Audi A5 Sportback review ~ station of gear

For:

Fast and frugal engines, interior quality, style mixed with practicality

Our Rating:

Against:

Space in the rear compromised by low roofline, not as fun to drive as a BMW 4 Series, style comes at a price

2017

The A5 Sportback is a five-door version of the A5 Coupe, catering for those that want style but can’t afford to sacrifice practicality

If you’re in the market for a premium-badged coupe but need a degree of practicality then the Audi A5 Sportback is well worth a look. It’s better than ever, and while space in the back is limited for taller adults, the extra doors are a boon. It’s not as fun to drive as a BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, but even versions without Quattro all-wheel-drive feel planted, refined and good to drive. The interior is among the classiest and best built of any car currently on sale, while the range of economical engines is simply the icing on the cake.

17 Mar, 2017

There’s no arguing the fact that Audi’s A5 Sportback is a more desirable car than the A4 saloon on which it’s based. However, the sleek and aerodynamic body shell does mean you’ll need to make small compromises inside – where the sloping roofline eats in to passenger space.

From the front, the new A5 Sportback looks just like the coupe on which it is based, and is even rather tricky to distinguish from the A4 at first glance. SE cars come with 17-inch wheels and xenon headlights, but it’s the Sport version that we believe offers the best value for money – adding leather sports seats, sat-nav and a three-month trial to Audi connect. S line cars boast bigger 18-inch rims, though it’s worth remembering that these will adversely affect the car’s CO2 emissions. LED lights with scrolling indicators are also included on top-spec cars.

Inside, the A5 is a perfect example of Audi’s high quality standards and super classy interior design. It’s beautifully built and covered in soft-touch materials from top to bottom. The dials and buttons are clear and easy to read.

Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

Spec a car with Audi’s optional 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit system and you’ll instantly feel like you’re driving a car from the future. Sitting in place of the conventional dials, the fully digital setup can display full screen sat-nav mapping, media data or trip information alongside the speedometer and rev counter. It’s super intuitive to use and looks great.

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Image 7 of 14

However, even those without the Virtual Cockpit dials have a high quality feel, with a classy fit and finish unseen on anything else in this class. A Mercedes C-Class runs the A5 close for solidity and elegant switchgear, but the Audi really does raise the bar.

Everything is easy to use, with the brand’s familiar scroll wheel controlling all the infotainment functions. Unlike the latest BMW systems, however, there’s no option for a touchscreen display, making flicking through the menus a slightly longer and more laborious affair. It’s also worth noting that you’ll need to step up from SE to Sport to get sat-nav and Audi Connect online services, though all cars feature three-zone climate control.

The A5 Sportback is a comfortable, refined and sure-footed five-door coupe, and while a BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe might be more fun, it’s the Audi that offers a more complete package.

Most models come with the brand’s venerable Quattro all-wheel-drive system, and while very few UK buyers will ever truly rely on it, it gives the A5 a sense of security otherwise missing on many of the car’s key rivals. Optional on the 2.0-litre TDI but standard on the TFSI, 3.0 TDI and S5 versions, Quattro offers bags of grip and loads of control on wet, greasy B-roads.

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Image 5 of 14

This car is also totally at home on the motorway, where high-speed refinement is excellent. Like all Audis, the A5’s cabin is well insulated from wind and road noise – though bigger wheels can affect the sense of calm. The four-cylinder 2.0-litre TDI diesels can seem a little gruff under hard acceleration, but it’s hardly cause for concern.

Head into some corners and you’ll find the A5 Sportback composed rather than fun. Being based on the VW Group’s MQB platform means the current car is better to drive than its predecessor, but a rear-wheel-drive BMW is still more engaging. The A5 is nimble enough, however, with impressive body control and loads of grunt. The steering is a little numb, but you can add weight using the Drive Select button on the dash.

Engines

Most buyers will make do with the 2.0-litre TDI, which is both fast and frugal. The standard 187bhp version will do 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds regardless of whether you select the six-speed manual or dual-clutch auto, while adding Quattro slashes half a second from this time. It’s a really punchy unit, and only ever noisy under really hard acceleration.

The silky-smooth six-cylinder 215bhp 3.0 TDI is faster still, completing the same sprint in 6.4 seconds mated to the seven-speed S tronic box and Quattro all-wheel-drive. What the 249bhp 2.0 TFSI Quattro loses in fuel economy it makes up for in straight-line pace, with 0-62mph over in 6.0 seconds flat – though the increased torque of the diesels make them feel faster in the real world.

Our most recent Driver Power survey showed Audi falling down the ranks when it comes to reliability and owner satisfaction. The brand finished a disappointing 21^st place out of 32 makers – a drop of eight since 2015. Reliability was a particular bugbear, where Audi finished 23^rd – despite a sixth-place finish for quality.

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Image 11 of 14

Safety is very good, too, and while the Euro NCAP hasn’t specifically tested the A5 Sportback, it awarded the A4 saloon and A5 Coupe the full five stars. It gained an 89 per cent rating for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child protection and 75 per cent for pedestrian protection. A 75 per cent safety assist score is also impressive.

All cars get AEB automatic braking, a host of airbags and ISOFIX child seat mountings. Blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning are on the options list.

Warranty

All Audis come with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, and while that may sound generous enough, many manufacturers offer a more competitive guarantee these days. Even BMW offers an unlimited mileage policy for the first five years, while many will provide cover for even longer.

However, with many buyers trading their cars in after two or three years, lengthy warranties are becoming less and less relevant. If you fall into this bracket, you should have few concerns about the Audi’s reliability.

Servicing

The Audi A5 Sportback needs servicing every 12 months or 10,000 miles (£164 for a 2.0 TDI or 2.0 TFSI), whichever comes sooner. A bigger and pricier service (£319) comes every two years or 20,000 miles. The 3.0-litre TDI is more expensive to maintain, costing £199 and £399 respectively.

The Audi range is among the biggest and most extensive offered by any manufacturer in the UK, with a different model for seemingly every niche. The A5 Sportback is one of those niches – offering a more desirable design than the boxy A4 saloon and greater practicality over the standard A5 coupe. However, greater practicality doesn’t mean it’s all that versatile, with space in the back limited for taller adults, and the sloping roofline limiting overall bootspace.

Size

At 4.73m long, the A5 Sportback is 90mm longer than a BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe (4.64m). It’s ever-so-slightly wider, too (1.84m plays 1.83m), though the cars are identical in height, give or take a few millimetres (1.39m). On the road, the BMW feels slightly more agile, though neither is unwieldy. The Audi is more surefooted, especially on those models fitted with Quattro all-wheel-drive.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

If you regularly carry taller adults then an A4 or A6 remains a more sensible choice, however, if you have smaller children or only require the back seats very occasionally, then the A5 Sportback is a brilliant halfway house. It offers a degree of extra practicality without losing the sleek and stylish coupe body.

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Image 10 of 14

Headroom isn’t all that plentiful for those over six feet tall, though anyone else should find there’s enough space in the back for longer journeys. The middle seat is near enough useless, however, as you sit perched up above the outer seats without any kind of bolstering to keep you in place.

Boot

This is where the Audi A5 Sportback comes into its own, offering buyers style by the shed load, mated to a decent 480-litre boot. Unlike the coupe, the Sportback’s boot opens from the roof, infinitely improving versatility. Owners will find handy tie-down points and luggage nets too, though there’s no underfloor storage for stashing valuables out of sight.

The rear seats do fold down, and although Audi doesn’t publish a total volume with everything folded flat, it’s a usable space that should suffice on the occasional trip to the tip. It’s certainly a match for the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe’s 1,300-litre loadbay.

Of course, if it’s ultimate practicality you’re after, an A4 or A6 Avant estate will tick more boxes, while the new Q5 offers plenty of space in a trendy SUV body

No matter which engine you go for, the Audi A5 Sportback is an economical and cheap-to-run family car. What it loses to the BMW 4 Series in terms of dynamics and driver fun, it makes up with its slightly lower emissions and impressive fuel economy.

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Image 3 of 14

The entry-level front-wheel-drive diesel emits just 106g/km of CO2 when mated to the seven-speed S tronic gearbox. The six-speed manual isn’t far behind (108g/km), while even the Quattro comes in below 120g/km. It’s worth noting that the bigger wheels on S line models will have an affect on emissions and could push your car into the next company car BiK tax band. Fuel economy of 68.9mpg for the fuel-efficient Ultra is among the best in this class, too.

Step up to the 3.0-litre TDI and that added performance will mean taking a hit on the fuel bills. However, even the thirstiest S line versions will still return 58.9mpg and emit 124g/km of CO2, not bad when you consider the huge torque on offer.

Unsurprisingly, the 2.0-litre petrol is the most expensive car (apart from the range-topping S5) to run, emitting 136g/km in Sport trim and 141g/km in S line spec. Fuel economy stands at 47.9mpg and 45.6mpg respectively, and there’s no economical front-wheel-drive version on offer.

Insurance groups

Insurance for the Audi A5 Sportback starts at group 28 for an entry-level 2.0-litre TDI ultra SE, with the better-equipped S line quattro auto coming in at group 32. The 3.0-litre TDI is group 36, while an S5 is group 41.

For comparison, the popular BMW 420d Gran Coupe in M Sport trim is group 31, though the 440i trumps the S5 by falling into group 38. A two-door Mercedes C220d Coupe in AMG Line guise sits in insurance group 32.

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Image 6 of 14

Depreciation

Residual values for the A5 Sportback are strong, and follow the current trend for Audi models. An A5 Sportback TDI ultra in SE spec will retain 46 per cent of its value after three years or 36,000 miles, while an S line auto is closer to 47 per cent. The best model in the range is actually the most expensive S5, which holds on to 51 per cent of its value over the same time frame.

The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe offers similar numbers, ranging from 41 per cent for the 430i, to 51 per cent for the 420d M Sport.

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