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By Jonathan Crouch

Audi reinvents its A5 as a replacement for the old A4. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 63

This Audi A5 is the Ingolstadt maker's new offering to the mid-sized executive market that used to be served by saloon and Avant versions of its long-running A4 model line. It's luxurious, well engineered but, unlike its rear-driven premium rivals, still front-driven in its most affordable forms. If you like the Audi brand and want a car of this kind, you'll be tempted.

Backgroundword count: 364

For the last two decades, we've known a car of this kind with an Audi badge as an 'A4' - ever since 1994 in fact, when the very first A4 replaced 25 years of Audi 80 models. The badge isn't the only thing that's changed here; there's no longer the conventional saloon body style that used to define the A4 model line, abandoned in favour of the kind of sleek five-door shape that Ingolstadt previously marketed in this segment as the 'A5 Sportback'. That old model's also gone, as have the other two body shapes that previously wore an old generation 'A5' badge, the Coupe and the Cabriolet (which disappointingly, aren't being replaced). What we do still get is an estate body style in this sector, an 'A5'-badged Avant model now selling alongside the five-door version. What this car's called though, is of course far less important than what it can deliver. And in that regard, aside from the new bodywork, much might seem very familiar here if you previously had some sort of A4 on your driveway. Even maybe the evolved look, which remains very 'Audi'. As before, this car differs from its BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Class arch-rivals by using a front-driven rather than rear-driven platform, something still disguised if you pay more by the provision of quattro 4WD. At first glance, you might recognise the 2.0 TFSI petrol and 2.0 TDI diesel engine line-up too - yes, there's still a diesel option for those that want it. So what's really different here? Well quite a lot, or so Audi claims. New chassis designs for fossil-fuelled models are a rarity these days but this A5 has one, 'Premium Platform Combustion' underpinnings that support the cleverer 'MHEV plus' mild hybrid system that's been added to some of the engines. There's also now a Plug-in Hybrid powertrain - something no previous A4 or A5 ever offered. And, perhaps best of all, what's claimed to be class-leadingly sophisticated cabin design, traditionally an Ingolstadt strength in this segment. It's been some time since Audi's been a force to be reckoned with in this class. So can this new-era A5 return the brand to top-tier contention?

Driving Experienceword count: 620

Has the backlash against the EV revolution started? We can't remember the last time we reviewed a completely new model with significantly redeveloped fossil-fuelled engines and a completely new combustion platform. Yet that's what this new generation A5 claims to offer, which is almost revolutionary in an era where many other volume brands stopped developing combustion engineering some time ago. Audi says that the new 'Premium Platform Combustion' architecture (which replaces the 17-year-old MLB chassis of the old A4 and A5 models) really is new from the ground up. Others reckon that it's merely an evolution of what went before. What's certain is that it's made possible some significantly more electrified engines; notably the 2.0-litre TDI diesel with the brand's cleverer 'MHEV plus' upgraded mild hybrid system. And, for the first time in this class of Audi, a PHEV powertrain that Ingolstadt now designates with an 'e-hybrid' badge. Disappointingly, there's no sign of electrification with the volume engine that for the time being the majority of A5 customers are likely to actually choose, Audi's familiar 2.0 TFSI petrol unit. This props up the range in 150PS front-driven form, but is a more direct match for its rivals in 204PS guise, where it also can only be had powered from the front. Which is significant because that front-driven set-up continues to fundamentally set this Audi apart from its two key segment rivals, the Mercedes C-Class and the BMW 3 Series, which both have long been rear-driven, supposedly a more involving drive format. Audi thinks it doesn't have to be and has worked to make this new-generation A5 more driver-focused. The brand probably isn't going to sell many diesel A5 models - which is a pity as this one offers a complete enough package to make rival brand BMW's deletion of diesel in this segment look premature. A5 customers are only offered the 204PS version of the 2.0-litre four cylinder TDI unit, in which form there's a useful 60Nm more torque than you get in the equivalent TFSI variant. With the diesel, there's also the advantage of a quattro 4WD option too, if you've more money in the budget for it. The quattro 4WD system is conditional for what might arguably be a better all-round alternative to a TDI-powered A5 - namely one fitted with the petrol PHEV e-hybrid system we mentioned earlier. Audi's never previously had the Plug-in Hybrid technology to compete in this segment, but it does now, courtesy of a set-up that's very different from that used in clunky TFSI e-powered Q5s and A6s of the past. There's a bigger battery for a start, which at 25.9kWh in size offers a 67 mile EV range long enough to ensure that most commutes will be pretty much combustion-free. The combining mechanicals are still familiar - the usual 2.0-litre TFSI turbo petrol unit and its associated seven-speed s tronic dual clutch auto gearbox - but it's all now mated to a much gutsier 142PS electric motor that alone can drive the car at up to 87mph if you need it to. Total system output is 299PS with 450Nm of torque, allowing for 0-62mph in 5.9s en route to 155mph. We should briefly cover the only A5 model not yet mentioned, the sporting S5 version. This uses a potent 3.0-litre turbo petrol V6 with 367PS and 550Nm of torque, but Audi doesn't want it to drag down this model line's efficiency figures too much, so has equipped it with the 'MHEV plus' mild hybrid system we told you about earlier. There's quattro 4WD of course and the S5 also gets an electronic differential and torque vectoring, plus there's the adaptive damping system that for our market mainstream A5 models unfortunately can't have.

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