Launch of the new A5/S5 range

Audi Singapore last week welcomed in the refreshed A5 and S5 models in conjunction with the upcoming Audi Fashion Festival at the Red Dot Museum.

The award-winning Audi A5/S5 model range has always been a visual masterpiece with its flowing silhouette, sharp lines and muscular surfaces making a powerful statement of Audi’s design ethos. Combining striking features and dynamic driving performance with quality and sophistication, Audi is continuing the success story of the car which has made waves in this emotionally charged segment of the market.

The Audi A5 Coupé with its enticingly elegant lines is already a modern classic: among others, Audi received the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany for it in 2010. The two-door model also is a very capable everyday vehicle featuring a power rear hatch and a spacious interior. Thanks to the lightweight steel body with aluminum front fenders, the curb weight (without driver) of the base model is just 1,425 kilograms.

Taking the design of the Audi A5 Coupe forward involved carefully refining the existing design to bring it to the next level, making the car bolder, sharper and better than ever before.

The most distinctive visual element on the car is headlight design. The new headlights resemble a wedge. The LED daytime running lights of the optional xenon plus headlights constitute a narrow brace; Audi offers its adaptive light system as an option. The tail lights have also been modified. The body impresses with high rigidity, outstanding crash safety, refined vibrational comfort and low weight.

New materials and colors make the interior of the A5 more elegant than ever, and the controls have become even more intuitive. Optional sport seats or deluxe climate-controlled seats with active ventilation are available for the driver and front passenger, further enhancing the comfort of its occupants.

To further enhance the experience in the Audi A5 Coupe, it’s now possible to equip the car with the latest technologies from Audi. These include rest recommendation, a system that detects if the driver is getting tired and issues an appropriate warning. Other options include Audi side assist, Audi active lane assist and the updated adaptive cruise control, which uses radar to keep the five-door model at a constant interval to the vehicle ahead. If the threat of a rear-end collision becomes imminent at speeds below 30 km/h (18.64 mph), this system will perform a full brake application.

The infotainment systems in the Audi A5 have also been significantly upgraded. The optional top unit is the MMI navigation plus, which can be combined with the Bluetooth online car phone. Under the name Audi connect, the latter delivers attractive online services to the car and connects the passengers’ mobile devices to the Internet via WLAN.

Dynamic steering comes standard for the Audi A5 Coupe in Singapore while power comes from either petrol or diesel power plants driving all four wheels via the iconic quattro system. For petrol, the choice is between the award-winning 2.0 TFSI unit or the new 3.0 TFSI supercharged engine rated at 272bhp. Both engines feature forced induction, direct fuel injection and are equipped with Audi’s latest efficiency strategies including engine start-stop system to be even more frugal than before. Between the two, the latter option replaces the larger displacement 3.2 FSI but boasts more performance and better consumption and emissions.

The Audi A5 Coupe was the first diesel-powered coupe to be offered in Singapore. The 3.0 TDI unit returns in the sharper, bolder and better Audi A5 Coupe. The 3.0-liter V6 diesel engine is not just frugal and clean-burning but also offers tremendous real-world performance, with 245bhp and 500Nm of torque taking the Coupe smartly from 0-100km/h in just 5.8 seconds.

the A5 Cabriolet is the large, open-top four-seater from Audi. As with its sister models, it is now even more elegant and refined following its refresh.

Like every open-top Audi, the A5 Cabriolet has a classic fabric top. It opens and closes fully automatically in just 15 seconds. Audi also offers an optional acoustic top with a layer of insulating foam. When opened, the top folds up into a small package that leaves 320 liters of luggage capacity in the trunk (380 liters) when closed). The folding rear seat backs and the load-through hatch expand luggage capacity to 750 liters.

A wind deflector and automatic belt feeds for the front seats round up the comfortable character of the A5 Cabriolet; neck-level heating is available as an option. A special coating for the likewise optional leather seats prevents them from heating up too much in the sun. The surface of the windshield frame is anodized aluminum.
Reinforcing elements integrated into the body of the open-top four-seater compensate for the lack of a hard roof. Head-thorax-side airbags and aluminum plates that deploy automatically as roll-over protection stand at the ready in the event of a crash. Dynamic steering delivers added agility from the A5 Cabriolet which is available with the same petrol engine options as with the A5 Coupe, delivering the similarly spirited drive to match its sensuous looks.

The Audi A5 Sportback deserves special mention as a car that has defined a new segment for the market by delivering the qualities that have come to define the Audi Sportback formula; combining the practicality of an Avant with the style of a coupe.

The visual changes on the rest of the Audi A5 range certainly apply on the A5 Sportback but there’s an added option of a third seat on the rear bench, thereby further enhancing the usability of the car on top of its spacious luggage compartment that can be expanded from 480 to 1,283 liters.

Besides the petrol engines offered on the Coupe and Cabriolet, the Audi A5 Sportback is also available with the new 1.8 TFSI engine and continuously variable multitronic transmission.

The new engine features a host of trailblazing innovations: from the control of valves and their lift through thermal management and the injection system to the turbocharger and the integration of the exhaust manifold. The result is top level performance for its class matched with excellent economy and emissions.

The A5 family’s sport models – the S5 as Sportback, Coupé and Cabriolet – are strong sport cars for everyday driving which sacrifice nothing in terms of practicality. The range has also been overhauled. The most prominent changes are the wedge-shaped headlights, the hexagonal single-frame grille, the LED rear lights and the modified front and rear bumpers.

Eye-catching details distinguish the S5 models from their A5 counterparts. Such details include the radiator grille’s platinum-gray insert with sophisticated horizontal chrome struts, the honeycomb grilles in the air inlets with dual chrome trim and angular fog lights, the lower air inlet’s dimensions, the exterior mirror housings in aluminum look, and the sill moldings painted the same color as the body.

At the tail end, a diffuser insert with a blade in aluminum look and the dual-branch exhaust system with four elliptical tailpipe trims are all easy on the eyes. A spoiler is atop the S5 Sportback’s trunk lid, whereas the Coupé integrates its spoiler into the lid. Two paint finishes are reserved exclusively for S models: Estoril Blue, crystal effect and Prism Silver, crystal effect. The single-frame grille bears an S5 logo and V6 T badges adorn the sides.

S models are 14 (Coupé and Cabriolet) or 6 millimeters longer, respectively, than their A5 counterparts. The S5 Coupé and the S5 Cabriolet are 4.64 meters in length and the S5 Sportback measures 4.72 meters.

The interior likewise exhibits minor modifications. The leather multifunction sport steering wheel bearing an S5 logo – with a flat-bottomed rim upon request – is new. The instruments have gray gauges and white needles with hubs in aluminum look. When the vehicle starts up, the MMI screen will display a special greeting; the key features an S5 badge.

Brushed aluminum is used for the inlays. Optional inlays include Carbon Atlas, fine grain birch wood gray, stainless steel mesh or piano finish; in the latter two cases, the fascia in the instrument panel also shines thanks to a piano finish. The door sill trims bear S5 logos and the standard shift paddles feature an aluminum look.

The interior is dominated by a sporty black. Headlining in the S5 Coupé and S5 Sportback is lunar silver; an option for the S5 Cabriolet is star silver headlining. The standard sport seats feature an Alcantara/leather combination. The front center armrest as well as electrically adjustable and heated front seats are standard equipment.

Audi also optionally offers Fine Nappa leather for the electrically adjustable S sport seats with integrated head restraints and an embossed S5 logo. A further alternative consists of climate-controlled comfort seats covered with perforated Milano leather. Heat protection is standard for the Cabriolet. The lights package for the interior, the xenon plus headlights, the driver information system with color display, and an acoustic roof (for the Cabriolet) round out the S models’ special standard-equipment package.

A 3.0 TFSI engine with 333 hp now powers every version of the S5 line, including the Coupé. Compared to the 4.2-liter V8 which it has replaced, this supercharged V6 requires 20 percent less fuel on average. It consumes just 8.1 liters of fuel per 100 km while delivering solid driving performance. The S5 Coupé sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 seconds and goes on to reach an electronically governed top speed of 250 km/h.

The engine also provides imposing torque. The 3.0 TFSI steadily transmits 440 Nm of torque to the crankshaft between 2,900 and 5,300 rpm. Audi has put some more pep into the V6’s sound – it now roars even more powerfully under load.

The S5 Sportback requires just 5.1 seconds to cover zero to 100 km/h and averages 8.1 liters of fuel per 100 km. Data for the S5 Cabriolet are 5.4 seconds and 8.5 l/100km. A seven-speed S tronic is standard for all three S models. It distributes the engine’s power to the quattro drivetrain with a self-locking center differential in conjunction with torque vectoring; a sport differential is available here.

An additional innovation in the S5 family is electromechanical power steering, which can optionally be combined with Audi dynamic steering. The optional Audi drive select system makes driving an even more versatile and fascinating experience. The tightly tuned S sport suspension is also aided by electronically controlled shock absorbers.
The S models’ standard 18-inch cast aluminum wheels in a five parallel-spoke design are fitted with 245/40 tires. Audi alternatively offers 19-inch and 20-inch wheels fitted with tires as large as 265/30. Black brake calipers, bearing S5 emblems at the front, encircle the four large internally ventilated disc brakes.

Prices for the new models are as follows:
A5 Coupe 2.0 TFSI qu S tronic $254,038 incl. COE
A5 Coupe 2.0 TFSI qu S tronic $254,038 incl. COE
A5 Coupe 3.0 TDI qu S tronic $281,350 incl. COE
A5 Coupe 3.0 TFSI qu S tronic $280,850 incl. COE

A5 Sportback 1.8 TFSI mu $235,500 incl. COE
A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI qu S tronic $248,350 incl. COE
A5 Sportback 3.0 qu S tronic $275,850 incl. COE

A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TFSI qu S tronic $279,650 incl. COE
S5 Coupe 3.0 TFSI qu S tronic $314,050 incl. COE
S5 Sportback 3.0 TFSI qu S tronic $307,950 incl. COE
S5 Cabriolet 3.0 TFSI qu S tronic $346,150 incl. COE

Credits: Photos by Yang and Audi