Audi A5 2.0T FSI Sport STronic
Latin and I never really gelled at school. I thought it was a pretty useless language and, to borrow a line from a film whose name I have long since forgotten, “I couldn’t speak to a dead Roman even if I wanted to…”
Apart from Amo, Amas, Amat and Veni, Vidi, Vici, there is little from those endlessly boring school classes that remains – yet, oddly enough, both memory fragments are particularly valid in this impression of the Audi A5.
Certainly, in the South African market, Audi still does not quite have the bonnet badge cred of its German counterparts but in so many ways, it epitomises the second of those Latin words, having come, seen and conquered.
The evolution of the Audi range of sedans, hatches and SUV’s has been a carefully planned staging to respond to buyer preferences and changing trends without appearing to be chasing the market in what its major rivals were up to.
Out of this came the original A5 – a car that, in 2007, stood the B-segment on its head with a left-of-field design.
Ten years later, comes the second generation – now with a new, honed look that is athletic, sporty and elegant, while its design goes hand-in-hand with sophisticated aerodynamics. Under the skin, the Audi A5 impresses with an all-new chassis, innovative infotainment features and driver assistance systems.
The new Audi A5 Coupé sports a fresh and modern look. It is nevertheless true to its DNA with the sporty – the wave-shaped shoulder line that characterised the previous model now given a 3D look.
The proportions remain balanced with the long engine hood, stretched wheelbase and short overhangs hinting at the sportiness of the A5 Coupé. The sculpted single frame grille is significantly flatter and wider than in the previous model.
The four-cylinder 2.0T FSI engine produces 140 kW and 320 Nm of torque, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.7 seconds. This engine has a claimed combined fuel consumption of 5,1 l/100 km, while being exempt from CO2 tax with an emissions figure of 117 g/km.
Real world testing moved that claimed figure to around 6,6 l/100 km/h and that was only through exercising some restraint – I can think of no earthly reason actually to want to drive this car anything less than vigorously.
The all-new chassis offers comfort combined with a high degree of agility. The A5 thus handles narrow, winding mountain roads and long trips with equal aplomb – helped considerably the slick seven-speed STronic gearbox.
Left to its own devices, it starts to grow an intuitive feel for driver habits and responds swiftly to those inputs to the throttle and brakes. For those who want to, manual control is there for the taking.
I, however, found the response time quick enough not to need the manual option for most levels of driving – even doing the adrenalin injection thing through some superlative twisties.
The electromechanical power steering is also a new development from Audi. It adapts according to the vehicle’s current speed and provides highly precise road feedback. Optionally available is the dynamic steering, which varies its gear ratio depending on the speed and steering angle.
On the new car, engineers were able to trim the curb weight by as much as 60 kilograms and the body is the lightest in the competitive field. With a drag coefficient of 0,25, the A5 Coupé is also the segment leader with respect to aerodynamics.
The increased dimensions and longer wheelbase mean more space for driver and passengers, while the luggage compartment offers a volume of 465 litres, 10 litres more than with the previous model. The rear seat has a 40:20:40 split and can be easily folded forward using levers in the luggage compartment. Audi also offers the two-door coupé with optional gesture control for opening the luggage compartment lid via a foot motion. The optional trailer hitch is electrically released at the press of a button.
Our test car was fitted with the optional Audi virtual cockpit, a 12,3-inch TFT display with a resolution of 1,440 x 540 pixels. Together with the MMI navigation plus including 8,3-inch monitor on the centre console, it forms the central information unit.
The whole MMI control logic is similar to that of a smartphone, including the intelligent free text search function. The new, more natural voice control system can recognize input made using everyday language.
Choosing MMI navigation plus automatically gets the hardware module Audi connect, which allows the vehicle to be a Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 8 devices, while also accessing Google Earth Navigation and Google Street View.
Standard on the 2.0T FSI 140 kW are items such 17 inch alloy wheels, space-saving spare wheel, Leather steering wheel in 3-spoke design with multifunction plus, Audi drive select, ISOFIX child seat mounting anchorage point for outer rear seats, full size air bags with front passenger air bag deactivation, side air bags at front and head air bag system, Xenon plus headlights and LED rear lights, cruise control, headlight washers, Automatic air-conditioning, driver information system with colour display, Audi sound system and leather/artificial leather combination.
A suitably comprehensive package and the price of our unit as tested came to R795 470.
