Verona, Italy – There is just a hint of irony in the choice of fair Verona as a place in which to introduce the new A5 coupe range. Unlike Shakespeare’s infamous play Romeo and Juliet, there’s no virgin suicide in this coupe play by Audi, though there is a bit of a tragedy. You see, the sultry A5 has met its share of criticism in the press for being a bit of a bore, which isn’t exactly fair. The A5 has been introduced third, behind the wonderfully entertaining R8 and surprisingly hooliganistic TT. Unfortunately, timing is everything and as the third curtain call, the A5 just comes out as more reserved. Most reserved of all, we suspect, is the A5 3.2 – the base engine for America and also one of the least headline-grabbing of the European lineup. But, does this make it a bore?

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a different purpose for the A5 vs. S5, and that's Ok.

now if AoA can bring the V6 TDi to the States...

Modified by fxhomie at 1:35 PM 5/31/2007

I personally find the A/S5 to appear as an Audi, with the looks of an Aston Martin DB9/DBR9, but a only a fraction of the price tag.

Modified by chernaudi at 3:07 PM 5-31-2007

Fan of Cher and Audi

Also a fan of:
Within Temptation
Q: The only thing more emotive and piercing than the sound of V12 supercar engine?
A: The voice of Sharon den Adel(lead singer of WT)

"no one's ever going to write, "Oh, she's actually just a pretty f---in' average chick who really loves what she does." That's not gonna happen."-Kristen Stewart

I still really want my 5.

Many thanks. This was the worst shoot of my trip, the S5 we ran recently the best. I've just finished writing the 3.0 TDI piece and need to check some facts, but that article will run early next week and (I think) the shots are better than those of the 3.2. It helped that it had better wheels as well..... you'll see next week.

Good review. While it's tough for anyone who hasn't driven it to pass judgement on it, I have to imagine the A5's 'uninspired' drive is no different than BMW's 328xi coupe. Once you've driven the 335i, the 328xi is quite a letdown. Some of the problem with the A5/S5 is the 89hp and 82 lb-ft drop from the S5 to the A5. However, the BMW's see a drop in 70hp and 100 lb-ft of torque from the 335i to the 328xi. In fact, the hp drop in the BMW is likely even larger as all dyno data suggests the 335i is putting out something notably north of the stated 300hp. That being said, if you're shopping between Audi and BMW solely based on performance and price, it's hard to make an argument against BMW if the A5 comes in as expected at or above the 335i's price.

George - Not sure if you've seen the YouTube video I linked in the Ghetty post showing the A5 S-line. Do you have anyone you can check with to see if the S-line package truly does have the full S styling including the silver grill and quad exhausts?

George's lukewarm review of the A5 suggest it will not even be on par with 328i, which is a bit dissapointing. But look at it from Audi's perspective... it's going to be way cheaper than a CLK350 and much more rewarding to drive (until the new CLK shows up next year anyway).

This one does.

Here's a vid of an A5 S-line: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/v....html

I re-published the S-line press release back in our news section when I found photos, but even better.... I got some shorts of an A5 3.0 TDI S-line in the parking lot at the drive. I'll be running those, along with shots of the non S-line 3.0 TDI I did end up driving, later this morning. I just need to call Audi about a few things dealing with my attending Le Mans this year, then I'll be working on that first.

The shots of the s-line aren't as pretty from a photography standpoint because it's parked in the parking lot of the hotel, but you'll get the idea and I got a lot of good detail shots.

I wouldn't say that. I'd definitely say it's on par with the 328 for sure. Which one's better? I'd like to spend more seat time in both, preferably back-to-back before I make that call.

Actually, that car has tags beginning with HN. Likely any mule being built by Audi would be IN for Ingolstadt. HN is the plate more commonly used by quattro GmbH. That might suggest it's an RS 5 drivetrain mule, but I'd think it'd be using RS 5 spec exhaust then which has large oval openings.

My S-line pics, that'll be up later this morning, are of a production car. There's no doubt the car in the video is a mule, regardless of what spec it is.

I've been looking forward to this car for a long time. The timing of the US intro seemed about perfect, since the lease on the current A4, my third Audi, ends in August of '08. But if Audi insists on dumbing down the handling, and I walk away from a test drive disappointed, I'm not getting a fourth.

I would like this one also but TDI.