Rent an Audi S5 Cabriolet in Marbella

Is the S5 worth it over an A3 Cabriolet?

Only for specific reasons. The S5 brings quattro all-wheel drive, a much stronger engine and a firmer ride; the A3 Cabriolet is cheaper, lighter on fuel and easier to park. On the coast road the difference is mostly badge and noise. Where the S5 actually earns it is the mountain work — the climb to Ronda or the Sierra Nevada road — and overtaking on single carriageways like the A-374, where the reserve is genuinely useful.

Does all-wheel drive matter in Andalusia?

Less than people expect, with two exceptions. Andalusian rain arrives hard and briefly; the first ten minutes on a coast road glazed with summer dust and diesel is the single most slippery condition you will meet, and quattro helps there. The other is the Sierra Nevada access road in winter, where conditions change with altitude. For everything else on the Costa del Sol, front-wheel drive is entirely adequate.

What should I budget for the deposit and fuel?

This is the highest-deposit car in the convertible class and it is blocked on a credit card in the main driver's name — check your limit before you fly, and expect several working days for the release after return. Fuel is the other difference: driven the way an S5 invites, it will not match an A3's consumption on the same route. Full-to-full remains the policy, so the tank you return is the tank you paid for.

Where will it be awkward?

Width and ground clearance, in the old towns. Ronda's centre, Marbella's casco antiguo and Frigiliana's lanes are not places to hunt for a kerbside space in this car — use an underground car park and walk the last five minutes. Sleeping policemen in the urbanizaciones behind Puerto Banús are higher than they look; take them at an angle and slowly.