SOME seven long years after the first generation made its local debut, Audi has launched the new second generation A5 and S5 Cabriolet onto the Australian market, bringing the style and design of the popular coupé and the freedom of top-down motoring together.
The striking A5 Cabriolet, and its performance sibling, has a similar athletic and sculpted appearance as its coupé sibling, highlighted by dramatic lines and taut surfaces, while maintaining its classic proportions, with the added advantage of a lightweight soft-top, offering outstanding areo-acoustics, and one-touch actuation.
The K-fold roof opens in only 15 seconds, and closes in 18 seconds, and can be operated in either direction at speeds of up to 50 km/h, for extra convenience. Microphones integrated into the seatbelt allow easy conversation, even with the roof open.
“The Audi A5 Cabriolet models offer a winning combination of great design, exciting driving performance and the freedom of open-top motoring,” said Paul Sansom, Managing Director of Audi Australia.
“The addition of the S5 Cabriolet goes one step further, adding potent engine sound and performance, plus a visually arresting S model design, to the exceptional feeling of open-top motoring. Even as the engine starts, this vehicle comes alive, connecting the driver and road in one seamless experience of outdoor freedom.”
The A5 Cabriolet features numerous safety features, including autonomous emergency braking, along with other safety assistance features like exit warning, side assist, parking system plus with rear view camera and rear cross traffic alert.
It comes with three drive train options, including the S5. The entry-level 2.0 TFSI S-tronic drives the front wheels only, with the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission providing a real gain in sporty power delivery compared to its predecessor’s multitronic CVT arrangement.
With 140kW and 320Nm and the ability to sprint from 0-100km/h in just 7.9 seconds, the entry-level A5 Cabriolet offers significantly more performance than before. Fuel consumption is impressive, thanks to the engine’s sophisticated dual injection, B-cycle combustion and advanced start-stop technology, at just 5.9 L/100km.
The other two models in the A5 soft-top line-up are both quattro models, with an all-wheel drive arrangement that employs the proven centre differential and a standard front-to-rear torque split of 40:60 respectively. Up to 70 percent of the engine’s torque can be directed to the front and up to 85 percent to the rear during particularly dynamic driving conditions.
The 2.0 TFSI engine delivers a substantial 185kW and 370Nm, and together with the advantage of quattro, can reach 100km/h from rest in only 6.3 seconds – well into the realm of more expensive sports cars. Both 2.0 TFSI engines are equipped with the seven-speed S-tronic dual-clutch transmission as standard.
The S5 Cabriolet offers the next level of performance again, and is 40kg lighter than its predecessor. With a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 engine that is an all-new design from the ground up, the new engine produces 260kW (up 15kW), with peak torque of 500Nm (up 60Nm).
This spontaneous response is aided by the twin-scroll turbocharger’s location inside the 90-degree vee, which ensures the shortest possible travel path for exhaust gases to pass through. The engine itself is 14kg lighter than its predecessor’s supercharged power plant.
Efficiency is also assured, at just 7.9 L/100km, also thanks to the same innovative B-cycle combustion method used in the 2.0 TFSI engine. Matched to a fast-shifting eight-speed tiptronic automatic transmission and quattro, the all-new S5 Cabriolet can reach 100km/h in just 5.1sec.
As an enhancement to the standard quattro drive line, it is also possible to option a sport differential on the rear axle that can apportion even more torque to the wheel with the most grip. This effectively ‘points’ the car towards the apex of a corner.
This quattro system is the perfect partner for the newly developed five-link front and rear suspensions that is standard on all A5 and S5 models, and can be further complemented by the optional adaptive dampers (standard on S5) that can be adjusted for a more comfortable ride, focused dynamics and everything in between via the Audi drive select system.
The brake system on the S5 Cabriolet is suitably powerful, with 350mm ventilated front discs clamped by 6-piston calipers. The entry-level A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TFSI boasts 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, Audi virtual cockpit, and MMI Navigation plus (with 10GB media storage and 2x SDHC slots).
It also comes with Audi connect with Audi smartphone interface (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), DAB+ digital radio, convenience key and the 180w Audi sound system all as standard equipment, with additional standard features on the quattro models.
The A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TFSI S-tronic (140kW) hits the road at $83,400, while the A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TFSI quattro S-tronic (185kW) is priced from $95,000. The powerhouse S5 Cabriolet 3.0 TFSI quattro tiptronic (260kW) is on sale from $119,111 (plus on roads for all models).
