Third-Gen Audi A5 Bows In As The A4 Replacement

The third-gen Audi A5 bows in as the direct replacement for the Audi A4, arriving in both sedan and avant body styles.

In a bid to keep up with its fellow German rivals, Audi has finally revealed the all-new, third-gen A5 to the world. For its third-gen iteration, the new A5 replaces the A4 as Audi’s new compact executive segment fighter, featuring both Sedan and Avant wagon body styles.

This means that the A4 has been dropped entirely from Audi’s newly-revamped lineup as part of its new naming strategy, with the even-numbers reserved for all-electric models like the Q6 and Q8 e-tron, while ICE-powered models will get the odd numbers.

With the A4 now being discontinued, the A5 becomes Audi's new compact executive saloon segment fighter.

Back to the new A5, the new model features a much sleeker design compared to the previous-gen A4, with its predecessor facing some tough criticism for having a mellow design compared to its more fierce rivals, namely both the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

As a result, the new A5 features a more aggressive and muscular stance thanks to its widened fenders, while its front face is now donned with sleeker LED headlamps that flank the new slimmer front grille design that is paired with large lower bumper intakes. Regardless of whether you’re going for the Sedan or the Avant wagon, the A5’s tailgate is donned with new fancy OLED taillights featuring a full-width light bar.

Dimension-wise, the new A5 measures slightly longer than the previous A4, with its wheelbase stretched by 68 MM to 2,900 MM. This is the result of Audi underpinning the new A5 with its new Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture, which is essentially an updated version of VW Group’s MLB Evo platform.

On board, the new A5’s cabin has been thoroughly redesigned compared to its predecessor, featuring all the latest and greatest features available in Audi’s inventory. For starters, Audi takes a more minimalist approach to designing the A5’s cabin, as it features fewer buttons and dials for a cleaner look.

The centerpiece of this newly- renovated cabin is the curved panoramic display, which features a 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and a larger 14.5-inch central infotainment display powered by the Audi MMI infotainment suite. On top of the massive instrument cluster, drivers also get an additional head-up display (HUD), while a third 10.9-inch display for the front passenger is offered as an optional add-on.

Thanks to its longer wheelbase, the new Audi A5 boasts a roomier cabin space for better passenger comfort.

Moving on to the powertrain, the all-new Audi A5 arrives in both full-ICE and semi-electrified options, with the former coming in the form of the tried-and-tested 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbocharged TFSI petrol mill that has been mildly tweaked for better efficiency and more power. In its native European market, the petrol-powered A5 comes in two state-of-tunes – 148 HP for the FWD model and 201 HP for the quattro all-wheel drive (AWD) version.

The European market also gets a 48-volt mild hybrid (MHEV) version of the A5, which features an updated 2.0-litre 4-cyl TDI turbodiesel as its core. Arriving as a sole oil-burning variant, the turbodiesel A5 MHEV also comes solely with the quattro AWD drivetrain, while boasting a higher total system output of 201 HP and 400 NM, plus an extra 24 HP provided by its 48-volt electric motor.

As for the new Audi S5, this sporty variant is powered by an updated 3.0-litre V6 TFSI engine, which hooks up to an MHEV setup and an S Tronic DCT gearbox to deliver 362 HP, making it 13 HP more potent than both the previous-gen S4 and S5. Similarly, the new S5 also gets Audi’s quattro AWD drivetrain setup and a sport differential with torque vectoring for better cornering performance.

Also helping with the S5’s cornering performance are both the reworked suspension and power steering setups, which result in “more precise” and “largely neutral handling." Alternatively, customers can also opt for the adaptive suspension system for an extra dime.

With prices starting from €45,200 (RM230,268) onwards, the all-new, third-gen Audi A5 and S5 will be available for booking later this month in its native European market, with first deliveries set to commence later in Nov this year. We can expect the new A5 to make its way to other international markets, including ours, some time later in the future.