Audi starts the New Year with a fresh take on its sporting A5 range.
The five-door Sportback, two-door Coupé, soft-top Cabriolet and sporting S5 models pack in more cuttingedge technologies, the engines are more efficient and powerful and there is a new look inside and out.
From the outside it might be difficult at first glance to make out the 2012 A5 line-up, the quickest point of reference is the new high-gloss black single-frame grille that has angled upper corners while the transverse ribs and the Audi rings appear threedimensional.
A new front bumper integrates new air inlets with robust strip and sleek fog lights while the revised headlights resemble a wedge which overall gives a broader perspective to the A5. The rear lights have also been modified with xenon units and feature LED light strips.
One of the biggest changes is to be found inside where there is now a five-seat option - the rear seating can be selected with either two- or threeseat configurations on all Sportback models except the high performance S5. The A5 interiors have become more sophisticated and elegant starting with fresh contemporary materials for the fascia, instrument cluster and on the centre console with new choices of decorative inlay including Aluminium Trigon as well as two types of wood: walnut dark brown and fine grain ash natural.
Buttons now allow occupants to operate the optional seat-heating and seat-cooling systems and the ignition key and the button for controlling the optional Audi drive select vehicle dynamics system as well as controls for the highly efficient automatic air conditioning system and the multifunction steering wheel have also been overhauled.
Topping off the list is the option of a racy flat bottom steering wheel and some new seat fabric and leather choices. As well as the visual appearance of the A5, Audi has also taken the opportunity to refine the engine performance to push it to the head of the class on emissions and fuel economy.
All now come with automatic stopstart technology and energy recuperation while Audi's drive select system features an Economy mode.
For example, on the front-wheel drive Coupé models, the mainstay 2-litre turbo-diesel is better all round with power up by four pet cent to 177bhp while emissions (cleaned by a new particle filter) are down by nine per cent to 122g/km and fuel consumption is improved by over eight per cent to a fraction over 60mpg.
A new 204bhp, 3-litre V6 TDI replaces the previous 2.7-litre TDI and sees even better improvements especially on emissions which are down by a huge 22 per cent to 129g/ km and the same time fuel consumption improves 30 per cent to a highly competitive 57mpg.
At the top of the range the 3.2-litre FSI petrol, is replaced by a new 272bhp version of Audi's supercharged 3-litre TFSI in the Coupé and Cabriolet models and the existing 333bhp version used in the S5 Sportback and S5 Cabriolet replaces the V8 found in the S5 Coupé. Even the fourwheel drive quattro versions do better with the 211bhp 2.0 TFSi petrol slicing nearly ten per cent of its CO2 figure at 159g/km while fuel stretching goes up by over four per cent to 40mpg - not bad for all-wheel drive.
When it was first launched the A5 was widely praised for its sporty dynamics, ride comfort and driving response and this is retained and enhanced.
The five-link front suspension and the trapezoidal-link rear suspension features revisions to the rear trailing arms and the shock-absorber tuning to aid agility and response at the wheel. All front-wheel-drive versions of the A5 feature the electronic stabilisation program (ESP) with electronic limited slip differential. Buyers now get more for their money with the introduction of a plethora of new high-tech systems such as Active Lane Assist, Side Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control that uses radar to detect vehicles ahead and maintain an appropriate following distance. If the threat of a rear-end collision becomes imminent at speeds below 20mph this system will perform a full brake application.
Upgraded on-board technology also includes standard Bluetooth from SE grade upwards, a WiFi hot spot and Google Earth mapping all operated through Audi's revised infotainment system. The optional MMI navigation plus, the top-of-therange version, features a large hard disk drive, a DVD player and a seveninch colour monitor with 3D navigation mapping.
The new A5 range is priced from £25,540.
