2018 Audi A5 Sportback 2.0t Premium Quattro
2018 Audi A5 Sportback Test Drive Review: A Sedan In Wolf's Habiliment
past Gabe Beita Kiser
Pulling out of airport parking under street lamps that shower Phoenix streets in dim yellow light so pilots can more easily see the runway from the skies, I drove towards the empty intersection ahead and came to a end. That's when the heads-upwards display beamed a timer onto the windshield and began counting down the "fourth dimension-to-green." Xiii seconds, then v, and so zero. And then the blood-red light turned dark-green and I took off towards Interstate x where I could contemplate the technology and physical proportions of the 2018 A5 Sportback I was driving. 1 tin argue that the term "four-door coupe" debuted with the 2004 Mercedes CLS and turned ugly (literally) upon the 2010 release of the outset-gen Porsche Panamera. But that was then. Now, four-door coupes are beautiful once again and Audi, along with the balance of Deutschland'south Big Three, tin can't seem to stop itself from giving its sedans the coupe makeover.
Is the 2018 Audi A5 a proficient motorcar?
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2018 Audi A5 Sportback ii.0T Premium Plus quattro
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2018 Audi A5 Sportback 2.0T Premium Plus quattro
2018 Audi A5 Sportback 2.0T Premium Plus quattro
2018 Audi A5 Sportback Models
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Exterior Blueprint: Spicy, Non Offensive
In Audispeak, "Sportback" refers to just that-a sedan with a coupe's roofline and a fastback rear terminate that doubles as the hatch to a large cargo bay. Following the precedence set by the A7, the A5 Sportback features a front end end that vies for attention with a large chrome-colored grille featuring an octagonal border and horizontal slats. To designers, the long hood was just a larger sail where creases could exist placed to create a muscular look that backs up the aggression in the headlights's gaze. The midsection is the most talked about area, with the roof starting its gradual descent towards the modest fastback trunk shelf just backside the front end seats. The rear profile looks similar to the A4 save for the A5 badges while widened rear haunches and a loftier beltline on the sides reinforce the notion that the A5 Sportback is a sports car that just happens to come up with two actress doors.
Engine, Performance & MPG
Like the A5, the A5 Sportback's only available powerplant is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-iv engine making 252 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque. Power is sent to all four wheels via the quattro AWD organization and is washed through a 7-speed automatic transmission on the fashion there. Combined, the engine and transmission can launch the Sportback from 0-60 mph in v.four-seconds earlier topping out at 129 mph. Even though the engine is a happy revver, though not wholeheartedly a willing one, nailing the throttle and searching for redline is a pointless act since full torque is available throughout much of the rev band.
Under the care of saner drivers, the A5 Sportback tin deliver a combined 27 mpg (24/34 metropolis/highway) cheers in part to an energy recuperation organisation that uses the alternator to store energy and later release information technology, effectively turning the vehicle into a mild (like ultra-mild) hybrid.
Interior Design & Features
For the most part, Audis have differed from the competition by being the most cold, calculated, and archetypically German cars in their segments. That ethos is already made clear past the design of the torso, but it's far more than pronounced within the motel. With a lighter-than-it-sounds shade of Rock Grey coating the interior and contrasting the Scuba Blue Metal paint job of the exterior, the insides of the A5 Sportback are beautiful, ergonomic to an almost unthinkable degree, and slightly common cold on the eyes. A unlike interior color scheme would take helped the cabin feel as warm as a hearth during a freak night of rare Southern Arizona snow, but at least the heated steering wheel, heated seats in the front and rear, and ambient interior lighting helped the neutral interior colour scheme experience more welcoming. Looks aside, the design of the A5 Sportback'due south interior stands out due to how sensical information technology is.
No button or switch is nowadays if it doesn't have a reason to be and what is at that place has been planned for-the location and the context of a given button'south office e'er seems to fit in with the surrounding controls. So there are the toys that really popular. Most notable among them is Audi's virtual cockpit, essentially a 12.3-inch brandish that replaces the gauge cluster. Information technology'due south every bit cool as it is useful and integrates well with the MMI infotainment system, which could very well be the industry benchmark on its own.
Controls aside, occupants pay a infinite penalization for the low roofline, but those using the Sportback as their main commuter or every bit a lease while the kids are still small won't accept much to worry about. Sure, the soul of the A5 is one that shines with the cutthroat effectiveness of its technology and its logic-get-go design rather than with warmth of its the graphic symbol, but what Audi has washed is to pull off a small phenomenon past making such a stylish design so utile.
Dimensions & Cargo Space: The Practical Pick
Carrying checked bags full of Christmas presents abode from the airport, I was pleasantly surprised to open the motorized hatch to find 21.8 cubic feet of storage space greeting the material incarnation of my honey of family unit. Fold the rear seats downwardly and that number jumps to 35 cubic anxiety. Non and so bad for a city commuter, but the situation isn't as pretty northward of the storage compartment.
While the Sportback's 35.1-inches of rear legroom is more than the BMW 4 Serial Gran Coupe's, it notwithstanding feels cramped at the rear given that there's only 37-inches of headroom. Beauty is pain though, and in this instance, it's likewise performance. Continuing 54.6-inches high, 79.9-inches wide (including mirrors), and 186.3-inches long (with 111.two-inches of that length going to the wheelbase), the A5 Sportback has just the right footprint to coax a shine and planted ride out of the chassis at any speed.
Driving Impressions
If in that location's a distinguishable characteristic in a auto that can make or break whether it's perceived as luxurious, it's whether or not it tin can convey the feeling of existence a sliding hockey puck guided past telepathy. Luckily, that'southward how the A5 Sportback's feels. Make no mistake, it tin pull tightly calculated corners with quattro's help, and spit out surprising 1000-force despite a lite and numb steering wheel that could use a pilus of extra on-middle feeling. But in my hands, it glided away from left turn lanes and plant itself on the side by side Arizona road with minimal endeavor every bit if it were being gently guided where I wanted it to become while resting on a layer of water ice slick. Though the S Line sport parcel loaded onto this tester meant the ride got bumpy when the road roughened, the A5 generally strikes a good balance between feeling sporty but comfy.
It can even encourage naughty behavior past promoting more confidence in a driver than a Tony Robbins seminar can instill in gullible people. Turn the cycle at speed and the A5 hunkers its outer shoulder into the corner, exhibiting mild body roll but mainly turning steering input into lateral Gs. Put your foot down and you lot'll learn the engine and transmission work together nearly seamlessly, shifting imperceptibly and rarely finding themselves in the wrong gear upon corner get out to let y'all know they're two divide pieces of hardware.
You can even take hold of the satisfying whistle of the turbo if you blast the throttle, and but a few stops will build trust in the liner brake pedal that's like shooting fish in a barrel to modulate for hard stops or gentle arrivals to the red low-cal. Despite its capacity for fun, the overall gist of the A5 Sportback is that of a highly refined machine with hints of sports auto accenting its light, clean flavour.
Reliability & Problems
If there'south one matter Audi could have idea through a piddling better, it would be the rear seats. Not because they tin make rear-seat passengers feel cramped, simply because traveling over bumpy Arizona roads-which gain cracks and bumps as a growing population sucks its aquifer dry-jiggles the body and makes the rear seats rattle loudly. The source of the noise is ane of the clasps that holds the folding rear seats upright and has also much travel even in its locked position. And then there's the fact the MMI infotainment system got stuck displaying the backup camera's view ane cold morning and wouldn't allow me to switch to another bill of fare and use the functions for three minutes. It was a short-lived problem only along with the noisy rear seat, one that's inappreciably acceptable on a sedan/coupe costing $56,450.
Toll & Trims
1 reason the A5 Sportback I tested felt so avant-garde is because it was the fully-loaded Prestige trim, ranking ahead of the base of operations Premium trim and mid-class Premium Plus. Pricing has increased for 2019 models, meaning that replicating the trim and options for the 2018 A5 Sportback I drove on a 2019 model would cost $57,490 including destination. Moving downwardly to the base 2019 A5 Sportback will slash the price downward to $45,195 including destination, but that means going without ability folding mirrors, colour-irresolute LED interior lighting, leather accenting, a memory driver'due south seat, MMI navigation and advanced radio, the virtual cockpit gauge cluster, the full Audi Pre-Sense suite of driver aids, adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree photographic camera system, lane-proceed help, high-beam assist, a parking banana, a Bang and Olufsen sound system, and the heads-upwards display with traffic sign recognition and that genius "time-to-green" inaugural timer.
Verdict
Ane mistake many car fans make is to ding Audis for having souls that feel plainer than Mercedes, which drip with decadence, or BMWs, which cling to youth like graduated frat bros working on Wall Street. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Aye, Audi's obsessive-compulsive nature can come up beyond as too serious for some, just it brings its straight-A aspirations to playtime every bit well. By relying on the MLB platform and Volkswagen Grouping's high standards for build quality as a sail for the A5 Sportback, Audi has managed to churn out a four-door sedan that perfectly nails the big motion picture as well as the details and, in this case, makes minimal sacrifices and reaps many gains in its quest to be pretty. If the iv-door coupe is the expect you're into, it's hard to go wrong with the A5 Sportback.
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2018 Audi A5 Sportback 2.0t Premium Quattro
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