Audi has unveiled a new A5 saloon and estate range which isn’t a direct replacement for the A5 Sportback and A5 Coupé currently on sale. Instead, this new range will replace the A4, as Audi looks to slim down its ICE-powered options.
This range revision comes as the German marque looks to give its petrol-powered cars odd line-up numbers, while battery-powered EVs take the even ones. This should mean that we will eventually get an electric A4 range.
Built on new foundations – and not the old A4 platform that Audi has used for nearly two decades – the new A5 will be available with pure-petrol and petrol or diesel mild-hybrid powertrains in a range that includes standard and sportier ‘S5’ saloon and ‘Avant’ estate models.
Compared to the Current A4, the new saloon and estate has been given some notable exterior design changes. The front grille is wider and the new OLED headlights narrower – lights that adopt a similar light signature to that of brand’s electric ‘e-tron’ models, and can display eight different patterns and have a Dynamic mode that continually changes the pattern.
Audi has given the car slightly thicker wheel arches and the A4’s false exhaust tips have been replaced due to customer feedback. The A5’s new ‘Premium Platform Combustion’ foundations make this a bigger car than the A4, adding seven centimetres between the front and back wheels, and around a centimetre in width too, which increases interior space.
Like the new Q6 e-tron SUV, a large curved display sprawls across the dashboard, combining a 12-inch digital instrument cluster and a 15-inch infotainment touchscreen. ‘Edition 1’ models also come with another 11-inch media display on the passenger side.
Finally, lets talk about engines. The range begins with a 150hp 2.0-litre petrol engine, which will also be available with 48 volts of added mild-hybrid power, which boosts output to 204hp. There is also a 204hp 2.0-litre mild-hybrid diesel. All are paired with an automatic gearbox and Audi notes that mild-hybrid models offer a reduced reaction time on start up. Both front-wheel drive and ‘quattro ultra’ all-wheel drive models will be available.
The top-spec ‘S5’ is instead powered by a 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine which has the same mild-hybrid boost. Output stands at 362hp – 20hp more than the previous S4’s diesel V6.
That sums up what we know so far about the new A5. More details are on the way in the coming months as we close in on the family car’s UK arrival, including pricing and more trim specification details, and Audi adds that a plug-in hybrid powertrain with an electric-only range of 62 miles will follow next year.
