Can you tell this is the all-new Audi S5 Sportback?
Five-door A5 coupe-saloon thingy arrives for Paris show. TG more interested in 345hp S5 version
Attention, family folk with an irrational phobia to boxy-shaped fast cars: Audi’s finished your alternative to the rather good S4 Avant. It’s the S5 Sportback, the five-door, hatchback version of Audi’s two-door coupe.
And no, it’s not the most outlandish styling update ever to grace a motor show spotlight. The new A5 and S5 are very deja-vu in appearance, save for sharper lines down the side, headlights that have slightly invaded the bonnet and a grille big enough to shame an Australian beach party. Would you expect anything else?
Audi’s claiming an 85kg weight saving versus the original A5 Sportback, and has carved out a touch more cabin space: 17mm more cabin length, 11mm extra for your shoulders and a 24mm kneeroom extension. Oddly, the original A5 Sportback actually had minutely more headroom than the old A4 saloon, in fact. So the A4 was the less practical, more niche one. Weird.
The Sportback keeps the S5 coupe’s 345bhp, 369lb ft turbocharged V6, equipped as standard with an eight-speed automatic gearbox and all-wheel drive. Claimed performance is 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds and 155mph all out – identical numbers to the sleeker two-door S5. And you’re tugging along a 480-litre boot, don’t forget.
The S5 Sportback’s likely to set you back an amount starting with a four, with the cheaper 2.0-litre petrol and diesel A5 versions snaring buyers from the BMW 4-Series Gran Coupe and Jaguar XE lower down the ranks. Just remember to point out to the neighbours you’ve bought the brand-new one.
Top Gear
Newsletter
Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox.
Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Trending this week
- Car Review
- Electric