Triple treat

A five-door liftback version of the Audi A5 has been launched in New Zealand. Rob Maetzig says first impressions are that it is an appealing car.

In 2007, when Audi first launched its new A5 two-door sports coupe, world-renowned vehicle designer Walter de Silva claimed it to be the most beautiful car he had ever created.

There was certainly plenty to underline that opinion. The A5 and its high-performance sibling, the S5, are beautiful coupes, the look helped no end by a distinctively curved shoulder line that sweeps front to rear over the wheel arches.

But if there is any single issue about the A5/S5, it is that it is a two-door coupe, with all the hassles that go with that. I don't particularly like coupes – I never have – and it's all because of the large size of the doors which make them difficult to get in and out of in tight parking spaces.

So personally, I feel the lovely driver position and exhilarating performance potential, which always seems to be part of the two-door coupe experience, will always be overshadowed by the real dangers of throwing your back out while trying to climb in and out of the thing.

Call me traditional, but I much prefer the superior ease of cars with their own doors accessing the back seats.

So last week, I was delighted to be introduced to a new five-door version of the A5. It's called the A5 Sportback (Audi sporty speak for liftback), and while it retains the magnificent bodyshell lines of the coupe, it has the user-friendliness of the five doors.

Not only that, but the rear hatch opens high and wide to reveal a luggage compartment that offers 480 litres of space, substantially more than the coupe and almost as much as the A4 Avant. And when the rear seats are folded down, this increases further to an impressive 980 litres.

The body length is increased when compared to the coupe, and the roof height is increased, which means there is good room inside, even though the rear head space still feels a little cramped.

But overall, this new A5 Sportback easily assumes a strong place in the luxury market for executive mid-sized cars.

At a media function at Audi New Zealand headquarters in Auckland, company executives described the Sportback as "three vehicles in one", with the silhouette of a coupe, comfort of a sedan, and the practicality of a station wagon.

The good news is that the Sportback drives well too. While the front and rear tracks remain the same as the coupe and cabriolet versions, the wheelbase has been extended by 59mm to 2751mm, and this helps gives a strong ability to flow through corners and bends.

Audi's quattro full-time all-wheel drive helps as well, of course, as does a wealth of ride and handling aids, including traction control and stability control, which come as standard, and the Audi drive select vehicle dynamics system that is standard on one model and an option on the rest.

One new option that is really impressive is a Sports Differential which can be installed at a cost of $2700, and which is described as the inverse of stability control.

Whereas stability control works by braking certain wheels and taking over engine revolutions when on-board computers judge that the driver might be about to lose control of the vehicle, with the Sports Differential, either one of the rear wheels is accelerated by up to 10 per cent to keep things under control. When that happens, the opposite rear wheel is decelerated by 10 per cent.

The A5 Sportback launches in New Zealand with a choice of a 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine and a 3.0-litre TDI diesel. It comes with standard and S-Line levels of specification, and the prices range from $89,900 for the 2.0-litre TFSI to $117,900 for the 3.0-litre S-Line.

In April, an S5 Sportback will also be launched, powered by the same 3.0-litre supercharged engine that is under the bonnet of the S4. Pricing for this car has yet to be announced.

At last week's media event, there were none of the 2.0-litre models available to drive, but the Audi information tells us that the in-line four-cylinder turbocharged and intercooled spark-ignition engine develops 155 kilowatts of power and 350 newton metres of torque.

The engine is mated to a seven-speed S-Tronic automatic suspension, and they combine to scoot the car to 100kmh in 6.6 seconds. The average fuel consumption is 7.4 litres per 100km.

Meanwhile, the six-cylinder 3.0-litre diesel with variable vane turbocharger develops 176kW of power and an impressive 500Nm of torque, and it can accelerate the A5 to the open-road speed limit in 6.1 seconds. Fuel use with this engine averages 6.6 litres per 100km.

We did drive the 3.0-litre turbo diesel, and it was impressive, particularly the S-Line models with their adaptive suspension with Drive Select, and body-hugging sports seats.

The timing of the New Zealand launch of this five-door A5 could not be better for Audi, because it happens not only at a time when is the luxury market emerging from recession, but just after the German marque has taken over top spot in that market with a share of more than 26 per cent.

It is a certainty that Audi fans will quickly recognise the new vehicle as offering an appealing combination of flexibility of use and coupe-like looks.

- © Fairfax NZ News