Audi A5 changes face as new combustion engine A4 replacement

Having provided little information since announcing its model restructuring last year, Audi has removed the wraps from the all-new A5 and S5 that replace the A4 and S4 Ingolstadt will realign as EVs within the next 12 months to 18 months.

New naming policy explained

Announced by former CEO Markus Duesmann as part of a product renewal involving 20 new or updated models by 2025, the A5 becomes a sedan or estate instead of the coupe and cabriolet it was before.

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As part of the renaming, motivation will come from a range of hybridised petrol and diesel engines the next generation A3 and A7 will also utilise.

In contrast, the even numbered models, the A4, A6 and A8, will become fully electric, with the verdict still out on whether the Q-range of SUVs will follow next.

The first model to also drop the controversial number denominators for the engines introduced to significant criticism and confusion in 2017, the A5 officially ends the A4’s tenure as Audi’s smallest standalone entry-level sedan it held since 1994 when the internally named B5 replaced the Audi 80.

Inside and out new

Effectively the combustion equivalent of the next A4, the A5 premieres Audi’s PPC or Premium Platform Combustion architecture, a reported heavily reworked MLB Evo that underpins the current A6, A7, A8, Q7 and Q8, as well as the Bentley Bentayga, Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg.

A foundation Audi says makes the A5 wider, longer and more efficient than the A4 despite no dimensional figures being provided, the newcomer debuts a variant of the facelift e-tron GT’s styling language while incorporating elements from now discontinued A5 Coupe.

Noticeably sleeker than the A4, the A5 gets Audi’s latest Singleframe grille design and second generation OLED lights comprising 60 micro diodes per section in the case of the taillights.

Completely new inside, the interior layout and design also borrows from the e-tron GT in the look of the steering wheel, but not the dashboard, which houses three displays; an 11.9-inch Virtual Cockpit instrument cluster, a 14.5-inch MMI infotainment system and, as an option, a 10.9-inch MMI on the passenger’s side.

Along with a new centre console utilising push buttons for the transmission rather than a lever, the A5 does away with the majority of physical buttons, but retains the rotary dial for the audio system in front of the cupholders.

Standard mild-hybrid assistance

While exact details relating to space, safety and specification tech remain to be announced, what did emerge is the choice of powerplants initially limited to three units, all with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system and linked to a seven-speed S tronic gearbox.

Carrying the moniker PTG denoting powertrain generator, the mild-hybrid adds an additional 18 kW to each engine’s output for short spells, while being able to recoup as much as 25 kW using regenerative braking.

Without the system’s inclusion, the starting point 2.0 TFSI develops 110 kW in front-wheel-drive models and 150 kW in variants with front-wheel-drive or quattro four-wheel-drive.

Joining the TFSI in receiving a new turbocharger and twin balancer shafts, the 2.0 TDI produces 150kW/400Nm regardless of being front-wheel-drive or four-wheel-drive.

At the range’s summit, the 3.0 TFSI V6 in the S5 has upgraded to produce 270 kW, 10 kW more than the S5 Coupe/Cabriolet, with the previously optional S sport differential now standard.

Unknown entity

On-sale from November with order books now open in Germany from €45 200 (R891 538) for the front-wheel-drive 110 kW TFSI, the A5, for now, remains an unknown entity for South Africa given the generation slowdown in the luxury compact sedan segment.

Should approval be given, expect a likely late 2025 premiere restricted solely to the sedan.

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