Audi A5 Sportback review

While the A5 Coupe isn’t as spacious as a BMW 4 Series or Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe – a six-footer would struggle to sit behind another for long periods of time – you’ve no such issues with the Sportback, which is 100mm longer and 15mm taller than the two-door. 

So, this is a more practical S5/A5 Coupe, or much less practical A4 Saloon. It’s longer, narrower and lower than the car it replaces, but somehow more spacious. Audi’s carved out a touch more cabin space: 17mm more cabin length, 11mm extra for your shoulders and a 24mm knee-room extension. So, there’s an extra inch or so of knee-room in the back, and a bit more shoulder room too. Doesn’t sound like much, but this new Sportback has ample legroom – even behind the S5’s sports seats, which are set a smidge too high. That said, the especially tall will suffer a lack of headroom, which remains tight (though not prohibitively so). 

The dashboard looks lovely and is ready-proven because, predictably, it’s shared with all the other Audis based on the MLB Evo platform. Audi’s excellent sat-nav comes as standard, but you ought to option the Virtual Cockpit for the full effect. Of all the digital instrument clusters that exist on the market, Audi’s remains the best. No contest. And of course, all the active and passive safety stuff is optional too, save for the Q7’s Night Vision Assist.