Audi A5 Sportback: The A+ student

Tuscany is the land of the Renaissance. The lakes, vineyards and gracefully crumbling walls of hilltop villas around Florence, characterise a land that heaved Europe out of the Middle Ages, into a new dawn of culture, art, literature and political structure.

Audi chose this place to launch its new A5 Sportback. Funnily enough, the connection between Florence - and its province Tuscany - and Audi's fairly recent resurgence struck me only after I came back to Dubai from my trip to test the Sportback.

Up until the Eighties - some would argue even during the Nineties - there were really only two premium carmakers in Germany: Mercedes and BMW. Audi was somewhere down there with Volkswagen and Opel, churning out featureless diesels, mostly, with matchbox bodies and front-wheel-drive. Then one day someone in Ingolstadt thought that maybe four driven wheels would be better than two. Certainly better than the front two. Quattro was born, Audi dominated Eighties rallying and in the Nineties, it became serious on the production line too, finally matching BMW and Mercedes in premium build quality and luxury. It wasn't enough, though. The four-rings have long moved off Finland's gravel stages and Monte Carlo's icy switchbacks; Audi now wants to dominate the production car territory, not just equal it. The company's goal is to offer 42 models by 2015. Florence's renaissance began in the 14th century. Ingolstadt's begins now, in the 21st.

It's all in the looks

In designing the A5 Sportback, Audi didn't want the equivalent of an accountant on wheels. It already has the A6.

With the Sportback, it was necessary to lure younger buyers as well as those who walk into the showroom to check out the A5 coupé, but moan about needing more space. Audi is also confident of this one eating into the sales of BMW's 3 Series and Merc's C-Class. It may even get the Volkswagen Golf brigade to jump on the coupé-saloon bandwagon. I reckon it will steal a few sales from the bigger 5 Series and E-Class as well. Not to mention Audi's own A4 and A6 - it's puzzling that the company would jeopardise its own models, but Audi insists it's attracting new buyers rather than current owners.

Unlike the A6, this five-door, four-seater coupé features emotional styling, that's for sure. Its powerful elegance is exemplified by its proportions. It all starts with a long 2.81m wheelbase teamed with short overhangs and a roofline that's 36mm lower than the A4. It's got the stance sorted. The A5 coupé width also helps cut a serious figure on the road. A huge Audi grille gapes up front with slanted headlights (basically, it's 100 per cent A5 coupé), while the profile is tightened with an extra-high waistline and an elegant wave running the length of the side. Wheels range from 17 to 20in, but the smallest set looks lost in the massive arches. Only the biggest S-Line rims really fill the wells purposefully.

The signature styling cue has to be the C-pillar. Audi is very proud of its little kink right at the corner of the window, differentiating it from the rest of the range and signifying the A5 Sportback's coupé roots. Um, but isn't it just BMW's Hofmeister kink on an Audi? I didn't dare ask the Sportback's project manager that question though. The tailgate is another highlight, not just because it conceals a massive boot, but because of its elegance and the simplicity with which it successfully meets coupé-saloon criteria - tall rear, with short window and slightly sloping roof that flows down towards the boot. The A5 Sportback is one of the prettiest Audis on sale.

The range

A fleet of A5 Sportbacks in front of Florence’s Amerigo Vespucci airport was prepared by Audi with memorised scenic routes in the sat-nav, which would take me to the outskirts of the city and into rural Tuscany, through wheat fields and past medieval castles resting atop cypress-lined hills. Six engines are available with the Sportback; three of them are brilliantly silent and torquey diesels, with pulling power unmatched by any of the petrols on offer. The 2.0-litre and 2.7-litre TDIs drive the front wheels through a manual or automatic gearbox, developing 170 and 190bhp respectively. Putting out 240 horses via a double-clutch gearbox and all-wheel-drive, is the 3.0-litre TDI A5 Sportback. The diesel-clatter is completely absent with this engine, and with the benefits of its economy, masses of torque and performance — 0-100kph in 6.1secs, 250kph limited top speed — it’s undoubtedly the one to have.

Unfortunately, all the diesels are irrelevant to us, so the petrols are represented by two 2.0-litre engines and a 3.2-litre V6.

Strangely, we won’t be seeing the most powerful A5 Sportback in the Middle East. Audi will import only the 2.0-litre TFSI Quattros into the UAE and not the 265bhp top-of-the-line model.

It’s a shame; this model is capable of returning between 25 and 30mpg, while delivering furious acceleration and mid-range grunt, thanks to 330Nm of torque taking over control at 3,000rpm. A V6 up front would usually mount turn-in problems and understeer around the apex and exit points of corners, but with quattro and adaptive chassis control, the only understeer you’ll experience is when you tackle hairpins with your right foot down all the way through. With the V6 A5 Sportback, slow in and fast out is the name of the game. It also manages to feel relatively light, skipping across badly cambered roads and ruts with ease, swinging left to right as if it was a couple of hundred kilos lighter.

This lightness isn’t just an illusion. The 3.2-litre V6 engine uses a crankcase made of an aluminium and silicon alloy, which aids weight distribution and balances axle loads. This is why I had the feeling that I was handling a much more compact car. Weight transfer is very mild and never shakes the tail loose even after aggressive direction swings — this is also in part due to the optional 20in 265/30 Bridgestones. Yet, it’s not as quick as the 3.0-litre TDI: half-a-second slower to 100kph, and not nearly as rapid out of tight bends or during overtaking manoeuvres which require passing a line of a few cars.

The V6 TDI demolishes short sprints thanks to 500Nm of torque.

The one that really matters

Once I sampled the rest of the range and dived into the side-bolstered S-Line leather seat of the 2.0-litre TFSI A5 Sportback, I stayed there for pretty much the remainder of the weekend. The range has already impressed me, but I was hoping the 2.0-litre car would provide an even more enjoyable ride on the twisty, quiet roads of Saturday-morning Tuscany.

It's a light package, despite a mostly-steel body and only the front fenders made of aluminium, to lower the weight over the front axle which already has the engine to deal with. Due to its proportions and wind-tunnel fine tuning, all four-cylinder Sportbacks score well in aerodynamic efficiency too; the drag coefficient is 0.29.

Almost perfect ergonomics and high-grade plastics or leather are pretty much everywhere, except for the multitude of chrome accents surrounding every major knob, switch or control cluster. Yet, it's not overly shiny and brash. In fact, Audi could've been even more adventurous with the cabin, which seats strictly four occupants. But, it's an Audi, so while the exterior looks fabulous, you can't get everything you want, therefore the interior is accountant-like, just as in the A6. Business as usual for Audi, then.

I didn't mind the staid cabin which doesn't befit a 'coupé', because I soon put the 211 horses to the road. On one pre-programmed route titled 'Dynamic', I fittingly switched the adaptive chassis to dynamic mode at which point the throttle response immediately sharpened, while the weight of the steering wheel in my hands increased and tightened in its centre. It transformed the car, and with the seven-speed box in sports mode, the shifts were lightning quick, well into the red section of the rev band. I found that 211bhp with quattro was plenty for a thoroughly exhilarating drive on such fantastic and empty roads. The force-fed but free-revving engine coupled to a chassis featuring a new sports differential and adaptive shock absorber control equals very brisk, understeer-free progress.

Again, it was the lightness of the vehicle and willingness to drastically shift its weight without impacting the passengers too much which impressed most. I could dispatch linked hairpins and esses on the hardest suspension setting, riding the red rev zone throughout the sequence of bends without the need for additional steering correction. You can also correct your direction with the throttle, which on lift-off, sends weight to the tail and gently tucks you back on line. It's a fantastically engineered driver's car and not just a marketing-orientated design.

And if the 2.0-litre TFSI A5 Sportback is a smidgen of a sign of things to come from Audi's renaissance, I can't wait to see what it will do with the S5 Sportback.

Specs