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Make no mistake…this is an expensive car

Wednesday, 06 February 2008

If you are looking for a new car bargain for 2008 you should wait until the benefits of Brian Cowen’s recent budget kick in on July 1 or maybe turn over to the next page. Because the car I’m about to write about is not for bargain hunters.
There is no easy way to say this, but the basic price for the Audi S5 is e85,500. The optional extras on my test car came to e17,141, bringing the price of the car I was trusted with last week to a staggering e102,641.
However, with over 33,000 millionaires in the country there are plenty of people in this rich island of ours who could afford a car like this.
All new cars begin with a concept design and in 2003, 50 years after the death of the great Italian racing driver Tazio Nuvolari, Audi decided to name a concept car in his honour. Initially it was the Audi Nuvolari Quattro and that subsequently morphed into the new A5 and S5.

This is Audi’s first venture into the top of the range sports coupe market which up to now has been dominated by BMW and Mercedes.
When I picked up the car at Motor Distributors on the Naas Road I got the first of many envious glances from two teenagers on the Long Mile Road. The attraction continued and on the South Circular Road a trucker rolled down his window and shouted “I hope you have a petrol tank in the boot”. That was a dig at the amount of petrol he thought the car uses, but I didn’t find it that thirsty. With penalty points in mind I was very careful and the digital speedometer was a great help in that regard.
The car is not as low as some recent sports cars I have driven, but you have to be careful getting in as you could bang your head. And for an adult getting into the back seat is a bit of a hassle. I suppose ideally the car is made for two adults and two small children.
The seats were a beautiful shade of red and were both attractive and comfortable. The 4.2 litre engine would, I was told, get me from zero to 100km in just over five seconds, but honestly I didn’t try it. But I did enjoy the light steering and many more of the extras. The boot was a decent size and it contained a bag with seat belts which looked like something to hold a set of golf clubs. But on closer examination it was in fact a cover for a set of skis which can be carried and secured (with the seat belts) by leaving down a section in the middle of the back seat.
I love the radio controls in Audis, you will feel like a disc jockey as you scroll up and down for the various stations. The system even gives you a list of stations recently listened to, all on a Bang & Olufsen stereo system.
Make no mistake this is an expensive car, for some people. For others who can afford to purchase one, it will be a status symbol. It should be attractive to both male and female drivers, but I reckon you would need to be a managing director or own your own company to get into this bracket. One thing is certain, it was the most admired car I have ever driven.

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