- New Audi A5 revealed - available to order in August this year.
- Will replace the outgoing A4 in Audi's range.
- Powerful S5 variants will remain in both Saloon and Avant estate guises.
- Updated A5 is more muscular than ever.
There’s historic news for Audi fans - because the A4 as we know it is being discontinued and replaced by this, an all-new A5.
Confused? Let us try and explain.
Audi is restructuring its entire model range so that even numbers are reserved for fully-electric models - like the Q4 e-tron or Q6 e-tron - while odd numbers will go to cars with traditional combustion engines, like the A3 or A5.
That means that the A4 is no longer allowed to wear that ‘4’ badge because it’s not packing a battery electric powertrain.
And so this, the Audi A5, will step in to replace the A4 as it’s modern, evolved and grown-up sibling.
An Audi spokesperson explains: “With the debut of the latest generation, the Audi A4, a long-standing bestseller, will be called the Audi A5 and will be produced in Neckarsulm (Germany).”
Like the existing Audi A4, the new Audi A5 will be available as either a Saloon or Avant estate, and as either the regular A5 or more powerful S5.
In actual fact, the new A5 ‘Saloon’ has a hatchback rear, keeping it more in line with the existing Audi A5 Sportback, and therefore making it more practical.
What will happen to the current A5 two-door coupe? It’s going the way of the Dodo.
Another big take home here is that the reimagined A5 looks very different to both the existing A4 or A5.
There’s a long wheelbase, more powerful shoulders, and a low, sporty profile as well as a flatter front grille with a three-dimensional honeycomb structure.
The cabin of the A5 features lots of kit lovingly borrowed from the electric Q6 e-tron. There’s a twin-screen panoramic curved display, head up display, and an optional 10.9 inch screen for front passengers.
When it comes to engines, you’re spoilt for choice, and many of them are supported by Audi’s new ‘MHEV plus’, which is a mild-hybrid system that uses two electric motors - a belt-driven starter generator on the engine and a drivetrain generator attached to the gearbox - to boost both power and efficiency while lowering CO2 emissions.
The entry-level engine is a 2.0-litre petrol TFSI with 150 PS while there’s also a more powerful 204 PS variant.
The base diesel engine - with MHEV Plus tech - delivers 204 PS and 400 Nm of torque and is available with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel ‘quattro ultra’.
And then there’s the S5, powered by a 3.0-litre petrol V6 chucking out 368 PS and which is also packing a quattro sport differential with torque vectoring in combination with an adjustable all-wheel drive clutch which is ‘tuned for lateral dynamics at the highest level’, says Audi.
We don’t yet know the performance stats of either the S5 Saloon or S5 Avant, but you can expect it to accelerate from 0-62 mph in less than five seconds.
Besides the traditional combustion engines and mild-hybrids, Audi will also launch a plug-in hybrid version of the rejuvenated A5 next year with an electric range of around 63 miles.
Then there’s the revised suspension. Audi says the new A5 offers more precise steering and handling while adaptive dampers come as standard on the S5 models.
The Audi A5 and Audi S5 will be available to order from August 13 when full UK pricing and specification will also be announced.
Watch this space.
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