The A5 3.0 TDI isn’t exactly a rocketship; neither is it totally comfortable jostling for position in the urban crawl when, below 1500rpm, the V6 diesel engine can feel a bit undernourished. Where this big capacity diesel finally finds its feet is playing the role of ‘effortless cruiser’ - knocking back the miles, exactly fitting the role cast for a big coupe.
Changes made to the 3.0 V6 diesel for the A5 have liberated a further 7bhp, but it’s the additional 37lb ft of torque that’s most evident. Low rev deficiencies aside, the delivery is linear - evidence third gear, good for 30mph to 80mph, with each 20mph increment taking less than four seconds.
More impressive than this flexibility is the fuss free delivery. The Audi may not be able to live with BMW’s epic twin turbo 335d - our A5 taking 6.4sec to reach 60mph from rest, but also weighing 145kg more than claimed - yet it’s the Audi diesel that’s the more sophisticated. Other than an occasional tyre drone, we can find little fault with the A5’s refinement. Even under hard acceleration only the slightest diesel chatter is audible.
And then there are the dynamics. The first pothole you take is enough to show that there’s been something of a revelation in Audi’s ride department. The A5’s longer wheelbase and improved weight distribution gives it a significantly improved secondary ride quality compared to the equivalent A4.
The second discovery is the A5’s new found agility; where an A4 or A6 feels nose heavy, the A5 is much more eager to change direction. And thirdly the changes to the steering system have indeed improved the response rate.
So a definite improvement. The truth is that for all the A5’s advancements it still just trails the 3-series in driver enjoyment terms if nothing else. Equally the A5’s ride quality may be light and day better next to the A6, but on the most demanding of B-roads the A5 can’t match the 3-series’ supple primary ride and taught body control.