What's the difference?
The Audi A5 has done something naughty. It’s replaced the Audi A4.
Or at least that’s the case for now after the Ingolstadt brand made a bit of a mess of its naming strategy.
Essentially, the Audi A5 is now available as a sedan or a wagon, and the next A4 coming soon will be electric. The previous A5 was a swoopier two-door coupe or four-door gran coupe style model. So the A5 is now effectively Audi’s main BMW 3 Series or Mercedes C-Class and CLA rival.
Plus, the Audi S5 is also here to cater to performance car fans.
Can a new platform, a sleek, fresh look and a techy interior do the job?
We’ve been pedalling around the Victorian countryside in the hopes of finding out.
Stick with me, and I reckon we’ll get to the bottom of it. The question about the car, that is, not the bottom of Victoria.
You want a V12 Ferrari, but you have growing responsibilities. A strictly two seat supercar just isn't quite right when kids start to arrive.
Sure, you can add a Ferrari F12 to your collection, and pick up a Merc-AMG family truckster to cover the functional stuff.
But it's not the same. You want to have your Italian torta, and eat it, too. Enter the Ferrari GTC4Lusso, the prancing horse’s latest take on a rapid, luxurious, four seat coupe, able to leap continents in a single bound without so much as a bead of perspiration forming on its forehead.
It's fast, suitably furious, and able to accommodate family or friends on a fast blast to anywhere you choose to go. And as usual with Maranello’s finest, the name says it all.
'GT' stands for Gran Turismo (or Grand Tourer), 'C' is short for Coupe, '4' relates to the number of people it accommodates, 'Lusso' means luxury, and of course, Ferrari is Italian for fast.
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 Ferrari GTC4Lusso is a properly fast, beautifully composed, and supremely luxurious four-seat coupe.
Sadly, evermore stringent emissions regulations have put atmo V12's on the knife edge of extinction, with Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and a few others hanging on for grim death.
In fact the twin-turbo V8 Lusso T (powered by the same engine used in the California T and 488) will arrive and be sold alongside this car in Australia later this year.
But we’d like to propose a captive breeding program to keep the big V12s alive because this engine’s soundtrack and the GTC4Lusso’s overall driving experience is magnificent.