Review of the new Audi A5 Sportback 2.0 TDI

Hatchbacks used to be the preserve of the mainstream car market with the posh premium brands preferring to offer either saloons or full-blown estate cars for people seeking more practicality. These days, the humble tailgate is firmly in vogue, so much so that Audi has fitted one to its sleek A5 coupe to create the A5 Sportback.

One day soon, we'll all just have to give up trying to classify cars. It's great to be able to walk into a showroom or search the internet knowing that you want to buy a supermini, a family hatchback or a roadster but those days could be coming to an end. The culprit is the niche market. It's become relatively inexpensive for manufacturers to produce numerous vehicles based on the same platform, giving buyers an unprecedented degree of choice between assorted niche products and blurring the boundaries between established market sectors in the process.

Audi is a leading culprit, its model range seemingly expanding on a weekly basis. The German marque can now offer you an A4 saloon, A4 estate or an SUV-style A4 Allroad as well as an A5 coupe, A5 cabriolet or the A5 Sportback featured here. All are roughly equivalent in size and share numerous components, so choosing between them can present problems.

The engine range offered in the Sportback will present no surprises to anyone familiar with the A4 or A5 model ranges. The most popular unit is likely to be the one we're looking at here, the 168bhp 2.0 TDI, offered either with or without quattro 4WD. Either way, you get a hefty 350Nm of torque. This unit sits below 2.7 and 3.0TDI alternatives at the pricier end of the range.

Drive this latest 2.0 TDI model back to back with, say, an old direct injection A4 2.0 TDI and the greater pulling power is immediately apparent, as is this powerplant's superior refinement thanks to the more modern common rail technology used. Common-rail injection engines fire fuel into each cylinder from a shared (common) pipe (rail). The pipe is pressurised at 1,800bar which allows extremely fine atomisation of the fuel and a highly efficient combustion process. The injectors in Audi's TDI unit are capable of injecting fuel up to five times per combustion cycle at precisely controlled quantities so exactly the right amount of fuel is burned to optimise performance. If you're wondering how this affects you as the driver, it means a very smooth delivery of power without the sudden lunge of torque that can afflict the less sophisticated oil-burners.

"Is there a gap in the market for a compact executive hatchback? Audi thinks so and has driven its A5 Sportback into it."

The engine choice is only one of the determining factors where the A5 Sportback driving experience is concerned. The car features Audi's latest ESP stability control system incorporating an electronic differential lock that mimics the action of a mechanical limited slip differential for enhanced steering response and traction out of corners. The six-cylinder engines can also be ordered with Audi's drive select system that groups different settings for throttle response, gear shifts and steering into three modes selectable by the driver. The adaptive shock absorbers can also be governed in this way if specified.

Imagine what an A4 saloon might look like if it had a hatchback, was slightly wider and lower and had an A5 coupe nose and you're pretty much picturing this Sportback model. To be fair, you wouldn't necessarily immediately guess its A4 ancestry from a casual glance. This design, though just 8mm longer, is a significant 26mm wider and has the A5 coupe model's wavy waistline and frameless doors. The extra width and slightly longer wheelbase ought to create cabin space somewhere between Audi's A4 and A6 saloons but if it does, you don't notice thanks to the designers' decision to offer only two seats at the back, an irritation for family users. Still, legroom at the back is quite adequate and, contrary to expectations, rear headroom isn't too compromised by the sloping coupe-style roof.

Luggage space in the long, flat loading bay is pretty much the same as you'd get in an A4 saloon or Avant estate, 480 litres to be exact, which you can extend to 980 litres by lowering the split-folding rear seat backs. A neat touch is the 70/30 split luggage cover, the larger part permanently attached to the tailgate so that it lifts out of the way when the hatch is raised. The remaining 30% is a small, hinged shelf which offers easy access to the boot space. On the negative side, the tailgate opens from quite a high loading lip, does without a rear wiper and lifts so high that it might be difficult for shorter owners to lower.

Audi has employed its latest engines in the A5 Sportback. That means variable valve timing and lift control for the petrol units and common-rail fuel injection for the diesels. All the oil-burning units also benefit from a particulate filter to cut down on harmful emissions and the 2.0-litre TDI engine is mated to Audi's start/stop system which can turn off the engine when the vehicle is stationary.

The Ingolstadt brand is narrowing the cost of ownership gap to rivals BMW but hasn't quite got there yet. Still, the 54.3mpg that the 2.0-litre TDI version returns on the combined cycle is creditable, as is its 137g/km CO2 reading. Go instead for the 2.0 TFSI petrol and the fuel and CO2 figures drop to 43.5mpg and 152g/km. Residual values are class-leading, courtesy of this model's relative rarity on UK roads. It'll certainly hold its value better than an Audi A4.

Is there a gap in the market for a compact executive hatchback? Audi thinks so and has driven its A5 Sportback into it. The premise of a car with the sleek looks of the A5 coupe married to A4 Avant practicality would certainly appear to make sense but is Audi merely pinching customers from its own products? Time will tell.

TOP 5 A5 DEALS

The results below show the top A5 deals on buyacar

Audi A5 2.0 TDI 5dr Diesel Sportback
Price £24,899 Read A5 Reviews	Save £1,781
Audi A5 2.0 TDI SE 5dr Diesel Sportback
Price £26,495 Read A5 Reviews	Save £1,920
Audi A5 2.0 TDI S Line 5dr Diesel Sportback
Price £28,565 Read A5 Reviews	Save £2,100
Audi A5 2.0 TDI Quattro 5dr Diesel Sportback
Price £26,319 Read A5 Reviews	Save £1,871
Audi A5 2.0 TDI Quattro SE 5dr Diesel Sportback
Price £27,916 Read A5 Reviews	Save £2,009
VIEW MORE DISCOUNT A5 DEALS