Audi’s A5 Coupé 2.0 TFSI quattro S tronic is delightfully composed on the road and makes urban driving a pleasure, writes Craig Donaldson
The A5 Coupé has long been hailed as a landmark for Audi. Even its designer, Walter de Silva (also behind the likes of the beautiful lines of Alfa Romeo’s 156 and Audi’s R8), acknowledged it as his finest work when it was launched in 2007. Today, with some modest touches on the outside and some more serious refinements under the hood, the car is still a thing of beauty. And with a starting price of $75,700, the A5 Coupé 2.0 TFSI quattro is one of the most balanced models of the A5 range.
Performance
Performance-wise, this model is more than capable enough for most drivers. It is nimble and quick off the mark when pressed, with an acceleration time of 6.4 seconds for the 0–100 km/h sprint. While its 165kW/350Nm 2.0 litre turbocharged 4-cylinder engine certainly won’t get your heart racing like the Audi RS5 might with its thumpingly beautiful 4.2 litre V8, the A5 Coupé 2.0 TFSI quattro S tronic is confident and competent around town. It makes nipping in and out of traffic a breeze, while the light steering makes it refreshingly easy to park and manoeuvre as well. While the official combined fuel consumption figure is 6.7/100km, drive it hard and the turbo will quickly see this figure go up.
The drive dynamics of the 2.0 TFSI quattro are polished and it is pleasantly composed on the road. The all-wheel drive system adds a reassuring edge to handling, especially around corners or in the wet, and helps to convey a sense of sure-footedness like few other cars in its class. The ride is as you would expect from a quality prestige German-made car, and it takes most road conditions in its stride. In fact, it’s so quiet inside the cabin that the noise of the smooth 4-cylinder engine working under the bonnet is barely audible, except for when it really gets some stick above the 4000rpm range.
Interior comforts
The A5 Coupé is a superlatively comfortable car to drive, and the interior features a simple kind of elegance which fares well against class competitors such as Mercedes-Benz’s C250 Coupé Sport and BMW’s 435i.
From the leather interior with Milano leather trim and multifunction sports wheel with paddles, through to the tri-zone climate control (driver, front passenger and rear) and a crisp 7 inch colour driver information display (with hard drive navigation, two SDHC card readers and 20GB music storage as standard), both driver and passengers are treated with the creature comforts expected of the class. There’s also a good degree of everyday practicality; the rear hatch, for example, swings up automatically when unlatched, while the rear seatbacks can be folded down separately.
Pretty much everything is electric – even the process of entry and starting the car is full keyless. In the manual model, the driver information system even includes a shift indicator that alerts the driver when to change gears to optimise fuel consumption. The options are not exactly cheap, but some are worth getting, including heated front seats ($800), adaptive headlights ($900) as well as an anti-theft alarm ($1050).
Exterior appeal
Audi’s A5 does have a visually pleasing and modern appeal. With a sweeping roof line and downward-sloping lines along the front of the car, the A5 Coupé plays with the proportions of classic coupés. The redesigned rear lights bring the side and rear of the car together nicely, while the shoulder line passes through them and ends in a clear bumper edge.
Audi was one of the first manufacturers to introduce LED daytime running light strips up front (like nice car eyelashes, something which has become a signature for Audi), and the Coupé lights up the surrounding landscape well with xenon lamps and front and rear fog lights. Throw in a multitude of rich colour options and attractive tyre/wheel combinations between 18 and 20 inches in size, and you have a car that both delivers and looks the goods.
