What's the difference?
Jaguar has announced that by 2025 it will only make and sell electric vehicles. That’s less than four years away and means the F-Pace you’re thinking about buying could be the last Jaguar with an actual engine that you ever own. Heck, it could be the last car with an engine you ever own.
Let’s help you pick the right one then, because Jaguar’s just called last drinks.
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.
The F-Pace has been gifted new styling, new engines and more practicality making it an even better SUV than it already was. You could seriously pick any of the grades and be happy with your purchase. Then there’s the question of the engine…
Jaguar says there’s a few more years left in the combustion engine yet, but we know exactly how many years – four, because the company has gone on the record announcing it will go fully electric by 2025. The question for you is – how will you ring out the end of an era – with a four-cylinder petrol, a six-cylinder turbo diesel, an inline turbo six petrol or a cracking V8?
The sweetspot in the range is the R-Dynamic SE 400, with just enough luxury and more than enough grunt.
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.