Audi A5 Sportback Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Audi A5 Sportback range
Prices: £24,930-£40,125 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 14-19
Emissions: 137-225g/km
Performance: [2.0 TDI] 0-60mph 8.7s / Max Speed 142mph
Fuel Consumption: [2.0 TDI] (urban) 43.5mpg / (extra urban) 62.8mpg / (combined) 54.3mpg
Safety: Twin front, window & side airbags, ESP, ABS, traction control.
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height, 4711/1854/1391mm

BRANDS HATCH?

Our Rating: 7.7 / 10

Audi’s A5 Sportback may be hard to pigeonhole but it’s a tempting proposition. Jonathan Crouch reports

When it comes to prestigiously-badged compact executive German cars, traditional thinking suggests that estates are fine but five-door hatchbacks aren’t. Audi however, hasn’t made it to the top of the pile by traditional thinking and their A5 Sportback aims to turn such thinking on its head, with coupe styling married to a couple of rear passenger doors and hatchback practicality.

You can’t imagine, nor would Audi, BMW or Mercedes ever offer you, a five-door hatchback version of their A4, 3 Series or C-Class saloon or estate compact executive models. The German prestige brands look down their noses at that sort of thing, leaving it to mainstream Mondeos, Lagunas and Vauxhall Insignias. Yet a nicely styled hatchback can look very coupe-like, which, especially in business circles, is exactly what an increasing number of buyers are looking for. The style of a sportscar: yet to keep your Fleet Manager and/or your partner happy, the practicality of having four passenger doors.

Suddenly, with cars of this kind, it isn’t only the MD who can have the slinky coupe in the corner of the office carpark. Volkswagen’s Passat CC proved that buyers would pay a premium for a basic design that kept doors for rear seat passengers but built them into a coupe silhouette clothing familiar mechanicals. Audi’s A5 Sportback aims to pull off much the same kind of trick, but with even swoopier styling courtesy of a five-door rather than a four-door bodyshape. A5s run on Audi A4 mechanicals, so this is essentially the A4 hatchback that that the German brand could never be seen to build. Or is it? Let’s find out.

Since on paper, the A5 Sportback is exactly the same under the skin as any of Audi’s A4 or A5 models, you might expect it to be little different from any of those cars to drive. In fact, that’s not quite true for in its wisdom, Audi has decided to make this variant a little softer and ‘GT’-like, which might not suit those used to the sharper, more focused approach of the A5 coupe. You could opt for stiffer S line trim to try and sort this out but the end result is rather over-firm for British roads. Fortunately for enthusiasts set on an Audi, wanting an A5 and needing those extra doors, a better extra cost package is available. Called Drive Assist, it transforms the car through tweaks to everything from the suspension to the gearbox, the throttle mapping to th

All models get Audi’s latest ESP stability control system, incorporating an electronic differential lock that mimics the action of a mechanical limited slip differential for enhanced steering response and traction out of corners. You’re more likely, however, to notice excellent refinement that suits this car’s Grand Touring demeanour, despite the frameless windows. The optional twin-clutch DSG semi automatic gearbox is equally well suited to this kind of journey, one that could be completed with extra piece of mind if you’ve the money to tick the boxes for extra cost gadgetry that prompts you when you drift out of lane, warns you if there’s a car in your blind spot, dips the lights for you at night and even brakes if you’re about to hit another car.

As with the A5 coupe, only the nicest of the A4’s engines make it under the bonnet and all but the very cheapest 167bhp 2.0 TDI model feature quattro four-wheel drive. This version has a hefty 350Nm of torque and features a fuel-saving stop/start system to cut the engine at traffic lights or in urban jams, but if you’re not watching the fuel gauge quite so much, the alternative six cylinder diesels – a 187bhp 2.7 and a 236bhp 3.0-litre - are equally tempting options. Mainstream petrol choices centre on the four cylinder 208bhp 2.0-litre TFSI powerplant borrowed from the Golf GTI. With a 6.6s 62mph from rest time that matches that of the smoother but thirstier 261bhp 3.2-litre FSI V6, this ought to be quite fast enough but if it isn’t, there’s even a 333bhp supercharged V6 S5 version.

Imagine what an A4 saloon might look like if it had a hatchback, was slightly wider and lower and had an A5 coupe nose and you’re pretty much picturing this Sportback model. To be fair, you wouldn’t necessarily immediately guess its A4 ancestry from a casual glance. This design, though just 8mm longer, is a significant 26mm wider and has the A5 coupe model’s wavy waistline and frameless doors. The extra width and slightly longer wheelbase