I magine the picturesque roads outside the suburbs of Muscat, with their width and wind, and their immense potential. Pretty, huh, but made all the better when you are powering along them behind the wheel of a graceful GT.

Imagine bringing the S5 into this scenario, but then you’re daydreaming your way out of possibility because Audi hasn’t delivered this sports version of the A5 to the Middle East, right?

 Wrong. For so long one that had slipped through this region’s net, the S5 is now on our roads – and that’s a good thing. Of course, we at evo had known this would be the case all along because we had spotted a few test vehicles in underground car parks around Dubai, surreptitiously hiding their S badges behind tape. There had been a few homologation problems, but these have been cleared up now because, to our surprise at a recent Audi event in Oman, the S5 was officially launched and we were allowed to play in it for the first time on Middle Eastern soil.

There isn’t much difference in the way the S5 looks, compared to the A5: just different rims and a subtle body kit. In fact, for a sports variant, it’s really quite subdued and some drivers might prefer a little more beef for their extra bucks both inside and out. But, as you tend to get with Audi, it’s handsome, muscular and rather good looking.

The sports seats, which look good, are extremely supportive and feel comfortable all at the same time, and the woof of the 354 bhp V8 engine signals the A5’s real intent. With a nice rumbly exhaust note, the acceleration is strong but not frenzied – we’ll have to wait for an RS5 for that. The performance, though, is a bit disguised by a quiet cabin and lack of wind noise, but make no mistake this is a quick car.

Along these rustic roads, the ride is very smooth and comfortable, although the A5 is prone to tramline quite worryingly on ruts in the mountain Tarmac. And it changes direction with agility through the bends, even if Audi has produced another S variant with a heavy nose, which leaves you always conscious of the weight transfer at the front as you turn. Saying that, though, total traction is assured by its Quattro four-wheel drive, cornering grip is strong and the S5 always feels poised and effortless. It makes speed without fuss and you seem to drive it briskly rather than hard. Although that’s not to say that the S5 isn’t fun as it will oversteer when provoked by an abrupt lift off the throttle resulting in a very controllable slide.

As this isn’t an RS, it isn’t a sports car, but it is, however, a very good grand tourer indeed. It’s small yet potent and feels much like a diet Jaguar XKR or Aston Martin DB9 – for us the best of the bunch. Considering how much cheaper the S5 is than either of those cars I think that is very high praise indeed, and if it’s a sub-exotic GT you are keen on, you could do far worse than an Audi S5.