Audi A5 2.0 TFSI 2009 Review

It takes a bit of effort to get camera attention in the Nurburgring’s carparks. The famed German circuit is a weekday test track for camouflaged future cars from around the world – and thus the focus of spy snappers such as Carparrazi. And on the weekend it’s packed with recreational exotica whose owners come to stretch their limits and watch others do the same. But the long lenses hunting among the Ferraris, Porsches and other speed toys were quick to set their sights on us when we swung in with a trio of Audi A5 Sportbacks.

It was a few days prior to the car’s launch at Frankfurt Motor Show, so for the photographers it was a sneak preview of the new shape that has been developed to give the A5 a whole lot more functionality.

Joining the Coupe and Cabriolet, the A5 Sportback — actually a liftback — turns the car into a versatile four-door with enough room to toss a couple of bicycles over the top of folded rear seats. If it’s lost anything in the translation, it’s the superb dip from rear roof to swelling haunch that makes the Coupe a poor person’s R8 (in looks, if not performance). But taken by itself, the sleek tail shape of the Sportback is still beautiful, and the extra usability it offers more than makes up for the loss.

The car is a niche model that – like the A5 opening batters – will be key to Audi’s growth towards the 40 models they intend to have by 2015, the Australian office’s spokesperson Anna Burgdorf says.

“But it’s difficult to predict what number we’ll sell. It wouldn’t be definitive at this stage because it’s new … it’s a completely new car. The Coupe is about 600 per year, so it will be a little bit ‘suck it and see’ but the Sportback will probably sell similar numbers. The A5 Coupe in the first place was similar because it was a completely new model line.”

Drivetrains

The Sportback will launch with six engines overseas, and three more by the middle of next year — including an entry-level model for the A5 range — but initially arrive in Australia with just two, both turbocharged and mated to the S-tronic seven-speed sequential transmissions with paddle shifts and fitted with the all-paw quattro drive.

The class-winning turbocharged 2.0-litre TFSI petrol already here in the Coupe — and across a large part of the parent Volkswagen empire — develops 155kW of power and 350Nm of torque, using 7.4L/100km and getting the car to 100km/h in 6.6 seconds with a top speed of 241km/h.

Also arriving is the A5’s grunty turbocharged 3.0-litre TDI with 176kW and 500Nm between 1500-300rpm, using just 6.6L/100km and taking care of the 100km/h notch in 6.1 seconds, with a top speed electronically limited to 247km/h.

Both use Audi’s Torsen quattro drive, biased towards the rear to give it a more dynamic ability while still giving the assurance of all-wheel drive, while the 2.0 TFSI also gets stability control with electronic front differential lock to further decrease the possibility of understeer. But with only automatic transmissions, we won’t — yet — get the stop-start technology on some of the European models, which is limited to the manual versions.

Appearance and space

The Sportback is slightly longer than the Coupe, with short overhands and a wide track giving it a purposeful stance. The elongated lines of the tail hatch allow for a capable boot capacity of 480 litres, that grows by another 500 litres with the rear seats down. The liftback has an integrated cargo cover that can be disengaged for larger luggage, and if you don’t need to drop the rear seats, there’s the option of the load-through section in the middle for long items.

The strong horizontal character crease along the flanks accentuates the pert liftback’s spoiler lip, and to an extent subdues the impression of there being an extra set of doors. But apart from that, it pretty much resembles the Coupe and Cabriolet, with the main front cues being LED running lights accentuating the boldness of the waterfall grille.

Despite appearing fairly low, the longer roofline allows for comfortable headroom in the back, and there’s enough space for all but the leggiest of passengers. But it’s strictly a four-seater, with the rear floor separated into two compartments.

As with the rest of the range, high-tensile boron steel and similar hi-tech materials and techniques have been used to lighten the weight while maintaining strength and rigidity. And wind-tunnel has been used to streamline the shape for drag reduction, including aerodynamic smoothing of the underbody components.

Equipment

The interior fit-out is Audi — for which, read superb without being ostentatious — and while final details of Australian spec are yet to be decided, the equipment list is expected to match the Coupe and Cab. So there’ll be 17-in wheels with big discs, automatic airconditioning, eight-speaker audio system, six airbags, electric everything, and a long menu of options possibly including many with a safety focus such as adaptive cornering lights and extra airbags.

Driving

Call it what you like, sportback, liftback – even station wagon, if you want to push the boundaries of definition – this is essentially a very practical package that adds versatility to style. It’s easy to get in and out of the rear seat, there’s loads of cargo space, and it looks and goes well in both versions we tested.

The cabin is comfortable, and quiet enough to double-check that the engine is going when you’re parked, but also quiet enough that tyre roar and wind rush at high speeds becomes noticeable – as did a strange harmonic hum at one stage on the autobahn. Visibility to the rear, which can be a bugbear in some liftback styles, is surprisingly good in the Sportback because of a three-quarter window set forward of the C-pillar

The 2.0 TFSI 1500kg we drove came with the S-line package that gives firmer suspension on a lowered body with bigger wheels, but it is a looker even without the extra fripperies. The3.0-litre diesel is a logically bit heavier and it’s noticeable sometimes in cornering, but the extra torque mostly overcomes the extra poundage. It’s also given up in quite definite amounts when you push the gearshift over to the manual side and either row it or use the paddles to punch through the gears. Or there’s the middle option of leaving it in automatic and using the paddles when you want to over-ride its choice temporarily.

The difference in weight means there’s a slightly better steering impression from the TFSI, but it still seems to lack the sharpness that might lift the car to great levels. We alternated between the two engines, but a couple of runs through twisty mountain roads finally had us choosing the TFSI as the favourite for its lighter nose feel.

And while the three-mode dynamic system is fun to play with – and results in marked differences – most people will probably end up doing as we did and leave it in the automatic setting and let it make its own mind up. As with leaving the transmission on fully automatic, you probably won’t get the optimum performance out of it, but – like the necessary design adjustment to turn the Coupe into the Sportback — the compromise has been well thought out enough to not disappoint.