Audi A5 Sportback (2017-present)
Offering space and style, the Audi A5 Sportback is a coupe for families
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
Audi A5 Sportback 45 tfsi quattro vorsprung 5dr s tronic
Total RRP £56,825
Your quote £46,914
You Save £9,911
Where Audi's two-door A5 Coupe falls down in the practicality stakes, its A5 Sportback sibling picks up the baton, adding a pair of rear doors and more boot space to make it more appealing to families with a penchant for the sporty.
A rival to the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and the larger Mercedes CLS, the new-generation A5 Sportback offers buyers plenty of variety without going mad in its range of engines or number of trim levels.
Despite the extra two doors, the A5 Sportback retains the swooping shape and sporty appearance of a coupe, so there’s very little in the way of compromise in the style stakes. Plus the rear space is so much more usable, with enough room for adults and plenty for kids.
The sporting qualities are pretty much confined to the looks of the A5 Sportback, as it’s not as engaging to drive as, for example, the 4 Series Gran Coupe, lacking the BMW’s greater cornering precision and driver involvement. That's not to say that it feels lumbering on the road: it feels consistent and stable, steers predictably, resists leaning in corners and grips more than adequately at normal road speeds.
It also rides smoothly most surfaces thanks to its extra length, compared to the A5 Coupe – combined with the drive select system that enables the driver to change the driving mode (Comfort, Auto, Dynamic and Efficiency).
Where Audi really scores highly, however, is inside the A5 Sportback. The interior is beautifully fitted together, with high-quality materials, as well as controls and equipment that feel solid to the touch and easy to use.
The dashboard screen has one of the clearest and most intuitive menu syestems available, using a rotary dial to browse and select different options for sat-nav, radio and music. This is the least distracting way of operating the system on the move. There's Apple CarPlay and Android Auto software available, which transforms the screen with graphics that are similar to your smartphone but the display isn't a touchscreen, which some drivers may prefer.
Some of the best equipment – such as the Audi Virtual Cockpit, which displays most of the MMI system’s functions in the instrument panel in front of the driver - including a big sat-nav map - is optional. Select some of these tempting features and the price of the A5 Sportback starts to climb extremely quickly.
Resist that lure, and the A5 Sportback is a car that's easy to justify buying, with a stylish design that manages to be practical at the same time.
Last Updated
Key facts
Warranty: 36 months / 60,000 miles | Boot size: 480 litres |
Width: 1843mm | Length: 4733mm |
Height: 1386mm | Tax: From April 2017: from £140 to £500 in first year. £140 / £450 thereafter |
Best Audi A5 Deals
- Cheapest new
Audi A5 35 TFSI Sport 5dr S Tronic sportback
Your price: £27,490 - Biggest reduction
Audi A5 45 TFSI Quattro Vorsprung 5dr S Tronic sportback
RRP: £56,825Your price: £46,914Your saving: £9,911 - Cheapest finance
Audi A5 2.0 TDI Ultra SE Technik 5dr [5 Seat] diesel sportback
Your price: £12,000or £196 per month
Best Audi A5 for...
Audi A5 History
- January 2017 The Audi A5 Sportback goes on sale in Britain
Understanding Audi A5 car names
- A5
- Trim level
- SE
- Engine
- 2.0 TDI 190 PS
- Gearbox
- S tronic
- Trim level
- There are three available trim levels – SE, Sport and S line – that rise in price as additional standard equipment is fitted. There’s also a higher-performance, and more expensive, S5 Sportback variant.
- Engine
- Diesel engines are badged TDI and the petrols are identified by the letters TFSI. The size of the engine is provided in litres. Some engines are available with different levels of power, so you'll sometimes see the engine's horsepower, which is also known as PS.
- Gearbox
- There is a six-speed manual gearbox (available with the 2.0 TDI only) and two automatic transmissions. One is called S tronic and the other tiptronic, which is available on the high-performancel S5, as it can handle more power.
Audi A5 Engines
Diesel: 2.0 TDI ultra, 2.0 TDI, 3.0 TDI
Petrol: 2.0 TFSI, 3.0 TFSI
The A5 Sportback is available with a choice of five engines.
Moving from least to most powerful, we start with two diesel models, both fitted with a four-cylinder 2.0-litre TDI diesel that produce 190PS. The essential difference between the two is economy levels: the 2.0 TDI ultra returns up to 68.9mpg and emitting just 106g/km of CO2 (depending on the size of the wheels fitted), while the regular 2.0 TDI has a fuel economy figure of up to 62.8mpg and emits 117g/km of CO2 (121g/km with 18-inch wheels). Both are refined and relatively quiet (much of which can be ascribed to extensive soundproofing), with enough power on tap to make it work on all types of road.
For buyers who want to stick with a diesel, but want a little more power, there’s a six-cylinder 3.0 TDI that turns up the wick to 218PS. That extra boost is apparent on the road, so it’s not a surprise that the 0-62mph time has been trimmed by a second, to 6.4 seconds, compared to the 2.0 TDI. Fuel economy is ever-so-slightly compromised, falling to between 58,9mpg and 61.4mpg, with CO2 emissions rising to 119-124g/km (depending on trim level and wheel size).
The petrol-engined versions of the A5 Sportback have more power than the diesels. So there’s a four-cylinder 252PS 2.0 TFSI with a 6.0-second 0-62mph time and returning official fuel consumption of 44.8-47.9mpg and 136-144g/km of CO2. This variant is likely to be of interest to only a limited number of A5 Sportback buyers because of it lower efficiency: however, for such a relatively large, sporty car, which isn’t exactly short of pace, it’s not horrendously thirsty.
The range-topping S5 Sportback offers even greater performance from the 354PS 3.0-litre V6, though, with its 4.7-second 0-62mph time accompanied by an enticing soundtrack. However, it becomes less enticing when you have to stop more often at filling stations, with the official 37.7mpg unlikely to be replicated in real-world driving conditions.
Audi A5 Trims
SE, Sport, S line
There are three trim levels for the new A5 Sportback: SE, Sport and S line. There’s also a more sporty, range-topping S5 Sportback, which offers a higher level of performance model and has its own equipment specification.
Standard equipment available on the base SE trim includes 17-inch alloy wheels, Xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights, MultiMedia Interface (MMI) with 7-inch colour screen, smartphone interface, Audi drive select with three driving modes, three-zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors, leather-trimmed multifunction steering wheel and safety features such as Pre-Sense City autonomous emergency braking.
Consumers who opt for Sport models receive an enhanced MMI system that includes satellite navigation, the Audi Connect connectivity system (a subscription to which is free for the first three months), leather sports seats with electrical adjustment and lumbar support, plus LED ambient interior lighting.
Top of the regular A5 Sportback range is the S line trim, which adds larger wheels (18-inch), LED headlights and rear lights as standard, Audi’s dynamic indicators (lines of LEDs that ‘move’, lighting up from inside to outside), a sport suspension set-up that lowers the car by 20mm, plus embossed leather and Alcantara sports seats.
The tasty S5 Sportback has a few additional styling features to highlight its sporty nature, including a grille and bumpers that are unique to the S5, along with air inlets in the nose; even larger 19-inch wheels; Nappa leather sports seats; Audi’s very useful virtual cockpit, which places information right in front of the driver, in the instrument panel; brushed aluminium interior inlays; a black headlining; quattro all-wheel drive; an even more uprated MMI Navigation Plus system, with 8.3-inch screen; an S sport suspension set-up; black painted brake calipers; and full LED head- and rear lights.
Audi A5 Reliability and warranty
Audi doesn't have a market-leading reputation for reliability: in the latest Auto Express Driver Power customer satisfaction survey it was ranked 23 out of 32 car manufacturers for its cars reliability.
The A5 Sportback is backed by Audi’s standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty, which is similar to that offered by premium German rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Audi A5 Prices
Audi A5 Black Edition
35 tdi black edition 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 61.4mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £33,595
You could save up to: £7795
35 tdi black edition 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 61.4mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £34,795
You could save up to: £7990
35 tfsi black edition 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £31,032
You could save up to: £7378
35 tfsi black edition 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £32,232
You could save up to: £7573
40 tdi black edition 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £34,369
You could save up to: £7921
40 tdi black edition 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £35,569
You could save up to: £8116
40 tdi quattro black edition 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 54.3mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £36,000
You could save up to: £8135
40 tdi quattro black edition 5dr s tronic [tech]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 54.3mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £37,200
You could save up to: £8330
40 tfsi black edition 5dr
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.1mpg
- Gears manual
Starting at: £31,264
You could save up to: £7416
40 tfsi black edition 5dr [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.1mpg
- Gears manual
Starting at: £32,464
You could save up to: £7611
40 tfsi black edition 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £32,580
You could save up to: £7630
40 tfsi black edition 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £33,780
You could save up to: £7825
45 tfsi quattro black edition 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 41.5mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £37,454
You could save up to: £8371
45 tfsi quattro black edition 5dr s tronic [tech]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 41.5mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £38,654
You could save up to: £8566
Audi A5 S Line
35 tdi s line 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 61.4mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £32,004
You could save up to: £7536
35 tdi s line 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 61.4mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £33,204
You could save up to: £7731
35 tfsi s line 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £29,441
You could save up to: £7119
35 tfsi s line 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £30,641
You could save up to: £7314
40 tdi quattro s line 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 54.3mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £34,409
You could save up to: £7876
40 tdi quattro s line 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 54.3mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £35,609
You could save up to: £8071
40 tdi s line 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £32,778
You could save up to: £7662
40 tdi s line 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £33,978
You could save up to: £7857
40 tfsi s line 5dr
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.1mpg
- Gears manual
Starting at: £29,673
You could save up to: £7157
40 tfsi s line 5dr [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.1mpg
- Gears manual
Starting at: £30,873
You could save up to: £7352
40 tfsi s line 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £30,989
You could save up to: £7371
40 tfsi s line 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £32,189
You could save up to: £7566
45 tfsi quattro s line 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 41.5mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £35,863
You could save up to: £8112
45 tfsi quattro s line 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 41.5mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £37,062
You could save up to: £8308
Audi A5 Sport
35 tdi sport 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £30,482
You could save up to: £7288
35 tdi sport 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £31,681
You could save up to: £7484
35 tfsi sport 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £27,919
You could save up to: £6871
35 tfsi sport 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £29,119
You could save up to: £7066
40 tdi quattro sport 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 54.3mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £32,887
You could save up to: £7628
40 tdi quattro sport 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 54.3mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £34,087
You could save up to: £7823
40 tdi sport 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £31,256
You could save up to: £7414
40 tdi sport 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £32,455
You could save up to: £7610
40 tfsi sport 5dr
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.1mpg
- Gears manual
Starting at: £28,151
You could save up to: £6909
40 tfsi sport 5dr [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.1mpg
- Gears manual
Starting at: £29,351
You could save up to: £7104
40 tfsi sport 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £29,467
You could save up to: £7123
40 tfsi sport 5dr s tronic [tech pack]
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £30,667
You could save up to: £7318
Audi A5 Vorsprung
35 tdi vorsprung 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 61.4mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £43,055
You could save up to: £9335
35 tfsi vorsprung 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £40,492
You could save up to: £8918
40 tdi quattro vorsprung 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 54.3mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £45,460
You could save up to: £9675
40 tdi vorsprung 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel diesel
- Economy 62.8mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £43,829
You could save up to: £9461
40 tfsi vorsprung 5dr
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.1mpg
- Gears manual
Starting at: £40,724
You could save up to: £8956
40 tfsi vorsprung 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 47.9mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £42,040
You could save up to: £9170
45 tfsi quattro vorsprung 5dr s tronic
- Doors 5
- Fuel petrol
- Economy 41.5mpg
- Gears automatic
Starting at: £46,914
You could save up to: £9911
Other Editions
- Audi A5 Coupe (2007-2016)The Audi A5 Coupe is stylish and desirable - but neither the most high-tech or exciting car
- Audi A5 (2016-present)Luxury, style, comfort and a little sportiness: that's the recipe for the Audi A5 coupe