2021 Audi S5 Review

Name: 2021 Audi S5 Review
Brand: Audi

Price Range: $41,590 - $42,990

Audi S5 Prestige quattro 4dr Hatchback Exterior Shown

The 2021 S5 is very balanced for both performance and luxury. It's a beautiful vehicle inside and out and has easy-to-use controls. It's genuinely enjoyable if you want to take it on twisty roads, and it doesn't sacrifice comfort and luxury. It's not perfect — the design compromises rear passenger space and visibility, and the price is a little steep for the top-end Prestige — but it's a highly compelling choice in the class.

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Price & Payment

8 cars

$43,147 avg. price

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Audi S5 model years

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Audi S5 types

Hatchback
Coupe
Convertible

2021 Audi S5 Review

by the Edmunds Experts

What's new

Wireless functionality for Apple CarPlay
Premium Plus trim gets additional advanced driver aids
S5 Sportback in Prestige trim gets heated rear seats as standard
Part of the second S5 generation introduced for 2018

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2021 Audi S5 Premium 4dr Hatchback AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.86 per gallon for premium unleaded in Virginia.}

Monthly estimates based on costs in Virginia

$204/mo

$157/mo

Avg. Midsize Car

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Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

2/5Average

#63 out of 68 among Luxury Midsize Cars

RepairPal Reliability Ratings are based on the actual cost, frequency, and severity of unscheduled repairs and maintenance on make/model data for select 2008-2022 vehicles. The reliability of a specific vehicle may vary depending on its maintenance and driving history, model year, trim, and features.

Cost

^{The average total annual cost for unscheduled repairs and maintenance across all model years of the Audi S5 from 2008-2022.}

$849/yr

vs. $607/yr
for Average Luxury Midsize Car

Frequency

^{The average number of times this model is brought into the shop for unscheduled repairs and maintenance in a single year. RepairPal calculates this metric by tracking millions of unique vehicles over multiple years to determine an average number of visits per year (omitting small routine visits, e.g., oil changes).}

2.27x/yr

vs. 1.36x/yr
for Average Luxury Midsize Car

Severity

^{The probability that a repair will be a major issue, meaning the repair costs 3x the average annual repair cost for all models. This threshold will be higher for vehicles that have higher labor rates and parts costs (such as a premium brand).}

20.5%

vs. 10.5%
for Average Luxury Midsize Car

powered by RepairPal ^{Based on RepairPal reliability data as of 8/23/2023. Ratings are provided by RepairPal and Edmunds is not responsible for their accuracy.}

Audi S5 Reviews

Owner Reviews

4.5

50 reviews

5(78%)

4(10%)

3(2%)

2(8%)

1(2%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Screaming fast. Fantastic fun

Mark J, 01/20/2019

2018 Audi S5 Premium Plus quattro 2dr Coupe AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 8A)

5th update: 54,000 miles and 7.5 years. Still love this car. 4th update: 49,000 miles and almost 7 years. Still love this car. 3rd update: Not change, but needing breaks at 38,000 seems too soon when about 70% of the miles are highway miles. 2nd update: Just turned 36k miles and still love the car. Just replaced tires. I learned that Audi uses a bit of negative camber (helps …

My First Audi. Glad it was the 2018 S5 Prestige!

Gene Simpson, 10/17/2017

2018 Audi S5 Prestige quattro 2dr Coupe AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 8A)

This car is absolutely incredible. It drives and handles like a dream. The technology can be a bit overwhelming at first but once you get used to how things work it is great. The controls and ergonomics of the cabin are almost perfect. Great quality materials in the buttons, high-quality diamond stitched Nappa leather and a sound system that is fantastic. Everything is arranged within …

Fantastic Upgrade from 2015 S5.

Mythos, 11/11/2017

2018 Audi S5 Prestige quattro 2dr Coupe AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 8A)

The overall feel to me is a higher level of sophistication than previous generation. Audi has made a step up in overall quality of interior design, materials and switch gear. Suspension changes are quite noticeable which provides a more sure footed feel. Gone is the under steer tendency when aggressively taking corners. It feels much quicker with surges of power more instantaneous …

Possibly the best car I have ever owned.

texastoast4, 01/28/2020

2019 Audi S5 3.0 TFSI Prestige quattro 2dr Convertible AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 8A)

Just took delivery of my 2nd S5 Cabriolet. The previous was a slightly used (5k miles) 2015 Premium Plus. This model is a brand new 2019 Prestige fully loaded. I could not find anything quite comparable to my previous S5 after test drives with BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Porsche, and even Tesla (albeit a completely different concept all-elec). Throwing in all the tangibles and in-tangibles … (warranty, maintenance service support, handling, performance, versatility, wet-sexy looks, country-club street cred, durability, and price) I could not find any match. First, the new 2019 S5, although it looks similar, is a completely different car than its predecessor. Audi changed the body lines and design and added a ton of technology and improvements to the 2018 model. The new 2019 comes with a $10-15k higher price point, regardless of options, but I have to say...WORTH IT. The car is packed so tight with high tech customizable features and options, that it is overwhelming. On the Prestige model, there is almost nothing in the cockpit that is not customizable. For example, the stock Milano leather sport seat with quilted cross-hatch stitching have no less than 40 different possible settings. Not the least of which is the back and lumbar massage system which comes standard with three different pressure points with three different levels of intensity each. Not only can you customize the interior LED lighting system, which is elegantly tucked under the the seamless Atlas carbon fiber inlays, foot-wells, and cup-holders, to literally ANY color in the visible spectrum, you can even delineate the "upper" level lights to a different color than the "lower" level lights. The exterior camera system provides 360 degree "top view" of the car when parking and backing up. You can select any individual camera to view for tight-quarter maneuvers when needed. If that is not enough, you can even change the HUD system (Heads Up Display) to rotate up to 5 degrees R-L and position the projection higher or lower on the windscreen, as well as adjust the brightness and actual information projected to include turn-by-turn navigation, road sign information, and the active lane assist. The car is simply astonishing with advanced customizable features. One of my big disappointments in the 2015 was the lack of voice-command microphone for phone operation and other radio and climate features. The Audi (Volkswagen) engineers figured that out in the 2018-2019 model. The acoustic dampening convertible top is a feat of technology in itself. I can tell no difference in the interior road noise from my friend's plush Lexus hard-top sedan, and my sporty coupe convertible. The exhaust note on start-up turns heads. A friend of mine just said, "Whoa-that sounds like a Ferrari engine." Performance In the 2019 is much better. It has a touchy throttle, and when pressed, it sprints. The over-all 0-60mph time may not be significantly different, but it "feels" lighter and more nimble. The wide 19-Inch sport summer tires could probably hold a 1.1+ G lateral on a track, but I'm slightly disappointed Audi didn't recognize that most of us in the U.S. are daily commuters and not formula-one drivers. They should have installed all-season performance tires to hold up under the all-wheel torque and grind of the Quattro system such as Pirelli P-Zeros. Almost as good, with 4x the mileage wear. The dynamic steering is really necessary to avoid wheel rim rash. The rear wheels track far inside front wheels. This car is ridiculously good for what it is. A very high performance luxury convertible with the price tag of a loaded full-size domestic pick-up truck. Unfortunately they ain't making more. Audi has sadly discontinued the S5 cabriolet for 2020 and the foreseeable future. Go grab one while you still can!

We have a limited number of reviews for the 2021 Audi S5, so we've included reviews for other years of the S5 since its last redesign.

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2021 S5 Highlights

Type:

Hatchback

Trim:

Premium

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$52,500
Engine Type	Gas
Combined MPG	23 MPG
Cost to Drive	$204/month
Seating	5 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	21.8 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	all wheel drive
Warranty	4 years / 50,000 miles

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Safety

Our experts like the S5 models:

Audi Pre Sense Basic and City: Warns of an impending front collision and automatically applies the brakes if you don't.
Audi Side Assist: Notifies you if there's a car in your blind spot and alerts you if you activate the turn signal.
Audi Active Lane Assist: Steers the S5 back into its lane if it begins to drift over the lane marker.

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2021 Audi S5 Review

Price & Payment

2021 Audi S5 Review

What's new

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2021 Audi S5 Premium 4dr Hatchback AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.86 per gallon for premium unleaded in Virginia.}

Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

Cost

Frequency

Severity

Audi S5 Reviews

Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Trending topics

Screaming fast. Fantastic fun

My First Audi. Glad it was the 2018 S5 Prestige!

Fantastic Upgrade from 2015 S5.

Possibly the best car I have ever owned.

2021 S5 Highlights

Safety

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2021 Audi S5 Review

Price & Payment

2021 Audi S5 Review

What's new

Cost to DriveCost to drive estimates for the 2021 Audi S5 Premium 4dr Hatchback AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.86 per gallon for premium unleaded in Virginia.

Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

Cost

Frequency

Severity

Audi S5 Reviews

Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Screaming fast. Fantastic fun

My First Audi. Glad it was the 2018 S5 Prestige!

Fantastic Upgrade from 2015 S5.

Possibly the best car I have ever owned.

2021 S5 Highlights

Safety

People who viewed this also viewed

Related Used 2021 Audi S5 info

Vehicle reviews of used models

Shop similar models

Shop used vehicles in your area

Popular new car reviews and ratings

Research other models of Audi

Other models

Join Edmunds

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2021 Audi S5 Premium 4dr Hatchback AWD (3.0L 6cyl Turbo 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.86 per gallon for premium unleaded in Virginia.}