Snow was in the forecast, making delivery of a low-slung, high-performance sports coupe about as inviting as attending a vegetarian barbecue.

You don’t need a six-speed manual gearbox and snot-flinging 350-horsepower V8 when the white stuff is falling….You need a bulky, heavy, lumbering truck that can take a hit from smaller vehicles and repel them like spitballs bouncing off a battleship.

You don’t want fancy alloy wheels shod with tires that look as wide as Montana and as low as Delaware….You want tank treads. And if they’re not available, you want tall, knobby tires with groves as deep as the Mariana Trench.

Instead, I got an Audi’s S5, a smallish coupe so sleek and smooth of line it wouldn’t be surprising if dust had trouble settling on it. A sizzling performer that appears to perch so close to the tarmac that worms might find it easier to crawl around, rather than under, it.

I couldn’t help thinking about that as I peered out my office window and watched the snow accumulate. I’d had a blast driving the S5 on dry roads the previous two days, and now Mother Nature was determined to make me pay for that pleasure.

There were a few inches of snow on the ground when I headed for home. So I started out cautiously, feathering the clutch and easing off the throttle what seemed like minutes before I’d gently nudge the brakes.

After driving just a couple of blocks, something was definitely wrong. Not because the S5 was misbehaving, but because it wasn’t.

Its big, fat tires, which should have caused the Audi to behave like a kid’s snow “saucer,” were instead providing adhesion that would make cellophane tape jealous.

The prodigious power that should have caused the S5’s wheels to spin at every prod of its gas pedal was tamed by a confluence of Audi technology:

The S5’s clutch pedal engaged with impossibly precise progression. Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive judiciously distributed power to the wheels with the most grip. And the car’s steering and suspension spoke to me so effectively that I knew exactly how the S5 was going to react to every input.

I’ve experienced that kind of vehicle performance before… but never in such crummy driving conditions.

The Audi’s performance in the snow was such a revelation – and a delight – that it wasn’t long before I was pushing the S5 to explore its limits. And then I pushed it some more to see if I could make it misbehave.

I failed. No matter what I demanded of the S5 on the slick, snowy and sometimes serpentine roads, it seemed to simply smile agreeably and obey.

At one point, for example, I approached a 90-degree turn at a speed that would have made the average family-hauler flinch even on a dry road. But after its Schwarzenegger-strength antilock brakes hauled it down to manageable speed, the S5’s electronic anti-skid system helped guide it through the turn.

The brakes and the anti-skid system prevented the S5 from turning into a whirling dervish.

It’s difficult to describe the exhilaration of bracing for a spinout in one breath then realizing you can actually step on the gas before you’ve even had a chance to exhale. Now I know how off-road rally champions feel.

Even if you can’t appreciate that kind of driving excitement, you still might enjoy Audi’s S5. That’s because if you never test its prowess in the snow or enjoying its panty-twisting acceleration and handling on dry tarmac, you can still appreciate its craftsmanship, refinement, and head-turning styling.

The S5 is a high-performance variant of Audi’s A5 coupe, which itself is based on Audi’s A4 sedan platform. Other than badging, there are some minor cosmetic disparities between the A5 and S5, most of which are designed to give the S5 the visual sneer to match its mechanical snarl.

That mechanical snarl can be traced to several components. Most conspicuous is a 4.2-liter V8 engine that delivers up to 354 horsepower accompanied by the sweetest sounds this side of Brian McKnight. By comparison, the A5’s 3.2-liter V6 maxes out at 265 horses.

The S5 also deviates from the A5 with more robust brakes, larger tires and wheels, and a sport-tuned suspension system.

My test car upped the ante with an Audi’s optional ($2,950) Drive Select package. This consists of a variable-ratio steering system and adjustable shock dampening which, along with throttle response, can be varied by the driver at the push of a button.

The button most driver’s will notice when they first enter the S5 is the large, aluminum-trim Multi Media Interface knob. It is designed to provide one-touch access to nearly all of the elegant Audi’s many creature comfort features. It isn’t as intuitive to operate as, say, conventional audio and climate control knobs, but it’s better than similar one-touch interfaces from Audi’s competitors and quite effective once you get the hang of it.

It doesn’t take any time at all, however, to fall in love with the rest of the S5’s interior. Audi is recognized for having some of the most chic and impeccably crafted interiors in the automotive world, and the S5 maintains that reputation. Its cabin also is exquisitely quiet (unbelievably so, given the car’s breathtaking performance).

Although its low-profile tires and performance-oriented suspension make for a firm ride, the S5 is surprisingly cushy on good roads and never uncomfortable even on rough ones. This contributes to the S5’s accommodating nature when used as a daily driver. It in addition, it can carry plenty of cargo with 12 cubic feet of trunk space, an armrest pass-through for long objects such as skis, and fold-flat rear seatbacks.

When the rear seatbacks are upright, two average-size adults fit quite comfortably in the rear of what appears from the outside to be a sleek and unaccommodating sports car. By now you may be wondering if there’s anything Audi’s S5 doesn’t do well. The short answer is no. Unless you’re distressed by its fuel economy.

Personally, I consider 14 city/22 highway mpg pretty good for a car that can launch itself like a Saturn rocket. Even in the snow.

 

NUTS AND BOLTS

 

WHAT IS IT? 2009 Audi S5 manual Quattro, a sporty coupe that doesn’t mind snow.

WHAT DOES IT COST? S5 is the high-performance variant of Audi’s A5 coupe, which starts at $40,700 with manual transmission. The S5’s MSRP is $12,000 more, including a $1,300 gas guzzler tax. Options and destination charge raised the test car’s sticker price to $63,415.

WHAT I LIKED BEST: How easy it makes fast driving – even in snow.

WHAT I LIKED LEAST: That I couldn’t keep the test car.

WHO IS IT FOR? Performance driving fans who don’t necessarily want to work at it with their daily driver.

IMPORTANT NUMBERS: 4.2-liter, 32-valve V8 with direct ignition delivers 354 horsepower, 325 lb-ft of torque. 6-speed manual. 108.3-inch wheelbase. 3,891-lb curb weight. 12 cu-ft trunk (17.3 with rear seat folded). 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds (Audi spec). 14 city/22 highway mpg (EPA rating).

About the Author

Scott Wasser is the managing editor for the Times Leader. Reach him at (570) 970-7162 or swasser@timesleader.com.

Scott Wasser is a previous Vice President of News. He currently serves as executive editor of the Portland Press Herald as her continues to write an auto column for The Times Leader.

Wasser has worked at newspapers as diverse as the Stuttgart Daily Leader in Arkansas and the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina. His Times Leader tenure began in 1983, when he was hired as the newspaper’s sports editor. Over the next decade, he turned the newspaper’s sports section into one of the most recognized in the nation as it was annually named one of the best daily and Sunday sports sections in the country.

Wasser left the sports department to become assistant general manager and online editor of The Times Leader’s website during the infancy of the internet. He left The Times Leader in 2000 to become online editor of the Wilmington (Del.) News Journal. Just prior to returning to The Times Leader in 2008, he was editor-in-chief of a national magazine covering home theater and other consumer electronics.

But Wasser says his proudest accomplishment is having driven and reviewed over 1,000 cars, trucks and motorcycles since he started writing a weekly car column for The Times Leader in 1988. The column, which runs in print on Saturday and online here, has appeared in several other newspapers, and Wasser has contributed auto-related content to national publications including “Road & Track” and “Open Road” magazines and “USA Today.”

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