Don’t take this achievement lightly, as Audi has worked overtime lately to get out from under the shadow cast by the juggernauts at BMW. The all new A5 and high-powered S5 succeeded because they’re touring coupés in the best sense of the term: nearly perfecting that difficult balance between elegance and performance.
The two-door, four-seaters wear understated styling based on 2003’s Nuvolari quattro concept car, highlighted by that single-frame grille, R8-inspired LED daytime running lights, a trapezoidal C-pillar and practical touches like the wind tunnel-tuned spoilers on the taillights.
Inside, the A5/S5 show Audi’s typically superb build quality and standard amenities like a new MMI operating system, automatic three-zone climate control, a 10-speaker stereo, tilt and telescopic steering and an automatically opening trunk.
Riding on all-new running gear with standard quattro AWD, the A5 is powered by a new 265-hp 3.2-litre FSI V6 good for zero to 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds. The high-performance S5, with its free-revving 354 hp V8, hits the century mark a full second quicker. Six-speed manual or automatic gearboxes are offered on both models.
Current Issue
September-October
Audi A5/S5
User Comments
