Audi A5 review

Gosh, where to start. This is the new A4, except it’s now the new A5. The old A5 (three-door Coupe and four-door Sportback) is no more, and the new A4 will be almost the same car, but electric. Audi has changed its naming structures so that even number models will be electric and odd ones combustion engined.

My head hurts.

That'll pass. Audi bills the new A5 as a saloon with coupe stylings. Scurry around to the boot and it’s actually an electrically assisted hatchback (“a completely new sedan concept” if you believe the press release). Or a liftback, if you want to get technical. The estate remains an estate, mind. Well, an Avant in Audi parlance.

My head still hurts. Has anything else changed? 

Apart from the name, it’s mostly business as usual. Although the new car has taken on some of the old A5’s swoopier coupe leanings, the windows are narrower than before and you feel very low sitting inside the car. Though maybe we’ve just been hanging out in too many SUVs recently.

The new car is longer, taller and wider than its predecessor, and both the saloon and estate are exactly the same length at just over 4.8 metres. It’s sleeker, fancier, and the interior is loaded with tech (you can read more detail on the Interior tab).

Come on then, what's it like to drive?

It’s not fun as such (even the warmer S5 isn't particularly exciting), but you can appreciate that Audi has put a lot of effort into making the car neutral and reassuring.

The entry petrol actually makes for a relaxed run over country roads, even if its 148bhp/207lb ft and 9.8-second 0–62mph run won’t set any records. There’s a more powerful 201bhp/251lb ft version of the 2.0-litre petrol that offers more verve and gets the 0–62mph time down to 7.8s.

All of the cars in the A5 range come with a seven-speed dual clutch automatic as standard, which has to work a bit harder in the entry petrol to keep the car going.

The 2.0-litre diesel isn’t operating at the heady level of old, but why would Audi invest in it when diesel's sinking away into oblivion? Shame really, as its 201bhp/295lb ft offers 7.7s 0–62mph pace and decent economy. The quattro all-wheel-drive option (your only chance to get a 4x4 A5 until the PHEV turns up) gets that down to 6.9s thanks to the extra grip.

Why this and not an SUV?

The German premium carmakers have long relied on a mixture of habit and nostalgia to shift their heartland saloons, but the A5 isn’t the ubiquitous car it once was. If you prioritise the drive over practicality then the A5 is leaps ahead of any of the SUVs in the Audi camp, but it doesn’t have the same cabin and luggage space of a taller 4x4.

The petrol engines at launch are rated around 40mpg and the diesel option at just over 50mpg, so the A5 at least has reasonable economy and running costs in its favour. There’s decent space in the back for a couple of passengers (the saloon's stingy for headroom, mind) and a solid amount of clobber.

And of course, at £42k to £55k, the A5 range works out a solid chunk cheaper than Audi’s Q5 SUV.

And why this and not... a 3 Series?

Good question. The BMW - along with the Mercedes C-Class and Alfa Romeo Giulia - are the A5's main rivals, and as the newest entry you'd expect this to toppling all three.

We're not sure it does. As you'll discover on the Driving tab, the A5's dynamics simply aren't as sorted as a 3 Series or Giulia's, and although it's certainly more spirited than a C-Class, the Merc at least has the excuse of going all-in for comfort. And it's a better car for it. This tries to straddle both extremes at the same time, and instead of striking a nice balance it drops through the chasm in between. Pity.

Audi's new A5 is a known quantity in every way except for the name, and you have to assume (or at least hope) that the logic on that front will catch on in due course. This car's predecessor was always a rock solid runner that could notch up the miles like nothing else, and the A5 carries that on.

It's not all rosy though: Audi's drift towards overbearing levels of tech is a worry, and you'll need the Avant if you've got lanky teenagers to ferry around.

More concerning is the lack of verve to the handling, which means it trails its main rivals despite being the newer entry. Ultimately the A5 suffers for trying to sit in the middle of that Venn diagram, depriving it of a proper USP.