Audi has taken the wraps off its facelifted A5 – again offered in Sportback, Coupé and Cabriolet body styles – with the updated S5 going the TDI route (in Europe, at least).
Styling updates to the A5 range include a flatter and wider grille, the addition of a blade at the lower edge of the front bumper and larger air inlets up front. Viewed in profile, you may notice the new side-sills, while a diffuser insert with trapezoidal tailpipes debuts round back.
Inside, there’s now a 10,1-inch MMI touchscreen (the familiar rotary controller has been binned), complete with acoustic feedback and “natural language” voice control, as well as the Ingolstadt-based firm’s 12,3-inch virtual cockpit positioned directly ahead of the driver.
In Europe, four engine variants will be equipped with a mild-hybrid system as standard, including the 40 TFSI (140 kW) and 45 TDI (170 kW) models. But we’ll focus on the S5 TDI here. Conceived specifically for Europe, the 3,0-litre turbodiesel V6 generates 255 kW and 700 N.m, and furthermore features an electrically powered compressor. Both the S5 Sportback and S5 Coupé will hit 100 km/h from standstill in “under 5,0 seconds”, according to Audi.
Interestingly, Audi says it will continue to offer the S5 Coupé and the S5 Sportback with the 3,0-litre TFSI engine in markets outside Europe (likely including ours). Here, the turbocharged petrol V6 generates an unchanged 260 kW and 500 N.m, facilitating a dash to three figures in 4,7 seconds in the case of the Coupé (and two-tenths longer in the Sportback).
[UPDATE: Audi South Africa says it plans to launch the facelifted A5 range locally in the first quarter of 2020. The TDI-badged S5 variants will not form part of the local line-up.]
