Audi S5 review

To mark its arrival in the UK Audi has deployed a limited-time-only Launch Edition spec, which gets everything Audi can throw at it - plus some exterior chrome and aluminium - for £68,525. If you haven't got one on order you're already too late, as it's not on the configurator.

That means the S5 range is very simple indeed: the only trim available is Edition 1 spec. In saloon form it’ll set you back £68,700. The Avant meanwhile is £70,600.

You get a comprehensive package of toys, including lowered sports suspension (dropped 20mm over the standard setup), quattro four-wheel drive with a sport differential (that made its debut on the S3 and was inherited from the RS3), digital OLED taillights with eight different display options configurable, ventilated, heated, electrically adjustable massage seats up front (finished in Nappa leather) and heated outer rear seats, adaptive cruise control, a head-up display, fancy Bang & Olufsen sound system with headrest speakers, ambient lighting package and panoramic sunroof with switchable transparency. Phew.

All very straightforward, apart from a few light options. It's £1,160 for a tow bar, £560 for carbon mirrors, and £425 for carbon-effect interior panels. Then you can choose whether to splash out on paint. Small details. Essentially, it comes down to whether you want the saloon or the estate.

On Audi’s own finance scheme over three years/30,000 miles, a 10 per cent deposit on an S5 saloon will set you back a smidge under £1,200 a month.

Or perhaps you’ll want to hold out for a spicier version of the car. The new RS5 is planned for reveal in 2025 to go on sale at some point in the year – that’s expected to use the same 3.0-litre V6 motor as this, but with an added plug-in electric element to boost power to the sorts of levels that are demanded from Audi’s hottest performance cars. And no doubt company car buyers.