Audi A5 Review

The main question is – what do you want from a coupe? If you want sporty driving above practicality and refinement, the Audi A5 probably won’t do much for you, and you’ll be better off in the BMW 4 Series or Audi TT.

But, if you want a long-distance cruiser that’s easy and sophisticated, the A5 is probably ideal. It takes the Audi A4 and swaps its sensible bodywork for sleeker lines coupe. You only get two doors but there’s space in the back for adults on short journeys and a large boot – plenty big enough for a couple of sets of golf clubs.

There’s also the A5 Cabriolet with its fabric drop-top roof, and the A5 Sportback. This is a five-door hatchback version of the A5, with much easier rear-seat access and a more versatile tailgate, without losing its swoopy shape. It could be the best choice if you’re regularly going to be carrying adults in the back seats.

Swing open the wide door and you’re greeted by one of the A5’s best features. Its interior is everything you want from a premium coupe – the materials are top-notch, the build quality feels diamond-strong and there’s all the equipment you could possibly need in day-to-day driving.

Every recent A5 gets Audi’s fantastic digital instrument cluster, called the Virtual Cockpit. It’s massively configurable and lets you have the information that’s important to you right in front of your eyes. Similarly, the touchscreen sat on top of the dash is crystal clear and very easy to use, with tiled widgets and a home screen that lets you see your media and navigation at a glance.

Standard equipment includes sat nav, LED headlights, heated leather seats and three-zone climate control.

You probably wouldn’t buy a van for its keen handling, and you wouldn’t buy a coupe if you wanted something capable of lugging furniture and pushchairs. Even so, the A5 coupe is big enough to be your only car if you usually only carry one passenger. It has a wide, deep boot and enough rear-seat legroom for occasional adult passengers.

Headroom is pretty poor, though – a result of the car’s sleek shape – and it’s a struggle to get in and out of the back seats. These are common compromises with coupes, but the A5 coupe is still really only worth considering if you’re not often going to be travelling with adults in the back seats.

If you can put up with an extra pair of passenger doors, the A5 Sportback is a much better choice for carrying more than two adults. Headroom still could be better, but access is thankfully so much easier. The A5 Sportback also has a hatchback tailgate, whereas the A5 coupe has a saloon-style bootlid, so the five-door A5 is much more versatile if you need to carry large items from time to time.

Just like the Audi A4 it’s based on, the A5 comes with a choice of conventional petrol and diesel engines, plus a pair of S and RS performance models. In the normal range, all A5s come with 2.0-litre engines – petrol engines consist of the 150hp ‘35 TFSI’ and the more powerful 40 TFSI, with either 190hp or 204hp depending on the age of the car. You might occasionally find an even more powerful 45 TFSI engine, too.

The two diesel engines offer fantastic long-distance cruising ability. 35 TDI versions have 163hp and will manage up to 58mpg, while 40 TDI engines have 204hp and standard-fit quattro all-wheel drive for better grip. This engine will return 50mpg when driven gently.

Above that is the S5, which came with a 354hp 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine until 2019 and a 347hp 3.0-litre diesel afterwards. Meanwhile, the range-topping RS5 produces a blistering 444hp from a 2.9-litre V6 petrol engine, and gets from 0-62mph in just 3.9 seconds.

When developing the A5, Audi’s engineers probably looked at the fun-but-firm BMW 4 Series and the comfortable Mercedes C-Class Coupe and shrugged. The A5 feels resolutely in the middle of its rivals, but that means it doesn’t really have a USP in terms of how it drives.

There’s no doubt that the A5 makes every journey effortless – it never feels like it’s trying very hard. You might really appreciate the sheer capability of the A5 and it’s really easy to live with day to day, but the A5 is far from engaging. Even the scorching hot RS5 leaves you feeling a bit cold.

And, while it’s comfortable on smooth Tarmac, the ride can feel a bit busy on more scruffy stretches of road.