Facelifts, revamps, mid-cycle updates – call them what you will, they usually bring minor tweaks and mild upgrades. These spy shots of the upcoming Audi A5 Sportback update hint that larger changes may be afoot, particularly for the S5 variant.

With a face that looks decidedly more A6-like and a similarly-updated LED rear light layout, the car spied here wears heavier camouflage than the typical air-dam-and-side-skirts tape you find on most facelifts. New fog lights and reshaped front air inlets also appear to feature under the disguise. Though the profile is similar to a smaller A7, some design cues found on the new, larger four-door coupe don’t appear to have made the translation, including the 100 Coupe S-inspired kick at the rear window line. While it’s hard to tell with the swirly vinyl coating, the side panels may have received some of the A7′s slimming surface undulations.

We’ll bring you more details and info as development of the car continues.

via MotorAuthority

The Audi A5 Sportback is a new concept for the brand. The five-door model with its extended, flowing rear end promises to offer the best of a coupé, sedan and estate rolled into one. The allure of an emotive design, everyday practicality and a sporty character mean Audi have been selling over 70 units a month since launching the car in January this year.

Taking its design heritage from the A5 Coupé, the A5 Sportback is inherently sleek and grabs attention wherever it goes. In combination with the xenon headlight unit incorportaing Audi’s trademark LED daytime running lights, the Sportback makes an entrance like few other premium four door saloons.

In terms of dimensions, the A5 Sportback is 36 mm lower than the A4 Sedan, while the short front overhang, 60 mm longer wheelbase and a wider track, emphasise the car’s athletic disposition. The four frameless doors serve to enhance the sporty nature of the car, as do the optional 18-inch alloy wheels.

The large boot/tailgate blends into the sleek roofline and opens to reveal a long, but not very tall, 480-litre cargo area. Still, there’s enough space to carry luggage for four and the rear seats can be folded down if the full 980-litres is required.

Rear leg and headroom is ample and passengers commented on the supportive and comfortable seats, while up front, driver and passenger are carried in typcially luxurious Audi fashion. The driving position is low, but front seats are electronically adjustable in a number of directions and so is the steering wheel, making an ideal driving position easily obtainable.

From the cockpit, all manner of electronic gizmo’s are at one’s finger tips, including a multi-function steering wheel with gear shift paddles, a Bose radio/CD sound system, the MMI controller and LCD screen, as well as the climate control settings and more. Well laid out with an excellent finish, the Audi’s interior looks and feels good, is easy to navigate and, despite the number of functions at your disposal, manages not to feel cluttered.

The diesel engine powering the A5 Sportback is common across the Audi range. The turbocharged 3,0-litre V6 produces 176 kW and 500 N.m of torque – enough power to propel the Sportback along at indecent speeds. The zero to 100 km/h sprint takes just 6.1 seconds and top speed is limited to 250 km/h. With a 7-speed S tronic gearbox linking the engine to the wheels via Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system, the 3.0 TDI Sportback is equipped with enough fire power to take on any corners you can throw at it and surprise many testosterone filled hatchbacks that draw alongside you at the lights. The diesel engine also offers commendable fuel economy at 6.6 l/100km and CO2 emissions of 174 g/km.

Driving the A5 Sportback around town we initially questioned the Sportback’s appeal. Is it simply a sleek and stylish alternative to the similarly sized A4? The answer is both yes and no.

Around town, the five-door coupé performs its duties without fault. Having been specifically designed as a four-seater means there is space for one less person on the back seat when compared to the A4. The front and rear seats are also mounted slightly lower, prompting a little more effort when climbing in and out. The 7-speed S tronic gearbox is not a smooth as we’d expect based on past experience in the Q5 3.0 TDI and A5 3.2 FSI Cabriolet. Of course we’re talking in relative terms here, after all, it does still offer the speed and fluidity associated with dual-clutch transmissions, but at slow speed and when coming to a stop, the S tronic spoke in a muted whine and the downshifts, especially into first gear, were obvious.

From the driver’s seat however, the steering is light and responsive and tightens up accordingly as speed increases. All-round visibility is good and thankfully the elongated C-pillar does not create a large blindspot usually associated with low or sloping roof lines. At 4.71 meters the A5 Sportback is still a long car though and, for some, the optional park-distance control might be a worthy investment to protect the paintwork in close quarters.

The A5′s suspension is firm, more so than you would anticipate judging by the elegant lines and implied grace of the car’s exterior. It’s not uncomfortable however, and once the road turns twisty, the A5 Sportback quickly sets itself apart from the similarly sized A4 and its alter ego begins to show.

As you flow from corner to corner, the Sportback’s firm and low slung ride – and not forgetting the Quattro all-wheel drive hardware – is capable of rewarding its driver with a grin. Despite a lack of feel, typical of most power-assisted steering setups on today’s modern cars, the steering itself is precise and there’s little evidence to suggest there’s a hefty 2.2-tonnes of car attached to the other end. The responsive and torquey diesel fires the car out of the turns, while the ventilated disc brakes do a good job of slowing the wheels.

The Sportback is also fitted with all manner of safety aids, including airbags, ABS, EBD, ESP and TPS (tyre pressure monitoring system). We unintentionally had the opportunity to test the TPS system. Something – a nine inch nail judging by the size of the hole! – punctured the rear left tyre on our test route. Within a minute the tyre had completely deflated and we’d come to a stop to confirm our suspicions. To cut a long story short, only when the tyre had been replaced and we needed to reduce the pressure, as a result of slight over inflation, did the system flash a warning on the car’s MMI screen. We were surprised the system didn’t respond quicker to the loss of pressure associated with the puncture.

‘Efficiency’ is the new buzz word in the motoring industry at the moment and the A5 Sportback range does its part by use of a brake energy recuperation system. During the coasting and braking phase, the alternator converts the kinetic energy into electrical energy that is stored temporarily in the battery. When the five-door coupé accelerates again, the battery feeds the energy back. This improves fuel efficiency by reducing the load on the alternator, which is driven by the engine.

The A5 Sportback is convincing in achieving its design philosophy. It’s well suited in its duties as an executive saloon/coupé and at the same time, the combination of performance and handling from the 3.0 TDI makes it a fun car to drive.

What we like…

• Plenty of power supplied by the 3.0-litre diesel, with the benefit of low fuel consumption.
• The combination of great looks, performance and versatility.

What we would like…

• The MMI controller to be positioned in front of gear selector, instead of on the centre console.
• An automatically activated parking brake is handy
• A rear window wiper. It’s no fun parallel parking at night, in the rain, without being able to see.

Following the launch of the A5 Sportback range in January this year, Audi South Africa has now introduced a S5 Sportback performance oriented model.

The five-door S5 Sportback is powered by a supercharged 3,0-litre V6 engine with an output of 245 kW and 440 N.m of torque. The supercharger sits in the 90 degree ‘V’ shaped by the banks of the cylinders and produces up to 0.8 bar of pressure. Two intercoolers lower the temperature of the compressed intake air for improved filling of the combustion chambers.

Power is delivered to the wheels via a seven-speed S tronic dual clutch gearbox and quattro drive, with optional sport differential.

The S5 Sportback sprints from zero to 100 km/h in 5.4 seconds and accelerates up to an electronically governed top speed of 250 km/h. The supercharged V6 unit consumes a claimed 9,4 l/100km on average, with C02 emissions of 219 g/km.

The Audi S5 Sportback has a sports-tuned chassis. The S-design 18-inch cast aluminum wheels are shod with 245/40 tyres and black brake calipers are emblazoned with S5 emblems. Servotronic speed-sensitive steering is also standard, with dynamic steering available as an option. A strut brace provides the front section of the car with additional rigidity.

Standard specification on the S5 Sportback includes the likes of ‘S’ sports suspension, 18-inch alloy wheels, multi-function leather sports steering wheel with ‘S’ emblem, decorative carbon inlays, ‘S’ design exterior styling cues and ‘S’ sports seats.

As with all Audi models a range of options are available, some of which include a Sports Differential; Audi Drive Select; Bang and Olufsen sound system; front and rear park distance control; lane change assistance and departure warning; adaptive lighting.

The Audi S5 Sportback 3.0T FSI S tronic is available from R636 500 and is sold with a one year, unlimited kilometre warranty.

Not that far behind the Audi A5 Coupé and Cabriolet comes the A5 Sportback and, although nominally a platform member of the A5 trio, it is a distinct model in its own right with very specific styling to accommodate the sloping hatch back end.

Possibly not that easy to spot at first glance, the styling is a carefully considered exercise and stylist, Markus Gleitz, points to the narrowing flanks saying: “We had to design this as a four seater to allow the lines of the car to flow together elegantly to support the look of the rear hatch.”

So a four-seater it is – with the rear seats lowered slightly to give adequate headroom beneath the downward curving roofline. The A5 Sportback is 36 mm lower than the A4 Sedan, while the short front overhang, long wheelbase and wide track emphasise the car’s athletic disposition set off by four frameless doors with slim window lines.

The tailgate is seamlessly integrated into the extended, tapered tail end with the slender C-pillars and even the high-level brake light is new and elongated to fit neatly into the overall architecture. The luggage compartment volume of 480 litres nearly matches that of the A4 Avant and can be increased to 980 litres by folding the rear seats down.

The front is dominated by the single-frame grille, distinguished here by horizontal bars and a narrow surround of anodised aluminium. Xenon headlights and daytime running lights are standard, as are the fog lights with their chrome surrounds mounted in the side air intakes. The daytime running light feature light-emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged in an arched strip.

The A5 Sportback’s sporty character is also immediately apparent when viewed from the side. The large wheels are framed by a powerful body with a slender window strip. The C pillar runs rearward in a long, elegant wave and integrates a narrow third side window with an upward pointing tip – homage to the Audi 100 Coupé S from 1969.

“Audi South Africa’s 3,6% market share represents a 24% improvement in market penetration compared to 2008, and is also Audi’s highest ever market share,” says Ryan Searle, General Manager of Audi Sales and Marketing.

For the South African market, The A5 Sportback is initially offered with a choice of two petrol and one TDI engines. The petrol engine line-up comprises the 2,0-litre TFSI unit with power and torque maximums of 155 kW and 350 Nm respectively, and the 3,2-litre FSI V6 with 195 kW and 330 Nm. Both petrol power plants are equipped with the Audi valve lift system for variable control of valve lift. The intelligent technology boosts performance, while simultaneously reducing fuel consumption.

The front-wheel drive A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI is equipped with Audi’s multitronic continuously variable automatic transmission with eight ‘virtual’ ratios linked to both manual and sport modes. The 3.0 V6 TDI delivers 176 kW of maximum power and a torque peak of 500 Nm.

The two top variants share the same seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission and deliver their muscle to all four wheels via Audi’s quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. These two models are also optionally available with the newly developed sport differential, which variably distributes power between the rear wheels. The front-wheel-drive A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI is equipped with the latest generation ESP stabilisation program that now includes a new electronic differential lock. The system works like a mechanical locking differential and makes the handling more neutral by preventing understeer and improving traction. This enhances the driving dynamics when cornering under load and on both wet and dry road surfaces. As soon as the electronics detect the load on the inside, front wheel is reduced too much and the wheel is losing traction, the system initiates brief, controlled braking. This redirects the excess torque to the outside wheel, which due to the greater dynamic wheel load is capable of delivering more power to the road.

Standard equipment includes servotronic steering, climatronic three-zone air-conditioning, multifunction three-spoke steering wheel with gear shift controls, concert radio/CD player with Audi Sound System, driver information system with colour display, tyre pressure monitor and electrically operated front seats with lumbar support for 3.0 TDI and 3.2 V6.

Pricing starts at R414 500 for the 2.0T FSI 155 kW multitronic, moving up to R503 500 for the 3.2 FSI quattro S-tronic with the 3.0 TDI quattro S-tronic at R511 500.

As with all Audi products there is a whole raft of optional add-ons from the must-have to nice-to-have and our launch cars were fitted with the optional 18-inch wheels (17-inch are standard).

On a run from Durban to Eshowe and back, what used to a beautiful and suitably winding road is now breakdance around potholes big enough to swallow an entire informal settlement. Suffice it to say the Audi – and we had only the two V6 versions to try out – makes rapid changes of direction with alacrity, the brakes word just fine and steering input is instantly translated accurately.

The low profiles tyres on those roads did make the ride quite choppy and, perhaps a compromise with wheel and tyre size might be the way to go for South Africa owners. Nit picking, the steering felt slightly wooden as there is far less returned to the driver than one would possibly expect from a car with this sporting heritage.

Colin Windell is the editor of Fleet magazine and contributor to SACarFan.

ABT Sportsline has just unveiled the ABT AS5 – the company’s Audi A5 Sportback program – that brings both styling and performance upgrades to the new model. The ABT AS5 Audi A5 Sportback aerodynamics package includes a front apron, front grille, wing inserts and a rear spoiler. The ABT AS5 comes with a set of quad-exhausts and rides on 20-inch alloy wheels.

In terms of power, the ABT AS5 is equipped with Audi’s 3.0 TDI engine and outputs 207 kW with the tuner’s ‘Power’ package and 228 kW and 610 N.m of torque with the ‘Power S’. This is enough to send the ABT AS5 from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.8 seconds. The 2.0 TFSI version of the ABT AS5 develops 202 kW.

The ABT AS5 package also includes sport coilovers and upgraded brakes with 380 mm discs and 8-piston callipers.

A6? S8? No, this is the new Audi A7, a hatchback version of the next-generation A6 and Ingolstadt’s answer to the Mercedes CLS. Caught on test ahead of its 2010 debut, the new A7 will carry a price premium over its saloon sibling, and be marketed as a posher, sleeker A6, in much the same way that the A5 Sportback is positioned slightly above the A4 saloon.

The question is, does Audi really need an A6, A7, and A8? Apparently so, but don’t mock them: Mercedes has the E-class, CLS and S-class and no one complains about its bulging model range. So while the A4 and A6 are more mass-market, mainstream saloons, the A5 Sportback and A7 are designed to offer sexier (and less practical) alternatives; the A7 will be available with four seats, and a fifth may not even be offered as an option.

The A6 and A7 share their steel-reinforced aluminium platforms, and it’s the A7 that will arrive first – an unveiling is scheduled for mid-2010, with the new A6 saloon to follow in early 2011.

High-end models will come first with standard air suspension and there’ll be a choice of petrols (2.8 V6 FSI, supercharged 3.0 V6, 4.2 V8) and diesels (2.7 V6, 3.0 V6 with one or two turbos), mated to manual, automatic or dual-clutch gearboxes.

A hybrid version will reportedly follow in 2011, using the same electric motor and Sanyo battery pack that will appear on the Q5 hybrid next year. An S7 model is also on the cards, we may get an RS7, but there won’t be any four-cylinder variants unless Audi can hit its sales target of selling 40 000 A7′s per year.

Expect both the interior and exterior styling to mimic the Sportback concept that was unveiled at the 2009 Detroit auto show, the latest tech lifted from the new A8, and a £2 000 premium over the A6 when UK sales start towards the end of 2010. The A7 should be unveiled late next summer, and first appear at the Paris motor show, though there may be a surprise unveiling at the Moscow show.

Adapted from Car

Audi will be releasing a host of models in coming years to expand into new segments as it attempts to topple BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the quest to sell more than a 1.5 million vehicles by 2015. Some of the cars in the pipeline include the A1 premium hatch, A7 four-door coupe and a Sportback version of the current A5 Coupe.

Earlier this week, Audi released the first details for the new A5 Sportback, which is set to go on sale in Europe following a debut at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Pricing in Europe will start at €33 650 for the base 2,0-litre TDI model, however Audi has confirmed that an even cheaper model will arrive in the middle of next year.

Described as offering the practicality of an Avant wagon with the elegant styling of a coupe, the new A5 Sportback features a five door body with an elongated profile. This coupe-like silhouette is the result of a roof section with a long, tapering roofline that is 36 mm lower than the A4 Sedan and of the short overhangs at the front and rear as well as the long wheelbase of 2 810 mm.

Inside, there’s 980-litres of storage available with the rear seats are folded and generous space for four adults.

Initially the A5 Sportback will be available with a choice of two petrol and three diesel engines. The two petrol versions, the 2.0 TFSI quattro with an output of 155 kW and 350 N.m of torque and the 3,2-litre V6 quattro generating 195 kW are both equipped with the Audi valvelift system. This feature can produce more power and higher torque as well as lower fuel consumption.

The following engines are also available right from the start: the 2,0-litre TDI with 125 kW and 350 N.m of torque, a 6-speed manual gearbox and start/stop system, the 2,7-litre TDI with 140 kW and 400 N.m of torque, and the 3,0-litre V6 TDI with 170 kW plus an enormous 500 N.m of maximum torque and quattro all-wheel drive.

To ensure optimal handling performance the A5 Sportback comes with a newly developed electronic stability program with an electronic differential lock on the front axle. The car also comes with the Audi drive select dynamic driving system, which allows the driver to choose between three different modes which influences the throttle response characteristics, the shift points for the seven-speed S tronic or multitronic transmissions, and supports the servotronic steering. If the vehicle is equipped with the MMI operating system, a fourth, freely programmable level is also available.

Expect more details to be released closer to the car’s unveiling in September.

Adapted from MotorAuthority