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The Audi A5 Sportback 3.0 TDI
- 04/02/2011 11:24 - Bladdie good bakkie
- 19/01/2011 12:03 - From Paris with love
- 12/11/2010 10:36 - Diesel dream
- 15/10/2010 12:26 - Ola perfection!
- 10/09/2010 10:01 - A slick soft top
- 04/06/2010 11:52 - Bellissima!
- 12/05/2010 09:43 - Dynamite
- 08/04/2010 12:33 - Out-standing
- 08/03/2010 12:19 - Ja, bitte!
- 08/03/2010 09:08 - Top Gear to South Africa
The A5 range has comprised a two-door coupé and droptop adjunct to the A4 sedan and wagon range. But now we have the A5 Sportback – a four-door, four-seat coupé version of the A4, but sleeker and even more elegant than the handsome sedan.
It weighs less than the long-running A4 sedan, but is longer, wider and lower and only two millimetres longer in the wheelbase.
Audi reckons that Sportback buyers will be 75% fleet who wished they could get an A5 Coupé, but need four doors. For this reason, 75% of those fleet sales are likely to be diesel powered, with the majority opting for the 2.0-litre TDI. However, if you are higher up the corporate ladder, you could stretch to the 3.0-litre TDI that I have just driven.
Audi has a knack with interiors. They are not the most visually exciting, but the quality of every surface you run your fingers across in the cabin is first class. Be it plastic, leather, metal or wood, Audi does this better than anyone else.
The Sportback has a curvy roof, so rear headroom is compromised, but sub-six-footers will fit just fine. The 480-litre boot will not lug loads as an A4 Avant does, but as it is accessed by a big hatch, it is impressively practical.
Audi’s 3.0 TDI engine is a gem, pulling strongly, but remaining smooth and refined. It is so quiet at motorway speeds; the Sportback does an amazing job of disguising just how quickly you are travelling.
The particle-filtered V6 has common-rail direct-injection and a variable-geometry turbo that produces 176kW and 500Nm, the latter on tap from 1 500rpm through to 3 000rpm. It gets the Sportback up and running a touch quicker than the other A5 and A4 variants with the same powerplant, but all reach 100km/h in about six seconds, which is good going regardless of the fuel being used.
There is no doubt about it: the Audi A5 Sportback is a superbly packaged car. Admirers will see the advantages immediately.
The fit and finish is immaculate throughout, in a way that only Audi currently seems able to achieve. Combine that with the looks that really make you proud to hold the keys – or black electronic blob – and the Audi dealers should not have to get out of bed in the morning to sell this car. ▲
Retail price is R540 500
Robbie Stammers
