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First drive review: New Audi A5

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Author: | Updated: 01 Aug 2016 17:58

The A5 combines to make a very compelling choice for those who pound the motorways relentlessly but want to do so in style. For everyday use, the new A5 is unbeatable.

Always one of the more elegant cars in the Audi range, the original A5 is getting on a bit. While it masks its nine years well, it’s probably time for a new model.

With Audi winning praise across every vehicle segment at the moment, it’s time to see what the Ingolstadt firm can do with its BMW 4 Series, Mercedes C-Class Coupe and Lexus RC rival.

Audi A5 lead

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The new model isn’t quite as understated as the outgoing version, the sweeping lines giving way to some extra chiselling, sharp creases and an imposingly swooping nose. There’s then the usual huge Audi grille bolted on to the front. The result is an attractive car that looks quite different from the A4 with which it shares so much.

Supremely comfortable cruiser

Smooth and refined, the 400Nm of torque allows you take a very lazy driving style.

That includes engines, and it's the 187bhp 2.0-litre TDI we're testing here, as that’s expected to account for more than half of the A5’s sales. Smooth and refined, the 400Nm of torque allows you take a very lazy driving style, letting the low down grunt pull you around without effort rather than relying on anything as uncouth as high-revving turbo power. Not that it’s slow though, with the 0-62mph dash done and dusted in a surprisingly brisk 7.7 seconds.

To pull a large coupe around at that sort of speed while promising to return close to 70mpg is impressive enough, but it's the way it does it that surprises. A revised version of the seven-speed automatic gearbox keeps you in the power band nearly all the time, and when it changes gear it does so smoothly and unobtrusively.

Audi A5 side

Even switching the Drive Select function (now fitted as standard) to Dynamic doesn’t ruffle too many feathers, although the throttle response is sharpened and there's some added heft to the steering.

Sadly there’s still no feel through the wheel though, your hands seemingly intentionally isolated from the roughness of the road underneath. While turn in is accurate, and the car can be placed precisely on the road, it feels more like you’re giving an instruction to a computer than actually controlling the front wheels directly.

Audi A5 dashboard

There’s nothing in the way of thrills then, but that means there’ll be little in the way of spills, the A5 refusing to do anything other than behave impeccably, even in some of the rather waterlogged conditions we faced.

What, no Quattro?

In normal conditions there’s no need for the Quattro system anyway, and there’s always winter tyres if conditions turn bad.

There’s no Quattro mode to switch too though. That’s reserved for the cars with more interesting engines (such as the 3.0 V6 TDI, which is glorious, and the petrol-powered quite-quick S5)but while the humble 2.0-litre misses out on the all-wheel drive action, it benefits from being 60kg lighter. In normal conditions there’s no need for the Quattro system anyway, and there’s always winter tyres if conditions turn bad, so you might as well benefit from better fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

Audi A5 rear

The interior follows Audi’s now consistent trend of mixing quality with kit. You simply won’t find a higher quality interior in this segment, whether in terms of materials or construction.

The new A5 also gets a lot of the latest kit from the Audi toy box, including the optional Virtual Cockpit that uses a 12.3-inch configurable digital screen instead of traditional dials in front of the driver. Xenon headlights, LED rear lights, a seven-inch infotainment display, Bluetooth connectivity and USB charging will also be standard across the range.

Four-seats or a 2+2?

While it’s a great place for the driver to relax, the back of the A5 is a tad tighter. There are two full size seats that adults can fit into, although they’ll be a little short of headroom, but physically getting in and out of the rear is difficult. Consider it a 2+2, despite its size, and you’ll get on fine. That size leads to a decent size boot of 465 litres though, the largest in its class.

Audi A5 seats

While there’s no official pricing for the A5 just yet, don’t expect to get any change from £35,000. That’s a lot of money for a less practical version of the A4, but strong residuals should keep the lifetime costs down while there’s no doubting the A5’s continent crushing strengths.

Verdict

It all combines to make this a very compelling choice for those who pound the motorways relentlessly but want to do so in style.

If you fancy chucking a coupe around the Welsh countryside, driving at ten tenths, a BMW 4-Series is probably still the best bet, but for everyday use the A5 is unbeatable.

Model Tested: Audi A5 2.0 TDI S-Line

List Price: TBA
Top speed: 148 mph
Official fuel economy: 68.9 mpg
CO2 Emissions: 111 g/km
Car tax band: C / £30 per year
Insurance group: TBA
Engine: 1 2.0-Litre Turbocharged diesel
Luggage Space: 465 litres

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