Audi RS5 Avant: Gorgeous, But a Dealbreaker For Families?!

The new Audi RS5 Avant is here, promising blistering performance wrapped in a stylish wagon body. It's longer, wider, and packed with more tech than the outgoing RS4 Avant. But here’s the rub: despite the increased dimensions, it appears practicality has taken a back seat, quite literally. The culprit? A plug-in hybrid system that, while boosting efficiency, significantly eats into precious cargo space. And that's a problem for a car that's supposed to be both a rocket and a family hauler.

Audi RS5 Avant: Gorgeous, But a Dealbreaker For Fa...

The RS5 Avant's move to a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is a bold one, offering a claimed all-electric range of up to 87 kilometers. That's great for emissions, and surely appeals to many buyers. But the hybrid components, especially the hefty battery pack, add considerable weight – we're talking a curb weight of 2,370 kg. The battery, tucked neatly in the rear, has a rather unfortunate side effect: it robs you of cargo room.

Here's where things get a little painful. The new RS5 Avant offers a paltry 361 liters of luggage capacity with the rear seats up. Compare that to the old, purely gasoline-powered RS4 Avant, which boasted a much more respectable 495 liters. That's a significant decrease, enough to make you rethink those family road trips. Even more damning, consider that the sleek Audi A3 hatchback actually provides more cargo space at 380 liters.

And it's not like Audi didn't have room to work with! This RS5 Avant is a beast, significantly larger than its predecessor. It stretches 4,896 mm in length and 1,952 mm in width, making it 115 mm longer and 86 mm wider than the previous-generation RS4 Avant. You'd think that extra size would translate to more space, but alas, the battery had other plans.

Interestingly, the RS5 Avant's 25.9 kWh battery mirrors the gross capacity of the regular A5 plug-in hybrid, but offers a slightly higher usable energy content (22 kWh versus 20.7 kWh). Folding the rear seats does improve things, boosting capacity to 1,302 liters. However, that's still a far cry from the 1,495 liters offered by the older, non-hybrid RS4 Avant.

So, what's the takeaway? The new RS5 Avant is undoubtedly a performance powerhouse with a greener footprint. However, the sacrifice in cargo space is a real compromise. For those prioritizing practicality, the previous-generation RS4 Avant might actually be the better choice. And, with rumors suggesting the next-generation RS6 Avant will also adopt a PHEV powertrain, it seems this trend of sacrificing luggage space for electrification is here to stay. I can't help but wonder if there wasn't a better way to balance performance and practicality.