Audi A5 Sportback Arrives in Australia

ZETLAND, AUSTRALIA – January 13, 2010: Australia’s fastest growing German premium carmaker, Audi, is off to a flying start in 2010 with the January arrival of the new A5 Sportback concept.

This functional, five-door coupe offers Audi’s benchmark design and quality in a new ‘Sportback’ segment that borrows its emotional design from the A5 Coupe, adds the five-doors and load-carrying space of an Avant, and offers the storage and passenger room of a sedan.

It is a true all-rounder with an efficient range of TDI and FSI engines.

Priced at $78,400 (manufacturer’s list price MLP) for the 2.0 TFSI and $89,100 MLP for the 3.0 TDI model, the A5 Sportback is destined to be extremely popular with Australian customers, according to Audi’s managing director, Joerg Hofmann.

“It seems that once again Audi has managed to successfully combine conflicting traits – blending emotional design with a car that is functional in terms of space, even offering a very large rear tailgate for ease of access. It looks beautiful. It drives very well. It is a great car for a family, for everyday use and I believe it will sell very well Downunder,” Mr Hofmann said.

“It will be our volume-selling model in the A5 segment and will make a significant contribution to our sixth record year of sales in 2010.”

Initially responsible for the creation of the Avant body style, Audi has effectively forged another new design segment with the A5 Sportback.

The Sportback design concept, launched with the A3 Sportback, is defined by its elegant and stylish lines, short front and rear overhangs, long wheelbase and wide track.

In this latest model, four frameless doors complete the dynamic look, plus a large rear sportback for easy boot access.

Inside the car, a spacious interior for four features along with a large luggage compartment that increases from 480 to 980 litres with the rear seats folded. The luggage hatch is seamlessly integrated into the long, tapered tail end with flat C pillars; the spoiler lip and diffuser insert provide contrast and emphasise the sporty characteristics of the body contour.

In Australia, the A5 Sportback will be launched with two engines – the 2.0 TFSI and 3.0 TDI – both with quattro all-wheel-drive and S tronic as standard. The 2.0 TFSI model offers 155kW of power and 350Nm of torque, available from 1,500 – 4,200 rpm. It achieves the 0 – 100km/h sprint in 6.6 seconds and consumes 7.5 litres of fuel per 100km.

The V6 3.0 TDI offers 176kW of power, with a whopping 500Nm of torque between 1,500 – 3,000 rpm. 0-100km/h is achieved in just 6.1 seconds and incredibly, the 3.0 TDI engine sips just 6.6 litres per 100km, making it the 23rd model in the company’s fuel-efficient line-up benefiting from reduced LCT.

All models are equipped with a recuperation system that recovers energy during braking and deceleration, storing it temporarily in the battery. The A5 Sportback 2.0 TFSI is also equipped with the Audi valvelift system for variable control of valvelift. This intelligent technology boosts performance while simultaneously reducing fuel consumption.

The perfect complement is the Audi drive select vehicle dynamics system, which enables the driver to freely vary the throttle response characteristic, the shifting points of the seven-speed S tronic, and the boost provided by the servotronic steering system.

The arrival of the new A5 Sportback completes the Audi A5 range in Australia, joining the popular A5 Coupe which was first launched in October 2007 and the A5 Cabriolet model which arrived in August 2009.

The Audi S5 Sportback was unveiled globally at Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009, and the car is expected to arrive locally around mid-2010. The S5 Sportback boasts a 3.0 TFSI engine with quattro and will be priced around $130,000.