Audi A5 Sportback

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What is it?

That's a good question, really. The A5 Sportback is something of a motoring oddity, a car that can genuinely claim to have no direct rival. Whether that's a good or bad thing remains to be seen, but Audi's quest to offer a model for every conceivable niche is no better represented than with the A5 Sportback. From the front and rear it looks like Audi's hugely successful A5 Coupé, but check out its profile and you'll notice a pair of extra doors, while the boot is now a hatchback.

Is it any good?

Audi has seriously blurred the boundaries within its model range with the introduction of the Sportback. Sitting in the A5 line-up alongside its Coupé and Cabriolet siblings, the Sportback boasts some of their style along with some additional space for passengers and luggage. The boot is vast, being only a few litres short on capacity when compared to the A4 Avant (estate). There's decent seating for four adults too, with the legroom in the back similar to the A4 saloon's. There are slight compromises for the A5's rakish good looks though - the headroom in the back is a bit tight and the boot not as usefully shaped as an estate car's - but they're surprisingly few given the A5 Sportback's emphasis on style.

Four engines, three transmissions and plentiful options ensure that customers have loads of choice in the A5 Sportback range. There are two six-cylinder units - one a 3.0-litre turbodiesel, the other a 3.2-litre petrol - with a pair of 2.0-litre engines acting as understudies to the flagship powerplants. Tempting as the lusty 3.0-litre TDI unit is it's the 167bhp 2.0-litre TDI engine that is the best choice in the range. It returns an official combined cycle consumption figure of 54.3mpg and CO₂ emissions of just 137g/km - thanks in part to Audi's fitment of stop-start technology that shuts down the engine when sitting idle in traffic or at the lights.

It's not just the economy and emissions figures that the 2.0-litre TDI impresses with; the 258lb.ft of torque it produces gives it an easy nature and allows it to gain speed convincingly. Where you're revving the petrol engines in the quest for speed the 2.0-litre TDI gathers it effortlessly - not quite as shockingly as the 3.0-litre TDI, but quickly enough for all but the most demanding of drivers.

Being mated to front-wheel drive rather than quattro all-wheel drive - and a manual gearbox rather than an automatic - further increases the 2.0-litre TDI's appeal as the best A5 Sportback in the range. There's a delicacy to the way it drives, even if keen drivers will bemoan the lack of steering feel and general involvement from the driver's seat. Take it as a cosseting long-distance machine that's got style and space and it's easier to love, but if you're after thrills behind the wheel you're better served elsewhere. All that means you should avoid Audi's 'drive select', which only emphasises the A5 Sportback's lack of dynamic prowess by adding steering that feels like you're stirring setting concrete rather than directing the front wheels.

Should I call the bank manager?

That depends on what you want from your car. Audi reckons that the A5 will appeal to active lifestyle types wanting a bit of style - the same people it's also targeting with its A4 saloon, Avant and Q5 models. Your bank manager might ask whether the sleeker lines are worth the extra that they cost over an A4 saloon, but given its positioning at around the same money as the A4 Avant - the 2.0-litre TDI A5 Sportback costs £25,440 in standard guise - Audi has priced the A5 Sportback sensibly.

Summary

The new A5 Sportback is a car that undoubtedly answers questions perhaps only a few people might have asked, but there's no denying that the result has some real appeal as a comfortable, good-looking and surprisingly practical family motor. It's not going to excite the inner racer in you, but the A5 Sportback's style inside and out - Audi's interiors still the best in the business south of Bentley - will undoubtedly attract buyers into its showrooms.

Kyle Fortune