The Audi A5 Sportback, the A5 Coupé and the A5 Cabriolet now feature a new, tauter look and the cutting-edge MMI touch operating concept. Mild hybrid technology offers greater comfort while also reducing fuel consumption. The 3.0 TDI engine with electric powered compressor and 48-volt main electrical system in the updated Audi S5 Sportback
Sporty look: the exterior design
Elements of the new design language from the full-size class characterize the sporty aesthetics of the updated Audi A5. Even the first generation from 2007 fascinated with its sporty and harmonious body line. The second generation from 2016 added new, sharper accents. Now Audi has significantly revised the exterior, with the front end, in particular, exuding an even more powerful resolve. The Singleframe with the honeycomb grille is flatter and somewhat wider. Ventilation slits above the grille are reminiscent of the classic Audi Sport quattro from 1984. A bold blade forms the lower edge of the bumper, which features larger air inlets. A new sill provides for a slimmer appearance when viewed from the side; a diffuser insert with trapezoidal tailpipes makes the back of the car look wider.
All body and engine variants in the A5 product line roll off the assembly line with LED headlights as standard equipment. Audi offers Matrix LED headlights with LED rear lights featuring dynamic turn signals as an optional upgrade. Customers opting for the top end get Matrix LED headlights including Audi laser light, LED rear lights with dynamic turn signals and dynamic light sequencing. The equipment line concept is also new. Besides the basic variant, the exterior is now available in two optional lines: advanced and S line. The S models and the A5 Cabriolet also come with their own unique look. The exterior lines are now freely combinable with the S line and design selection interior packages. Customers can choose from 12 paint finishes, including the new shade district green, metallic.
Horizontal lines dominate the interior of the A5 models. That large MMI touch display, the control center of the new operating system, is the focal point of the instrument panel and angled slightly toward the driver. The multicolor contour/ambient lighting package adds highlights in the dark. It is standard with the design selection equipment line.
Groundbreaking: connectivity
With its new MMI touch system, the highly connected Audi A5 offers a user experience similar to a contemporary smartphone. A 10.1-inch touch display with acoustic feedback replaces the rotary pushbutton used in previous models. The graphics are clean and reduced; the menu structure reflects the expectations of the user. The MMI search is based on free text input and returns relevant hits very rapidly. Natural-language voice control understands many formulations from everyday speech. The top of the line is the MMI navigation plus infotainment control center.
New functions also make navigation intelligent and intuitive. For example, it suggests routes based on routes previously driven. Audi connect and Audi connect plus comprise a multitude of online services, including online traffic sign and hazard information, on-street parking and the Car-to-X service traffic light information, which Audi launched in Ingolstadt this July. It connects the car to the city’s central computer that controls the traffic lights. The myAudi app connects the car with the customer’s smartphone. The standard personalization allows the creation of as many as seven different user profiles for storing personal settings and preferences. The optional digital Audi connect key turns an Android smartphone into a vehicle key that can unlock the doors and start the engine.
The updated Audi A5 uses a new main unit with increased computing power – the third-generation modular infotainment platform (MIB 3). It works together with equally new Communication box, which handles such things as telephony and the Audi connect services. The Audi A5 comes standard with a Wi-Fi hotspot. The driver controls the full-HD, 12.3-inch display (1,920 x 720 pixels) of the Audi virtual cockpit plus via the multifunction steering wheel and can choose between three views. This is complemented by a MMI search that projects important information into the driver’s direct field of view.
A major new addition to the A5 product line is functions on demand. Customers can now use the myAudi app to add three functions online at any time after purchasing their car: Audi navigation MMI plus, DAB+ digital radio and the Audi smartphone interface. They can choose between three terms: one month, one year, or unlimited. The Audi phone box and the Bang & Olufsen Premium Sound System with 3D sound round out the range in the Audi A5.
Audi offers numerous driver assist systems for the updated A5 models, several of them as standard equipment. In Germany, the optional systems have been bundled into the “Drive” and “Park” packages.
Powerful, sophisticated, efficient: the drive system
The updated Audi A5 models (combined fuel consumption in l/100 km*: 5.4–3.7 (43.6–63.6 US mpg); combined CO2emissions in g/km*: 143–98 (230.1–157.7 g/mi)) are available in Europe with an output range from 120 kW (163 hp). This includes the S models with their powerful V6 engines. The engines satisfy the limits of the Euro 6d-temp emissions standard.
At market introduction, four A5 engine variants will be equipped with a mild hybrid system (MHEV). A belt alternator starter, which is connected to the crankshaft, recovers energy during deceleration and stores this in a compact lithium-ion battery. With the four-cylinder engines, the MHEV system is integrated into the 12-volt electrical system and into a new 48-volt main electrical system in the S TDI models. With the S5 TDI, for example, Audi measurements show that this electrification can reduce fuel consumption in everyday operation by up to 0.4 liters per 100 kilometers by means of recuperation or shutting down the engine when the driver lifts off of the accelerator. The start-stop range begins at an unusually high speed; restarts are fast and smooth.
All A5 models are equipped with an automatic transmission, either a seven-speed S tronic or an eight-speed tiptronic. quattro drive is available as an option for the mid-range engine variants and comes standard with the three most powerful ones.
Cultivated sportiness: the suspension
The suspension harmonizes perfectly with the cultivated sportiness that all A5 models convey. The standard tuning is sporty, yet comfortable. A tauter sport suspension and a suspension with controlled damping are available as options. The latter is integrated into the Audi drive select dynamic handling system, which comes as standard in all models with at least 140 kW. The steering, automatic transmission and engine management are likewise integrated into Audi drive select. Drivers can choose between five Audi drive select profiles to determine how these components work together. Mounted behind the large wheels – up to 20 inches in diameter – are powerful brakes.
An eight-speed tiptronic and permanent quattro all-wheel drive transfer the power in the S5 Sportback and S5 Coupé. A taut S sport suspension is standard; damper control is optional. Inside and out, a host of design details point to the unique position of the S TDI models – from the four round exhaust tailpipes to the S mode in the optional Audi virtual cockpit.
Audi offers the S5 Coupé and the S5 Sportback with the 3.0-liter TFSI in markets outside Europe.
