The Ascari Race Resort near Marbella in Spain uses a cocktail of the best corners from racetracks around the world to produce an excellent circuit in its own right. Audi's new A5 attempts to take the best parts of its own extensive range to create a new great.
Build quality is inherent to modern Audis, so that's taken care of, but next up is to fuse the looks of a TT with the usability of an A4, so to create a coupé-sleek car with comfortable seating for four and a relatively spacious boot. The question is, has Audi conducted a master class in innovation, or produced a quirky but redundant folly?
On the upside, the trademark Audi quality is there in spades. There's an atmosphere of pricey sophistication to the cabin, with high quality materials throughout. However, the space available is less impressive - six footers and over will have their hairstyles reworked by the sloping roofline in the front. The rear cabin fails to impress for roominess, too, with very limited legroom and, again, a quiff-quashing raked roof. Despite Audi's best efforts to convince us otherwise, the A5 is definitely not a comfortable four-seater. It does score for practicality with its vast boot, however.
So, the A5 is wide of the mark in terms of mimicking a saloon for space, but how about those sporting pretensions? For full-blown performance-oriented dynamics, the car disappoints. There's little of the TT's engaging driving experience, and purists will be left longing for more. On the other hand, the A5 does score points as a GT car for cruising in comfort and style. While the lack of outright agility and talkative steering means your first instinct isn't to chuck it through bends, this does produce a laid-back and composed driving experience. Marginal headroom aside, the driving position is very comfortable thanks to a good seating position that offers loads of adjustment, and the ride is beautifully refined.
The petrol and diesel engines in the range all offer decent poke, with the slowest unit, a 1.8-litre petrol TFSI, sweeping the A5 from 0 to 60mph in just 8.5sec, while the oil-burning options are best for lazy grunt, with peak torque being delivered at less than 1500rpm. Excellent grip levels lay the power down effectively, allowing very swift, if not bracing, cross-country squirts.
Pitted against the BMW 3-series coupé and the Mercedes CLK, the A5 lacks scruff-of-the-neck performance and engagement, but has quality and comfort in spades, and is sensibly priced. It hits the spot for that Audi-ness we've come to know, but is unlikely to steal customers from its German counterparts.