Audi A5 vs BMW 530E

What's the difference?

The Audi A5 remains a convincing option in the premium mid-size sedan category, even with the near-$10K price increase over its equivalent grade A4 predecessor.

Even in its base spec, it’s a lovely thing to drive and adds enough new kit to be a reasonable option when it comes to value. In terms of tech usability, it stands out from rivals. Practicality is still king for Audi.

But for the heart-over-head types, the S5 is fast and fun while remaining a comfortable cruiser and the price is decent. On a personal note, a six-cylinder wagon? That's a big yes from me.

For the time it’s available, it’s hard to go past the value on offer in the S5 Edition One. Getting an AWD V6 with that kind of capability for under $100K is something that's sure to tempt buyers. If it doesn’t, we need to take a good look at ourselves.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

The G30 5 Series is an excellent car and unless you're looking for the serious punch of the V8 M550i, or want to run with the cops in the diesel, the 530e is a great option. No slower than the 530i, well-equipped and that rarest of things, a truly elegant BMW. Nobody buys a BMW with an eye on the budget, so at this level, the $3000 gap is nothing to worry too much about. For EV-sceptics, the range anxious or just for someone who just can't take the full EV plunge now, a PHEV is a great bridge between the two worlds.

And if nothing else, it's not a giant SUV.

The A5 incorporates Audi’s new design language in a way that makes the 2026 model stand out from Audi’s older offerings, but we won’t know how well it works in the family until more new-gen Audi cars arrive.

For now, the A5 is a generally handsome car. It very much looks like an Audi from the front, even a recent A4 if you only very quickly glanced.

The aforementioned S line styling does plenty in making even the base Audi A5 look like a properly luxe thing. There were a few double-checks at the launch to make sure drivers were getting into the right cars.

Fortunately the new car’s designers refrained from busying up the car with trim, the only big features being the side vents at the front.

But even in Avant form the S5 looks athletic, quad-exhausts in the lower bar and the angular rear bodywork moving away from the previously softer, more rounded look Audi had gone with before.

Inside, the changes are arguably more obvious. The A5 is now much more ‘screeny’ than before, especially if optioned with the passenger-side touchscreen.

It’s still decidedly Audi in its layout and design, with geometric shapes on the steering wheel, screen housing, door cards and even on the gear shifter, which is no longer the more traditional handle-type.

The G30 5 Series dates back to a time when people thought the grille on this was A Bit Much. How wrong they were. The 5, like the 3, used to be part of a clutch of executive sedans that formed the backbone of the company's expansion and success from the 1980s onwards. That means the styling is never too adventurous and even Chris Bangle's E60 5 Series, while striking, was not particularly controversial.

The only problem with the G30 is that it's hard to distinguish from its predecessor, but that's not a real issue when you see how elegant this car is. Easy on the chrome, proportional grille, big wheels, it's a proper smooth operator, visually speaking.

The cabin is holding up nicely and fits with the rest of the BMW range. It's impeccably well built, full of nice materials and even the wood trim is all right. The black Nappa leather is quite lovely but I can't tell you what the standard stuff is like, so you'll have to work that one out for yourself. It's very calm in here, with a good balance of buttons and screens with which to operate the car and while it doesn't have the you-beaut wow of its E Class rival, with its two massive slabs of screen in front of you, it has plenty to offer.

…and that gear selector is a bit indicative of the new A5’s interior. It’s now more of a switch that requires a little more attention than the traditional shifter, just like the way the more screen-focused interior requires a little more of your eyeball time than physical buttons.

Don’t get me wrong, as far as screens in modern cars go, Audi seems to have made it as easy as possible to use the new-gen software in the A5. The menus are clear, there are good shortcuts and there’s no lag… but buttons are always better when your focus needs to be on the road.

Fortunately the driver display is nice and clear, it’s a good update on Audi’s ‘Virtual Cockpit’ and you can set it to display important information without looking too busy.

Ergonomically, the way the central screen is angled towards the driver, the centre console layout and the small control panel on the door for lights, mirrors and the like all seem to be well considered and mean you don’t have to awkwardly reach for anything.

There are a few quirks specific to the A5 and S5, one being that if you opt for the panoramic sunroof, it comes with a transparency switch rather than a physical cover, so it doesn’t do much to keep the light out.

It’s also good to note that the passenger screen - again, if optioned - turns to privacy mode when playing media so as to not distract the driver. Pretty handy!

Behind the front row, a regular-sized adult should have enough room to sit comfortably for a decent amount of time without feeling cramped. The light through the sunroof comes in handy here.

Behind that is a 445L boot in Sedan form, or 1299L with the rear seats folded down. As an Avant, the space increases to 448L and 1396L respectively.

The 5 is almost five metres long, so as you might expect, it's big inside. Back-seat passengers have a ton of space to play with and even three across back there is doable for a distance. The outboard seats have some nice shapes to them, too, so they hold rear passengers in if the driver gets a bit ambitious. Loads of legroom, good headroom and very importantly, a good view out through the big side windows. Properly comfortable, then.

Front and rear passengers each score a pair of cupholders for a total of four as well as the same number of bottle holders. The centre-console bin is long and shallow, but does feature a USB-C port. The wireless-charging pad also has a USB-A port for those without the functionality and/or a phone too big to fit. Both the cupholders and charging pad have a sliding cover.

The boot is smaller than the standard car's as there is a lithium-ion battery hidden underneath the now-sloping floor. With 410 litres, it's smaller than a 3 Series' but it doesn't look that small. There is also a spot for the charging cable and its bag behind the left wheel arch.

The 530e sits almost smack-bang in the middle of a still reasonably extensive 5 Series range. While you can have an "entry" level 520i for $99,900 (before on-roads), the 530e lands at $122,900 (before on roads), which itself is $3000 more than the 530i, and the same amount less than the NSW cops' favourite, the 530d.

Given the price, you'd expect some gear and boy howdy does BMW deliver. You get 19-inch alloys, a 16-speaker stereo, multi-zone climate control, ambient LED lighting, reversing camera to go with the front and side cameras, keyless entry and start, electronic dampers, active cruise control, electric and heated front seats, sat nav, auto LED headlights, heat-insulated glass, head-up display, a mostly real leather interior, auto parking, auto wipers, digital dashboard, wireless charging and run-flat tyres.

The huge touchscreen on the dash runs BMW OS7, which accepts inputs via touch, the console-mounted rotary dial and (optional) various hand wavey-movements. The speakers have harmon/kardon badges on them and there is DAB digital radio and wireless connectivity for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

In something of a classic BMW own-goal, the wireless charge pad that is designed to keep your phone snug is too snug for bigger phones like my over-compensatory iPhone. Even with the cover off, it just won't fit. Thankfully there's also a USB-C port in the centre-console bin.

The 520e I had for the week also had the $5900 Enhance package (20-inch M alloy wheels, glass sunroof and the excellent BMW Laserlight headlights), $2300 Nappa Black leather package, comfort front seats ($500) and a built-in dash cam ($390) called BMW Drive Recorder. This brought the price up to $131,990 before on-roads. Just so you know, the Laserlights are $2400 on their own.

The Audi A5 is powered by a four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine which powers the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It makes 150kW of power and 340Nm of torque, and should, Audi says, propel the A5 to 100km/h in 7.8 seconds before (eventually) reaching a top speed of 248km/h.

The S5, in all its variants, is powered by a 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 which is assisted by a mild hybrid system. It produces 270kW and 550Nm, sending that to all four wheels via a similar seven-speed dual-clutch.

The S5 is much quicker as a result - 100km/h comes along in just 4.5 seconds according to Audi, before reaching a 250km/h top speed.

The 530e comes with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine developing 135kW and 290Nm, with the eight-speed ZF automatic sending power to the rear wheels. The electric motor spins up 83kW and 230Nm, also driving the rear wheels. When everything is working together, the combined output is 185kW and 420Nm, which delivers a quick 6.1-second dash to 100km/h, which isn't mucking about.

You can choose four drive modes. EV will (mostly) drain the battery, Hybrid will keep the two working together and Sport will deliver the most power. And drain the battery, albeit more slowly. Adaptive works the averages and decides what you need or want by how frisky you're being with your driving style.

Audi claims the A5 uses 6.9 litres of fuel per 100km, which should theoretically deplete the 56-litre fuel tank after 811km of driving. We couldn’t test this on the launch, but reaching claimed fuel efficiency figures remains an elusive challenge.

The S5, according to Audi, comes with an impressive 7.1L/100km figure in Sedan form, or 7.2L/100km as an Avant. That’s 788km and 777km of theoretical driving range if you’re up for a challenge.

The 12kWh battery takes up the same amount of space as the old one, but has more capacity, extending its EV range. The claimed EV range is 57km on the WLTP standard. 

The iDrive system has a bunch of settings that you can play with to squeeze more out of the silent-running mode and there's also a battery-charging mode button to force the ICE to charge the battery while you're on the move. Also useful is a timing system, so you can schedule when the car charges to take advantage of the cheap power available in the dead of night.

Recharging is easy but sadly a bit slow off a domestic power point. Having said that, if you plug it in after a day's commuting, you'll be topped up to 100 percent overnight. It's a long charge, but it's not as if you'll be stranded if you forget. You can get a wallbox, but there's not much point.

The fuel tank is just 46 litres. The WLTP combined cycle figure is a laughable 2.3L/100km. On that official figure, you'll cover an unlikely 2000km. My week with the car, which included 70km on EV-only power with one charge off my solar panels, got me an indicated 6.1L/100km in a mostly suburban week of driving. So based off that, you'll get about 530km from one full charge and a full tank, which is a bit confusing. Keep charging and, if you're an average Australian who travels little more than 30km per day, you won't use much petrol at all.

Having said all of that, out on the freeway, you'll probably slide towards that 2.3L/100km and make it from Sydney and Melbourne on a single tank. Just.

One of the first press cars I ever drove as an even younger lad than I am now was the circa-2017 Audi S4.

Without the perspective of all the many, many cars I've since driven, that S4 blew my mind a little bit with its combination of capability and refinement.

Now, with the context of most of the cars available to the Australian buyer in mind, it’s reassuring to get into this new generation and find that the mid-size Audi torch has been gracefully passed on.

Audi says the new generation, sitting on its new platform, has more focus on balanced driving dynamics, steering precision and steering feel. Without sacrificing comfort, Audi wants the A5 to be a sharper driver’s car.

It might not gel with the Euro tradition of a rear-drive executive sedan given the base A5 is front-wheel drive - the brand of course focusing on its quattro all-wheel drive system - but the A5 is decidedly agile for its size. 

Compared to the S5 especially, as the A5’S 1770kg plays the S5’s 2025kg in Sedan form (2040kg as an Avant). It’s a noticeable weight difference, and it makes the A5 more playful without getting properly ragged.

It also rides on smaller 19-inch wheels and would overall probably make for the better daily driver. Even without the all-wheel-drive traction and extra power the S5 offers, the A5 makes a good case for properly plush commuting. Its 150kW isn’t lacking by any means, and that 340Nm does plenty to help when overtaking.

Its suspension feels well damped, keeping the road’s imperfections out of the cabin without numbing the ride and leaving you without feedback. The steering is similarly direct without being too heavy, making the A5 feel athletic for its size.

But for all the A5’s strengths, there is something undeniable about a six-cylinder European sedan (or wagon). The S5 is heavier, sure, and therefore not as naturally nimble, but it makes up for it. And it’s not just the extra power and mild-hybrid assistance.

It’s a great highway cruiser for a start, but it also adds the confidence of all-wheel drive to a trip, which proved extremely useful on the very rainy winter day we tested it. It holds up well on rough surfaces despite the bigger wheels and extra heft, plus it doesn’t feel out of hand when cornering fast, rolling into a predictable understeer rather than quickly losing traction.

But if you’re in any way conscious of your budget, consider the Edition One. It doesn’t lack any of the key things that make the S5 great, and you get to pocket enough money to buy a second used car.

The reason I like PHEVs as a tool for pushing people towards electrification is about more than the fact that it will likely cure buyers of range anxiety once they're realistic about their actual car usage. I mean it does do that, but it's more about the fact that PHEVs drive like a normal car, with few exceptions.

In EV mode, the acceleration is swift but not that brutal, YouTuber-friendly thrust EV fanboys use as proof that legacy car makers are dead. It's all very serene and very, very quiet as you move from traffic light to traffic light in near silence, while more than keeping up with traffic. The blue of the dashboard indicates your progress and the iDrive screen can keep you updated with power consumption.

The switch between EV and ICE propulsion is very smooth and it's almost like BMW has been doing this forever. You'll also discover an appreciable lift in performance, more in line with the M Sport badges. BMW's engineers have done nothing to make the 2.0-litre petrol sound better than a whirring mixmaster, though.

Slightly less M Sport-ey is the suspension. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, the adaptive dampers never dial things up too much for the average motorist. Granted the 5 will leave just about anything this size for dead as far as driver involvement goes, but it certainly keeps the dial closer to comfort than, say, the M550i does. Once again, it's a serene thing to get around in and passengers will love the quietness and easy flow of conversation. Or the lovely sound from the harmon kardon speakers.

You don't have to try too hard to cover a good chunk of the claimed 57km of EV range. Realistically you'll get close to 45km, even after my colleague Matt Campbell drained 20km of charge in a six-kilometre trip that he maintains was driven gently (snigger) and normally (guffaw). Without trying too hard, I managed 41km in pure EV after his attempts to ruin my numbers (not really, but I do enjoy the amusing false narrative).

The big price tag buys you a comprehensive safety package. It has seven airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, blind-spot monitoring, active lane-departure warning, forward AEB, reversing AEB, forward collision warning, front cross traffic alert, reverse cross traffic alert, lane-keep assist, pedestrian alert in EV mode and tyre-pressure sensors.

The forward AEB works at high and low speeds. The pedestrian detection works at urban speeds and there does not appear to be cyclist detection.

There are also two ISOFIX and three top-tether anchors.

The 5 Series was last tested in 2017 and was awarded five ANCAP stars.

Audi’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is starting to fall behind the industry standard, though is about normal for a premium brand. On top of this, customers can opt to purchase extra years of warranty up to a maximum nine years which costs $3590.

Audi does also offer 12 years of bodywork manufacturing warranty against corrosion or perforation. There’s also five years of Audi roadside assistance.

Servicing intervals for the A5 come in at every 15,000km or 12 months, with customers able to purchase fixed-price servicing plans at a discount compared to paying per service.

A five-year servicing pack for the A5 Sedan is $3360, and for the S5 it’s priced at $3540.

BMW really needs to up its game, as do Audi and Porsche (among others). Munich is still sticking with a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty while German rival Mercedes is up at five years and Japanese competitor Lexus four. You do get three years roadside assist thrown in.

All 5 Series (excluding M5) are eligible for service plans. For $1950, you're covered for five years/80,000km of servicing. As with most BMWs, servicing is based on how you drive but really, if we're being honest, the car will get you into the dealer once every 12 months or 15,000km. Roughly.