By Ewan Kennedy, Marque Motoring
Normally when I drive a new car into the townhouse complex where I live neighbours have a casual glance to see what car I’ve just picked up, then go back to whatever they had been doing.
Not so with the bright red Audi A5 coupe – it stopped a five-way conversation, pulled all eyes in its direction and got folks wandering over to have a closer look and a chat.
Audi continues to push hard in the Australian market, with its sights on BMW and Mercedes in every possible area of the new-car sales race.
Audi A5 and S5 in two-door coupe format have just been joined by a five-door Sportback. A convertible will be introduced later in the year.
The best news about the two coupe models is that prices have been cut by as much as $15,000 when compared equipment-to-equipment with superseded models.
The body is all-new and is as sleek as ever, but now has a sharper, edgier look that ties in neatly with the new A4 range and, to a lesser extent, the recently launched Q2.
A feature we really like is that the ‘third’ brake light extends almost the full width of the roof of the car. Not sure if it really grabs any more attention, but it sure looks good.
Inside the new A5 range there’s the typical Audi attention to detail with quality materials and neat touches to the shaping of all areas.
The central 8.3-inch touchscreen gives extensive access to the MMI system. It has navigation plus; Audi connect; LTE data transmission; and wi-fi hotspot.
Apple and Android smartphones are catered for. What Audi calls a ‘phone box’ provided the added convenience of inductive charging for smartphones.
Power comes from significantly improved versions of the now superseded turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel engines.
Audi A5 and S5 coupes are virtually A4 sedans with sports bodies. The latest coupes are slightly larger than in their previous generation and can carry four adults in reasonable comfort.
However some sharing is needed if the driver and the occupant behind them are both tall.
Handling is impressive, even in A5 not S5 format, with plenty of road grip thanks partly to the quattro all-wheel-drive system.
We also sampled a front-drive model during the media launch of the pair of coupes in Tasmania a few months back and it’s no slouch in the handling department.
Steering feel is too light for our tastes and there’s not as much feedback through the wheel as we prefer. Ride comfort is excellent when you consider these are sporty models and have plenty of road grip. The seats support well and these Audis make very good long distance tourers.
Road noise can be obtrusive on dirt roads as well as on Australia’s notorious coarse-chip sealed roads. Other than that there’s a real feeling of serenity of the sort you don’t always get in sports coupes.
All Australian imports of the new A5 have Audi’s virtual cockpit which gives the driver a choice between which instruments or readouts they want to focus on. It’s now included in the price of the A5. Naturally the S5 also gets it, this time with a choice of three displays, not the two in the A5.
Audi’s latest A5 range will sell on style alone, it really is a stunner.
However, there’s also plenty going for it in the powertrain department and road grip is impressive so it’s hard to see it not clawing its way a fair bit up the sales ladder.
Model range
A5 2.0 TFSI S tronic two-door coupe: $69,900
A5 2.0 TDI quattro S tronic two-door coupe: $73,900
A5 2.0 TFSI quattro S tronic two-door coupe: $81,500
S5 3.0 TFSI quattro S tronic two-door coupe: $105,800
