Compare the2024 Audi RS 5 SportbackVS 2023 Tesla Model S

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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The RS 5 Sportback’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Model S doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi RS 5 Sportback are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Tesla Model S doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The RS 5 Sportback’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The Model S doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The RS 5 Sportback has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Model S doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the RS 5 Sportback’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model S doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The RS 5 Sportback offers an optional Top and Corner View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model S only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the RS 5 Sportback’s optional Rear Cross-Traffic Assist uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Model S doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.

The RS 5 Sportback has a standard Audi Connect CARE, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model S doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the RS 5 Sportback and the Model S have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available blind spot warning systems.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi RS 5 Sportback is safer than the Tesla Model S:

	RS 5 Sportback	Model S
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	308 lbs.	339 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	333	449
Hip Force	666 lbs.	785 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

There are over 58 percent more Audi dealers than there are Tesla dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the RS 5 Sportback’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Audi vehicles are better in initial quality than Tesla vehicles. With 36 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Audi higher than Tesla.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the RS 5 Sportback has larger standard tires than the Model S (265/35R19 vs. 255/45R19). The RS 5 Sportback’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Model S (275/30R20 vs. 265/35R21).

The RS 5 Sportback’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Model S’ standard 45 series front and 40 series rear tires. The RS 5 Sportback’s optional tires have a lower 30 series profile than the Model S Plaid’s optional 35 series front tires.

The RS 5 Sportback has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Model S; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

Suspension and Handling

The RS 5 Sportback handles at .97 G’s, while the Model S pulls only .86 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the RS 5 Sportback’s turning circle is 1.6 feet tighter than the Model S’ (38.7 feet vs. 40.3 feet).

Chassis

The Audi RS 5 Sportback may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 700 pounds less than the Tesla Model S.

The RS 5 Sportback is 9.4 inches shorter than the Model S, making the RS 5 Sportback easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the RS 5 Sportback’s trunk can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Model S doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Servicing Ease

A Service Interval Display is standard on the RS 5 Sportback to save the owner time and money by calculating maintenance intervals based on odometer mileage. This takes the guesswork out of keeping your vehicle in top condition and helps it last longer. Tesla doesn’t offer a maintenance reminder on the Model S.

Ergonomics

The RS 5 Sportback’s entire steering wheel hub sounds the horn, facilitating hitting the horn in an emergency. The Model S has a small, single button on the steering wheel spoke that can be hard to find quickly in an emergency.

The RS 5 Sportback offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Model S doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

Laser headlights, standard on the RS 5 Sportback, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Model S’ LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The RS 5 Sportback has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Model S doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The RS 5 Sportback’s standard side window demisters help clear frost or condensation from the side windows in the winter. The Model S doesn’t even offer side window demisters, so the driver may have to wipe the windows from the outside to gain side vision.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the RS 5 Sportback has standard extendable sun visors. The Model S doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The RS 5 Sportback has standard massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Model S.