New Audi RS5 e-hybrid: 639PS plug-in, £89,400 and what UK buyers get

News · 8 Jun 2026 · Michael Harrison

The new Audi RS5 e-hybrid is the first RS5 to run a plug-in hybrid powertrain, and it arrives in the UK with a confirmed price from £89,400 for the saloon, 639PS on tap and a claimed 0 to 62mph in 3.6 seconds. Orders are open now, with first UK deliveries expected in summer 2026. We rate the engineering highly; the harder question for a UK buyer is whether a £90,000 PHEV super-saloon makes more sense on cash or PCP than the pure-electric and petrol rivals it now sits beside.

What the reborn RS5 actually is

This is a clean break from the old RS5. Audi’s newsroom confirms the powertrain pairs a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine (510PS, 600Nm) with a 177PS electric motor for a combined 639PS and 825Nm. A 25.9kWh battery (22kWh usable) feeds the motor, and Audi quotes over 50 miles of electric-only range on the WLTP cycle, with up to 74.3mpg on the official combined figure per Auto Express. So you get a car that can run silent on the school run, then hit 177mph when the V6 wakes up. Audi CEO Gernot Doellner calls it “the A5 model series’ new pinnacle” and “our first high-performance plug-in hybrid”. It replaces the petrol-only RS5 outright, so there is no non-hybrid version to fall back on.

UK prices: saloon, Avant and the costly trim walk

The RS5 saloon opens at £89,400 and the RS5 Avant estate at £91,300, per Auto Express and Audi UK. From there the options ladder climbs quickly: a Carbon Black saloon lands at £95,486, and the range-topping performance Vorsprung trim is £107,485 before you touch the paint chart. That puts even the entry car within a few thousand pounds of a BMW M3 Competition and well above a Mercedes-AMG C 63, and it is exactly the band where our guidance on deposits for a premium car matters most, because a small deposit on a six-figure list price leaves a large balance to finance. If you are cross-shopping the wider Audi range, our used Audi A7 C8 buyer’s guide shows how steeply these cars depreciate once the first owner has taken the hit.

The numbers Audi has confirmed

Here are the headline figures from Audi’s official RS5 release, with the source linked in the table footer so you can check them against the configurator when it goes live.

Company-car tax: why this is not the EV bargain

This is general information, not personal financial, tax or legal advice; figures depend on your circumstances and the rates current when you read this. CDE has not independently driven or inspected every individual vehicle referenced. Always confirm current rates with the cited gov.uk, HMRC or FCA source before you commit.

If you were hoping to run this through salary sacrifice at the headline electric-car rate, stop there. As a plug-in hybrid, the RS5 sits in a benefit-in-kind band set by its official CO2 emissions and electric range, not the low rate reserved for zero-emission cars, so the company-car tax is far higher than on a pure EV and the on-payroll case is weak. Check the live band for your exact CO2 and range figures against the official gov.uk company-car tax tool before assuming any number. Our view: this is a cash or personal-finance car, not a sal-sac one. Read it next to a real EV case, because the gap is large, and our Audi Q5 FY buyer’s guide covers the cheaper everyday Audi most buyers cross-shop.

Finance: how a £89,400 RS5 looks on PCP

On a six-figure list price, a typical PCP runs a sizeable guaranteed future value to keep the monthly figure palatable, so a large chunk of the price is deferred rather than paid down. We would weigh that against a personal loan, where you own the car outright and avoid mileage penalties; our personal loan versus PCP comparison works the maths on a similar premium price. RS-badged Audis also carry premium insurance, as our note on BMW M and Audi RS insurance costs sets out, and that premium can swing monthly affordability more than the finance rate does.

How it drives, on the early UK verdicts

We have not driven the car, so we lean on the first independent UK reviews. Auto Express describes the plug-in hybrid RS5 as “a delight to drive despite its massive weight gain”, which is the central tension here: the battery and motor add mass over the old petrol RS5, and reviewers are watching how that affects agility. Rolf Michl, Managing Director of Audi Sport, frames it as a deliberate shift, saying “the RS5 and its innovative drive concept mark the beginning of a new era for our RS models”. Our view: the performance figures are not in doubt, but the kerb weight is the thing to test on a UK B-road before you commit. The Avant estate, in particular, will be the family-friendly pick, and it is the version Top Gear lines up against the BMW M3 Touring below.

Avant versus saloon: which RS5 to order

The £1,900 walk from saloon to Avant buys a far more usable car, and on past RS form the estate holds value at least as well as the saloon, so it is the one we would order. Buyers who like the wagon idea but not the six-figure outlay should read our used Audi RS6 C8 buyer’s guide, because a nearly new RS6 Avant covers similar ground for less, and our Audi A5 Sportback used guide shows where the cheaper end of this body style lands.

The wagon question, on video

Top Gear has already put the RS5 Avant up against the obvious rival, the BMW M3 Touring, in a head-to-head that is worth watching before you put a deposit down on either.

Before you order: the checks we would make

Order books are open, so a few checks now will save money and grief later.

• Read the full specification and confirm the price for your exact trim on the Audi UK RS configurator rather than the headline figure.
• Check the company-car band for your CO2 and electric-range figures on the gov.uk company-car tax tool before assuming a low rate.
• Compare independent verdicts on weight and ride: read the Auto Express new Audi RS5 coverage alongside Top Gear’s video above.
• Price up specialist insurance early, as RS-badged cars sit in high groups.
• Weigh finance routes properly; our car finance section covers PCP, HP and personal-loan trade-offs on premium cars.
• If delivery timing matters, confirm your dealer’s allocation, as first UK cars are expected in summer 2026.

Our take on the Audi RS5 e-hybrid

The Audi RS5 e-hybrid is a genuinely clever piece of engineering: 639PS, a real 50-plus miles of electric running and a sub-four-second 0 to 62mph time in one car is a hard combination to fault on paper. For the cash or PCP buyer who wants a fast everyday Audi and likes the idea of silent commuting, the Avant in particular makes a strong case at £91,300. Our reservations are about cost and weight. The trim walk to £107,485 is steep, the plug-in hybrid drivetrain rules out the cheap company-car tax that flatters a pure EV, and the added mass is the one thing the early UK reviews keep circling. We would order the Avant, keep the options list short, and test the ride on a real British road before signing. If your priority is the lowest monthly tax, a proper EV still wins; if it is pace, sound and a usable boot in one car, this is the most complete RS yet.