Audi A5 - Luxury Design and Solid Performance

I do have a confession to make: I am partial to European luxury sport sedans. This is not to disparage the capable offerings from Lexus or even the stylish road manners of the Cadillac CTS. However, when it comes to road feel mated to raw horsepower - give me a European made model anytime. At the top of my personal favorite list are those autos badged with the Audi name.

The Audi A5, introduced back in 2007 provides all that I love about European sport sedans in a two door model. It gets top marks from me along with its little four-door sister the A4. For road handling, and power in a package that's fun to drive neither of  these Audis ever disappoint. The A5's design lines reminded me somewhat of the aerodynamic designs of the late 1940s and early 1950s. I know it is cliché, but the designers and engineers behind the A5 really have mated style with function.

The road-hugging all-wheel-drive A5 gets its zip from 265 horsepower 3.2-liter V6 that will get your heart-pumping as you enter the freeway off ramp, to this I can personally attest. Make no mistake, this luxury sport coupe is a heavy vehicle - approaching the two ton mark, but nonetheless it handles ably on curvy two lanes as well as the local interstate.

Inside both passengers and drivers will find four comfortable seats, and function doesn't hamper the design, as the ample trunk offers 16.1 cubic feet of cargo space - enough to swallow a half dozen grocery bags with absolute ease.

The marketing folks at Audi note that “for coupe buyers, emotion plays a major role in their choice of car”. Layman's translation: the car's styling needs to be impressive. On this specification, the Audi clearly delivers - as one neighbor (a BMW aficionado)  remarked, “It looks like it’s going 70 miles per hour, just parked in your driveway.” Nice. I'm sure that's the reaction the Audi designers were aiming for, and the designer can't help but brag just a bit.

“The Audi A5 is the most beautiful car I have ever designed”, says Walter de'Silva, Head of Volkswagen Group Design, with absolute conviction.

Indeed.  In  slightly less than two years the A5 has garnered more than a few industry awards and deserving glowing accolades from the motoring press. High -end consumers are snatching these cars up as well, and with a sticker price in the high $40,000's it is easy to see why.  •

Gary Giacomo is the Automotive Editor for Golf & Lifestyle magazine.