AUDI A5 COUPE REVIEW

My car

I've had this car for over a year, & for the 1st time ever I plan on keeping this car for longer than 12 months (I'm that sure of it I've just given Audi £800 to extend the warranty).

This car is brilliant to drive. It has great acceleration and performance, especially on the motorway. Fast, yet quiet and refined (there's no way you can tell it's a diesel). Corners are also dealt with very easily with minimal body-roll and an assured level of grip from the 'Quattro' system.

The running costs would have been a 5* up to last October but Audi diesel engines all seem to take a big hit in mpg during the cold. I was regularly averaging nearly 40mpg on a 10 mile commute but over the winter this dropped to 30mpg. I suppose not bad for a 3.0 but still a little unexpected (although the warmer spring weather has meant it is gradually getting back up to high 30's).

Inside the car the materials are excellent & the quality up there with the best cars I have driven. The Sat Nav is easy to use & usually routes well. The ipod interface is brilliant (iPod hidden in the glove box and yet all functionality is controllable by the audi multimedia interface).

The back seats are ok, but if you're thinking of an A5 it probably isnt for a family with 2 teenagers. My 3yr old sits on her booster seat in the back & has few complaints - and i have no problems getting her there. Related to that, the boot is very big for a coupe and easily handled a weeks luggage for 3!

Overall, I love the A5

My car

As you can see from my previous review this is my second A5 due to a change in jobs and company cars.

Having been so impressed with the 180 BHP version of this engine I thought I'd push the boat out this time and opt for the higher powered version and having driven it I'm thrilled I've done so. It still suffers from the torque steer and wheel spin when gunned from a standing start but when overtaking it is very swift!

On this car I also opted for the B&O sound system which is stunning but I'm not sure its worth the additional cost over the standard setup which was also impressive.

One option I can now strongly recommend is the Bluetooth preparation for mobile phones. I have an iPhone and pairing it with the car took all of 10 seconds. Two minutes later and my contacts had automatically downloaded to the car system and I was up and running.

I love the refinement, power and economy this car delivers and would strongly recommend it for anyone who drives high mileage but wants something eye-catching and fast to drive.

My car

I had the 19" wheels fitted which made the ride somewhat firmer than normal but coupled with the SE suspension it was still a compliant and comfortable ride.

The quality of the cabin is outstanding. It's not an interior design that will blow you away but everything you touch feels reassuringly expensive and made to a high specification. It's also very quiet.

In this version of the 2.0TFSI engine the car has ample pull and acceleration for overtaking manoeuvres thanks to its high levels of torque but adversely this power works against the car from standing starts. It does suffer from torque steer if you gun it from a standing start and even in dry weather you can expect some wheel spin before the cars automated driving aids kick in. This does make for some interesting times in the snow but you wouldn't expect a coupe/GT to be made for this type of weather - I can say though that it performed significantly better than my neighbours BMW 320 coupe in snowy conditions.

The standard radio and speakers in SE trim were excellent with the only gripe being that although there is a connection that comes as standard for playing your MP3 player through the stereo it doesn't have the ability to control it (play, pause, skip etc). This is extra.

In summary it's stunning on the outside and makes you feel special and cosseted on the inside and with this engine you won't be embarrassed for speed but neither will you set any land speed records

My car

The A5 looks great from any angle especially the side. That is it's trump card. It looks like a coupe rather than a 2-dr saloon like the 3-series.

My car is specced with 19" low profile tyres and these are not the best. Again, they look fabulous but feel rough on the road and you feel EVERY pothole through the cabin. The worst aspect of the wheels or to be fair the tyres used are they are hopeless in the snow. You just have to gently lift the clutch and they start spinning. Bit of advice if driving in snowy times, take a spade! On occasion there can be an issue with the doors getting stuck when icy. This means that they will not close properly.

The 2.0 TFSi engine is not as great performance as claimed. It is far from slow but it's not the quickest either.

The cabin is a mixture of superb and not so superb! This car is built well and of good quality materials. The design is not so good. Fiddly, small buttons and rather fiddly heating controls. Cup holders are placed poorly beside the gearstick so if you have a bottle of water in it it interferes when changing gear. All switches are behind gear stick. OK when in 2nd, 4th and 6th but nor so good when in 1st, 3rd or 5th. Fog light switches are buried behind steering wheel. This is all a bit of a mess! Especially compared to my previous clean, logically laid out Saab dash.

Rear legroom is poor for the size of the car especially as it is marketed as a 4 seater.

All in a beautiful looking car but compromised.