In 1994 Audi launched an all-new substitute for its compact BMW 3 Sequence and Mercedes-Benz C-Class competitor, the 80, and gave it a brand new identify, A4.
Quick forward-precisely 30 years and the A4 has turn into the A5, out there in each sedan (liftback) and wagon (‘Avant’) physique kinds.
Piping-hot RS 5 flagships are prone to be part of the brand new S5 variants (learn our assessment right here), however replacements for the prevailing A5 coupe and convertible usually are not anticipated.
The rebranding is a part of a company-wide technique designed to make clearer the distinction between Audi’s electrical and inner combustion engine fashions.
Going ahead, Audis powered by electrons can have mannequin names with a good quantity, and people powered by good old school hydrocarbons will sport odd-numbered mannequin designations.
The step-change from 80 to A4 in 1994 arguably concerned extra profound adjustments than does the 2024 transition from A4 to A5.
However Audi is positioning the A5 as a brand new car, though it has an terrible lot of acquainted {hardware} beneath its subtly redesigned pores and skin.
Subsequent to the previous Audi 80, the unique A4 regarded revolutionary. Subsequent to the outgoing A4, the brand new A5 seems evolutionary.
Appearances will be misleading, although. The A5 is greater all spherical than the outgoing A4, at 67mm longer, 13mm wider, and 11mm greater taller. Most significantly, nevertheless, the wheelbase has been stretched 80mm.
And whereas the A5 rolls on what is actually an evolution of the Volkswagen Group MLB structure that underpinned the A4, the platform has been renamed PPC.
PPC stands for ‘Premium Platform Combustion’, and the brand new nomenclature is designed to align it with – whereas differentiating it from – the PPE (Premium Platform Electrical) structure that lately debuted below the brand new battery-electric Audi Q6 e-tron and Porsche Macan.
Dimensional variations apart, the PPC is in any other case basically MLB by way of its multi-link suspension entrance and rear, and the actual fact its longitudinal four- and six-cylinder engines are mounted forward of the entrance axle centre line. The massive distinction between PPC and MLB is by way of its digital structure.
The A5 includes a model of the E³ scalable end-to-end digital structure being rolled out throughout the Volkswagen Group. Dubbed E3 1.2, it’s anchored round 5 excessive efficiency computer systems that oversee all car capabilities from drivetrain and help methods to consolation and security methods to infotainment and back-end networking.
The A5’s sheetmetal is all-new, and whereas the execution is at first look doesn’t deviate from acquainted Audi themes, the surfacing and detailing, mixed with the dimensional adjustments, give the automobile a extra refined presence.
Among the many key parts of the brand new exterior design are the broader and flatter single-frame grille, and the sunshine bar extending proper throughout the tail, each of which emphasise the automobile’s width.
Audi is particularly pleased with the lighting on the brand new A5. The non-obligatory matrix LED headlights and OLED tail-lights permit homeowners to select from eight totally different digital mild signatures.
The OLED tail-lights are next-level stuff, comprising six panels with 60 individually controllable panels per section that may generate a brand new sample a number of occasions a second, permitting the show to look animated. Cleverly, the system ensures the general mild worth all the time meets rules.
It’s a good-looking wanting factor within the steel, the A5, notably in Avant wagon trim and on the non-obligatory 20-inch wheels fitted to all of the check automobiles we drove in France.
The most important shock is the A5 sedan isn’t a sedan. It’s a hatchback, or extra appropriately a liftback, with a bustle and a big tailgate that makes loading and unloading the boot a breeze.
How does the Audi A5 examine?
View an in depth breakdown of the Audi A5 towards equally sized autos.
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A5
How a lot does the Audi A5 value?
The brand new Audi A5 and S5 vary is anticipated to reach in Australia within the first half of 2025.
Audi Australia has but to substantiate pricing, however European costs counsel the lineup will probably be solely nominally dearer than the outgoing A4, which is presently priced from $71,900 plus on-roads for the 35 TFSI S line sedan, and $84,615 plus on-roads for the 45 TFSI quattro S line Avant.
What’s the Audi A5 like on the within?
Audi desires the A5 to be seen as a rival to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, the newest model of which is plusher and extra luxuriously appointed than earlier fashions, and so, as with the outside, the inside of the A5 is chock-full of acquainted Audi design themes tweaked to ship a extra upscale atmosphere.
From the motive force’s seat the cabin is dominated by the panoramic curved show that arcs throughout virtually two-thirds of the sprint and features a 11.9-inch configurable digital instrument cluster and a 14.5-inch MMI touchscreen show.
If that isn’t sufficient for you by way of screens, a further 10.9-inch show for the entrance seat passenger is accessible as an choice. This display screen permits your co-driver to go to web sites, stream video content material, navigate, or discover a petrol station. A dynamic privateness mode means the motive force can not see distracting content material, reminiscent of movies, whereas driving.
The execution is oddly clunky, although, the additional display screen wanting considerably of an afterthought in an inside that’s in any other case cleverly coherent.
The entrance door handles, for instance, are built-in with trim parts that stretch from both aspect of the sprint, and ambient lighting strips that dive behind the screens, mixed with oblique lighting beneath, make them seem to drift within the cabin, particularly at night time.
An non-obligatory lighting strip that runs from A-pillar to A-pillar on the base of the windscreen does greater than merely present ambient lighting, nevertheless. Audi calls it a dynamic interplay mild, and its totally different colored LEDs are used to welcome occupants into the cabin and sign when the A5 is locked or unlocked.
Flick the indicator stalk, and the related finish of the lighting strip pulses inexperienced in time with the indications.
A lot of the inside switchgear is acquainted Audi fare, however the high quality of the supplies by way of seat, door, and sprint trims is a step up from the outgoing A4.
The grey-on-grey toned material seats within the A5 sedan we examined felt extra cossetting than the leather-trimmed objects, and the feel of the fabric added curiosity to the door trims and to the sprint factor stretching throughout the cabin beneath the screens.
That stated, the brown leather-based trim on the seats, doorways, and sprint of the A5 Avant we drove delivered an aesthetic two-tone atmosphere to the inside that makes a welcome change from boring black on black.
Not solely does the A5 look a lot classier inside than the A4, it’s roomier, too. Most of that 80mm stretch within the wheelbase over the A4 has been devoted to the A5’s rear seat passengers, who now have 72mm extra legroom.
One gripe: Whereas designers exit of their solution to try to persuade us it appears similar to the lacquer end on a $100,000 Steinway grand piano, the swathe of shiny black plastic on the A5’s centre console appears similar to… a swathe of shiny black plastic. And never solely will it quickly be lined in fingerprints, however it’s additionally simply scratched.
What’s below the bonnet?
You’ll not have the ability to inform what’s below the bonnet of the Audi A5 by wanting on the badge on the bootlid. Audi has dropped the cumbersome – and primarily meaningless – 35 and 45 TFSI badging used on the A4.
Australian A5s will probably be powered by mildly revised variations the acquainted 2.0-litre TFSI four-cylinder petrol engine. The foremost improve is the adoption of a brand new variable turbine geometry turbocharger that helps the engine develop extra torque at decrease revs than earlier than.
Different adjustments embody a friction-optimised timing chain drive, the combination of cost air cooling into the consumption manifold, improved oil provide to the crankshaft, and a fuel-injection system that runs at greater strain.
As with the outgoing A4, the entry-level front-drive A5 will get a 110kW model of the TFSI engine that makes its peak energy from 3900rpm to 6000rpm and most torque of 280Nm over 1400-3600rpm. Audi claims this engine will get the front-drive A5 from 0-100km/h in 9.8 seconds on the best way to a high velocity of 216km/h.
Quattro A5s are powered by a model of the TFSI engine that makes 150kW over 4300-6000rpm and peak torque of 340Nm over 1200-4000rpm. Audi claims the 150kW quattro fashions will get from 0-100km/h in 7.8 seconds, with the sedan hitting a high velocity of 248km/h and the Avant 245km/h.
Neither engine will get the MHEV plus enhanced mild-hybrid system fitted to the two.0-litre TDI diesel engine out there in European markets, and to the 270kW 3.0-litre TFSI V6 that powers the brand new S5 sedan and Avant fashions.
In easy phrases, the 48-volt MHEV plus system contains a belt alternator starter, an e-motor mounted adjoining to the engine and transmission that acts on the transmission output shaft, and a water-cooled 1.7kWh lithium iron phosphate battery.
The system can present as much as 18kW and 230Nm on demand and recoup as a lot as 25kW via deceleration and regenerative braking, then ship it to the battery.
Audi says the four-cylinder TFSI engine will be geared up with MHEV plus – it’s already out there on four-cylinder petrol-powered Q5s in Europe – however selected to not supply the system on the petrol-powered A5 to make it extra worth aggressive towards the Mercedes-Benz C 200.
That’s a win for Australian shoppers in one other method, too. The MHEV plus-equipped A5 TDI diesel we drove on the launch didn’t really feel as easy to drive because the non-MHEV plus TFSI automobiles, primarily due to the system’s barely clunky handoffs between electrical and inner combustion energy.
How does the Audi A5 drive?
The place has this Audi been hiding! Audi’s obsession with front-wheel drive and longitudinal engines mounted forward of the entrance axle – which made all-wheel drive drivelines simpler and cheaper to execute – has for many years resulted in automobiles that understeered.
Generations of Audi chassis engineers have thus spent tens of millions of man hours making an attempt to show Isaac Newton improper, to get their nose-heavy automobiles to deal with extra like their rear-drive rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. With the A5, they seem to have cracked the code.
The A5 quattro responds obediently to the helm the second you pull the steering wheel off centre, and the front-end grips resolutely via all phases of the nook. There isn’t any discernable understeer, no sensation that the load of the engine is making an attempt to tug the nostril of the automobile broad.
Audi engineers say your entire steering system has been stiffened to enhance really feel. Entrance wheel camber has additionally been elevated, and the subframe bushings have been adjusted on the rear axle to minimise the delay within the build-up of lateral drive between the entrance and rear axles.
Lastly, the damper settings have been fastidiously tuned to manage physique motions.
True, there’s not a variety of adjustability within the chassis. The 150kW engine doesn’t have the muscle to instigate important weight switch to the rear wheels below acceleration, though the all-wheel drive system will ship as much as 70 per cent of torque to the rear wheels below exhausting acceleration.
However, helped by the usual brake torque vectoring system, the A5 will get into corners a lot faster and may maintain greater mid-corner speeds than the A4 with little obvious effort. Be exact together with your inputs and this Audi will sashay down a winding highway at a formidable tempo.
It could be barely slower in a straight line, however the Avant quattro feels a smidge extra alert into corners than the sedan. That’s as a result of the wagon bodywork provides about 15kg to the general mass, and it’s all around the rear axle, which makes the Avant rotate only a fraction sooner on the change of route.
There’s one caveat to all this: All our check automobiles have been quattros fitted with the sportiest wheel/tyre mixture – 20-inch wheels shod with 245/35 Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres – and the top-spec non-obligatory suspension.
The A5 is accessible with three totally different suspension tunes – Normal; Sport, which lowers the journey top 20mm; and Sport with EDC, which provides digital damper management to the combination. It additionally comes with wheels ranging in measurement from 17- to 20-inch.
Based mostly on our expertise in France, the chassis fundamentals really feel good, however we’ll have an interest to get behind the wheel of an A5 with the usual suspension and normal wheels and tyres to substantiate it.
What do you get?
Australian normal specification for the 2025 Audi A5 hasn’t been confirmed but.
2025 Audi A5 highlights:
Alloy wheelsLED headlightsPower tailgate11.9-inch digital instrument cluster14.5-inch touchscreen infotainment systemSatellite navigationAudi AssistantWireless cellphone charger
In different markets the Audi A5 is accessible in three exterior trims: Fundamental, Superior, and S line. The S line will get bigger entrance intakes both aspect of the grille, and a extra aggressive fake diffuser on the rear.
The S line can be out there with a black exterior package deal that includes a black grille, aspect sill trims, door handles, window trims, and mirror housings, as black aluminium trim strips across the aspect home windows and blacked-out exhaust retailers. The Audi ring badges on the entrance and rear of the automobile are completed in anthracite gray.
Patrons can select from 11 exterior paint colors, two of which – Grenadine Pink and Horizon Blue metallics – are new for the A5.
Non-compulsory Extras
Three tools packages can be found: Tech, Tech Plus, and Tech Professional. Highlights embody:
Tech consists of:
LED headlightsThree-zone automated air-conditioningAudi MMI Plus
Tech Plus consists of:
Matrix LED headlightsFront passenger displayComfort package deal Plus
Tech Professional consists of:
Digital OLED rear lightsHeated steering wheelHeated entrance and rear seatsSports suspension with digital damper management
Different out there choices embody:
10.9-inch passenger show screen20 speaker, 810W Bang & Olufsen 3D audio system with head restraint speakersPanoramic glass roof with switchable transparencyElectric steering column adjustment with reminiscence function19- and 20-inch alloy wheelsMatrix LED headlightsOLED tail-lights with lively digital mild signatureDynamic interplay inside lighting
Is the Audi A5 secure?
The Audi A5 is but to be independently examined by Euro NCAP, however comes with all the standard lively and passive security methods and is accessible with a variety of refined driver help methods.
Normal security tools hasn’t been confirmed for Australia but. Highlights for European-spec fashions embody:
Rear parking support with distance displayCruise controlLane departure warningAttention and fatigue detection
Non-compulsory security options in Europe embody:
Emergency AssistActive Entrance AssistParking Assistant PlusTraffic sign-based velocity limiter with velocity adjustment.
How a lot does the Audi A5 value to run?
As with different Volkswagen Group manufacturers in Australia, all new Audi fashions are lined by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee. By way of servicing, Audi provided three- and five-year servicing packages, with service intervals set at 12 months or 15,000km for the A4, and that is prone to proceed with the A5.
No native gasoline consumption figures are but out there, however Audi claims gasoline consumption of seven.6L/100km to six.6L/100km for the front-drive A5 with the 110kW engine on the WLTP mixed cycle, and seven.9L/100km to six.6L/100km for the A5 quattro with the 150kW engine.
CarExpert’s Tackle the Audi A5
Audi desires the A5 to be perceived as a extra premium car than the A4. And by way of the outside and inside design, it has succeeded. The larger and roomier A5 is certainly a extra refined wanting automobile than its predecessor.
Extra importantly, that sense of sophistication additionally extends to the best way the Audi S5 drives. This Audi feels as comfy and premium as a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, but, due to steering that feels higher than that of a BMW 3 Sequence, is satisfying to drive briskly on a winding highway.
Concerned about shopping for an Audi A5? Get in contact with considered one of CarExpert’s trusted sellers right here
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