offers in all of these a 50kW DC charging.
Something no other brand (beside BYD but only 24kW DC on Seal 6 and Seal 6 U) offers?!
1.5 eTSI PHEV, 150PS engine + electric, 20kW battery - 50kW DC and 11kW AC charging.
So "obviously" is quite misplaced here
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There is simply a very good reason to have this option.
EU is full of company cars, companies in last years mandate BEV or PHEV.
Not everybody lives in a house where they can slow charge. Even if there was a widespread network of AC chargers (and there is not in a lot of countries, they are not nearly maintained as DC ones) it is really not practical to charge at most times (Ford Kuga 3.7kW AC? Hyundai Tucson 7.2kW? Toyotas 7.2kW) for 2-5 hours (does my business meeting last so long? my shopping excursion most certainly does not)
with this "slow DC", up to 50kW, i could charge my 20kW battery in Lidl or Kaufland while i do the shopping in 20-30min. Or during a stop. And get 100+ km range on electric. Game changer.
That is why my company car choice will be probably Cupra. If i took Ford Kuga most certainly, as an apartment dweller, i would never charge it and it would be useless compliance car.
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premiumusedautoparts
Smack-Fu Master, in training
Interesting direction from Audi. The added electric range should make the RS5 more practical for daily driving, but I'm curious to see how much weight the hybrid system adds and whether it affects the driving dynamics that RS models are known for. If Audi can balance performance, handling, and efficiency, this could end up being one of the more well-rounded sport sedans/coupes in the segment. Looking forward to seeing real-world reviews once it launches.
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I hope I don't misunderstand what you mean by "integrate" the dashboard. That looks like the optimum position of the display, height and angle, for the driver to see well without taking their eyes off the road for too long. So taking the screen portion as "fixed in space", adjusting the rest of the dashboard to seamlessly cover the edges would look like crap. You'd end up with a very massive shell. Some parts just "stick out" because you want them in that particular position bit the structure around them shouldn't be so massive as to completely integrate that part so it doesn't stick out.
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Your statement a thousand times.
I replaced my cars head unit with a double DIN touchscreen job. Same place, angle, etc as the standard unit. Oh my god the sun glare off it is terrible. After having a rental for a few weeks with a “bolted on tablet” I understand why they have to stick them out the way they do.
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Yeah, the glued-on-tablet thing is actually totally functional in practice. (Touchscreens in general have certain well-known issues, but useful placement does tend towards glued-on-tablet.)
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False on the RAV4 PHEV, which I own. AC 120 or 240V only. Max 7.7kW. Where do you get your information?
Edit: mine is a 2024.
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To be fair all those are MQB PHEVs (i.e. cheaper VWs).Correct.
Moreover, its exactly VW group that has one PHEV combination that it pushes in all PHEV cars: Cupra Formentor, Leon, Skoda Superb and Kodiaq, Golf 8, Tiguan, Tayron and others and it is specific that it offers in all of these a 50kW DC charging.
Something no other brand (beside BYD but only 24kW DC on Seal 6 and Seal 6 U) offers?!
1.5 eTSI PHEV, 150PS engine + electric, 20kW battery - 50kW DC and 11kW AC charging.
So "obviously" is quite misplaced here
This one rides on a different platform.
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I realise that not even Ars reporters may not be that familiar with this specific car niche/segment so here's my take - the new rs5 is a lot like the new bmw m5 - sure the hybrid drivetrain adds a lot of weight but thye mask it with a lot of horsepower and electronic and steering and daming gimmicks. THere's many downsides to this - the tyres wear faster, you lose cargo space to the battery etc.
Alternatively you can get something like ICE BMW m340i which is not even slower in straight line but way more nimble and agile in the cornern.
So objectively all this added complication, expense etc is a worse design than a theoretically weaker, cheaper, lighter car with a traditional engine or a pure EV.
Alternatively you can get something like ICE BMW m340i which is not even slower in straight line but way more nimble and agile in the cornern.
So objectively all this added complication, expense etc is a worse design than a theoretically weaker, cheaper, lighter car with a traditional engine or a pure EV.
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This is one of my big complaints with new cars. Notable in things like the Mach E, etc. Like someone just said "here's a tablet" and that's it. No flow, no design, no nothing. Evidently it might not be a huge deal to many since they sell but to me it is super ugly and out of place.
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It's interesting that 80km electric range is considered fine for most drivers needs.
I have an older Audi hybrid with the same estimated range which is about 40-50km in practice and find that it's about half my needs to the point I often don't bother plugging it in for the half trip.
Everyone will have thier own habits and it might be fine, but I will never get another hybrid, they just feel like the worst of both worlds.
I have an older Audi hybrid with the same estimated range which is about 40-50km in practice and find that it's about half my needs to the point I often don't bother plugging it in for the half trip.
Everyone will have thier own habits and it might be fine, but I will never get another hybrid, they just feel like the worst of both worlds.
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I don’t understand why you are being downvoted. It’s like people don’t understand physics. There are many other problems with weight besides that:
- less efficiency
- harder to recover at limit
- increased tire and brake wear (particulate emissions)
- destruction of road surfaces
- etc.
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Apples and oranges.
And Rivian doesn’t even have Apple CarPlay, so it’s dead out of the gate for many people (including me).
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Looks like a similar dead end approach as the new BMW M5. Enthusiasts universally hate the new M5, almost as much as the C63 four banger by MB.
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