Audi's elegant A5 coupe has been boosted with the the addition of the VW Group's award-winning 2.0 TFSI engine linked to quattro all wheel drive.The A5, which has many style hints similar to the Audi R8 super car, offers the 155kW engine with two transmission variants, a six speed manual for under $80,000 and a seven speed S-Tronic dual-clutch option at $83,500.
These now form the `entry' level for the A5 with 3.0 litre diesel and 3.2 litre FSI variants all in the $94,500 to $98,500 bracket. The S-Tronic transmission has been adapted from front wheel drive use where it was found in Audi TT and A3. It is also utilised in the sporty A4, A5 and recently launched Q5 SUV.
The four-times engine-of-the-year winner is a surefire hit in the A5. It pumps out 350Nm of torque and combined with the road-hugging suspension and quattro all wheel drive ensures the A5 goes as well as it looks. What will win favour with buyers is the A5's economy: Audi claim 7.5 litres/100km. That's from a car that can deliver 0-100 km/h in just 6.5 seconds. The engine combines direct fuel injection and turbocharging with Audi's new valvelift system.
This varies valve lift on the exhaust valves for increased power output and best possible fuel economy.
The launch was conducted on hilly, twisting roads in Sydney's Hawkesbury River region. We had the opportunity to drive both gearbox variants. Interestingly, Audi claims the seven-speed S-Tronic, with a shift time of .2 of a second, is slightly more economical than the manual, a rarity in automotive terms. We found no evidence of any turbo-lag with either transmission.
The A5 is a tar-hugger that corners flatly at speed. The steering is light but has good road feel, and the S-Tronic transmission responsive while barreling out of tight corners. Such is the terrain we did not get the six speed manual any higher than fourth gear, but sufficient to say the do-it-yourself shifter is well mated to the engine, with slick changes and a light clutch pedal supplying manual `drivers' with a significant sporty experience.
The self-locking centre differential controls torque distribution with 40 per cent going to the front and 60 per cent to the rear.
But, it can deliver as much as 85 per cent to the back end. The new A5 engine is well timed, in the current economic climate. When the A5 was launched in December 2007 it did so with the 3.2 FSI multitronic at $95,300. This was followed by the 3.2 FSI quattro tiptronic ($98,500) in June 2008 and the diesel variant, the 3.0 TDI quattro tiptronic ($94,500) in December 2008.
With the new variants more than $10,000 under other A5 variants, it should see the A5 continue its sales success. To date the segment is 6 per cent down in the current economic climate, but A5 is 49 per cent up.
“Bringing a more affordable four cylinder engine to the market in the A5 is an important move for us,” said John Roberts, Audi Australia's product planning manager.
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