The sedans are the first models on the company’s PPC platform, and scored a styling refresh and loads of tech during the migration
The PPC includes stiffer suspension and steering mounts to improve handling. An adaptive suspension will be available, and both the A5 and S5 will have standard progressive steering, with a variable ratio that tightens up at higher speeds or makes it easier to manoeuvre at lower ones. But this event was just a look-see, and we’ll have to wait a bit to see how the new A5 drives.
In addition to the sedan, the new A5 Avant wagon was also unveiled. It’s a stunning design — I love wagons, and this one is really well done. But buyers generally go to SUVs rather than “long-roof” car models, and so, alas, we won’t be getting the Avant in Canada. We do get the current A4 as the Allroad, which is basically a wagon with some extra ground clearance, but there was no mention of whether it might return as an A5 Allroad at some point.
What powers the Audi A5?
The new PPC platform was designed to integrate with Audi’s E3 1.2 electronic architecture, which depends on five computers that mastermind all of the vehicle’s functions, such as the powertrain, driver assist technologies, and infotainment, among others. That E3 architecture is used throughout the Volkswagen Group, which includes VW, Porsche, Bentley, and Lamborghini, along with overseas brands including Skoda and SEAT.
This was a global event, and so all of the A5 and S5 engines were mentioned for all regions. We won’t get the 2.0L turbodiesel, nor the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that will be sold in Europe.
We will get the A5 with a turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder engine with automatic dual-clutch transmission. Globally, it will come in two power outputs, starting with a 147-horsepower version in front-wheel-drive (FWD). Don’t expect that here; we’re looking at the higher-horsepower variety, which as shown at the event makes 201 horsepower. It’s likely ours will be tuned for a bit more than that.
The S5 will use a turbocharged 3.0L V6 that, in the presentation, is rated at 362 horsepower. The current S4 also runs a turbo V6 rated at 349 horses, but the S5 includes variable-turbine geometry – a first for it – and as shown at the presentation, a 48-volt mild-hybrid assist system. It’s not clear if we’ll get that electric boost, which is also capable of driving the S5 on electricity alone at very low-speed operations, such as when parking. The S5 will include standard Quattro AWD with torque vectoring.
What’s new with the A5 and S5 styling?
Audi’s designers followed the rule of thirds: the body is two-thirds of the car’s height, and the glass and roof are the final third. It gives the car a sleek and proportioned appearance, along with the long wheelbase – 80 mm (3.1 inches) longer than the A4 sedan – and short overhangs that make the wheels look pushed out to the corners.
The car’s butt looks like it ends with a trunk, but it’s actually a hatchback, with its hinges hidden above the rear window. This makes it easier to load cargo, and the rear seats fold for more capacity as needed. At the front, the grille is thinner than on the A4 sedan, and wider than on the A5 coupe, and the intakes in the fascia corners are matched to the grille’s lower vertical lines. The hood has twin grooves that Audi calls “spoon cuts,” which help make it look longer and lower.
The new lighting is the big deal here, with the front and rear lights featuring a three-dimensional design within their housings. It’s not yet decided if we’ll get the adaptive matrix LED headlamps, but we will get the OLED (organic light-emitting diode) taillights with their way-cool functions. They include proximity detection and can show a red warning triangle to notify nearby pedestrians and cyclists.
What’s new with the Audi A5/S5 cabin?
The most noticeable feature in the new cabin is what Audi calls its “Digital Stage” stretched across the dash. It consists of a curved screen containing the 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster, plus a 14.5-inch centre touchscreen; and then an available 10.9-inch screen for the passenger. The infotainment system is called MMI in Audi-speak, for Multi-Media Interface.
The centre screen incorporates the usual expected features, including navigation, apps, and a voice-control assistant that uses AI and can handle some 800 functions. The passenger’s screen can also access the main screen’s functions, as well as entertainment features through a phone or app, and has a privacy screen so the driver can’t see it when the car is moving. A new head-up display shows more information and larger graphics, and in conjunction with buttons on the steering wheel, can be used to control some of the infotainment and vehicle functions.
The dash is wrapped in fabric panels below the screens and into the doors, and the ambient lighting includes a strip under the windshield that illuminates to indicate different functions, such as when the car is locked or unlocked, or a turn signal is on. For better or worse, the headlamp and fog light switches are now buttons in the door control panel, alongside the mirror and lock switches, and the buttons for the memory seats.
Perhaps the most fascinating feature is a panoramic sunroof with selectable transparency that can be set to light or dark, and segmented in sections from front to back. You can darken it over the rear-seat passengers, for example, while letting the sun shine in on the front seats. It can even be set to alternating dark and light stripes, zebra-style — which, it’s hoped, would be reserved strictly for wow-factor demonstrations.
Final Thoughts
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