Audi A5 Sportback hatchback - Interior & comfort
Few cars are as pleasant inside as the Audi A5 Sportback. It’s a comfortable car in which to rack up the miles
The A5 Sportback is a quiet car to travel in, thanks to its aerodynamic shape that minimises the amount of wind noise. Engine noise barely penetrates the passenger compartment, so the biggest source of unwanted noise is the tyres, which produce a constant background roar at speed. It’s not intrusive, though, despite being easily identified. Similarly inoffensive is the ride quality. It’s firm, particularly at low speeds, but settles to become comfortable at a cruise.
Elsewhere inside, the news is excellent. Materials are absolutely first-class, while the infotainment screen is fixed in place atop the dashboard, even if it looks like it ought to disappear at the touch of a button.
Audi A5 Sportback dashboard
The A5 Sportback has a sleek, minimalist dashboard and intuitive yet attractive controls, while Audi’s futuristic Virtual Cockpit system is standard. This is a highlight – it allows you to configure the dashboard to show exactly the information you want and can show a detailed sat-nav screen right in front of your eyes, without being distracting.
Another hi-tech touch is how the digital temperature displays for the air-conditioning nestle inside the control dials, while the chunky gear selector is carried over from the Audi Q7 SUV and feels satisfyingly solid in your hand. Although the steering wheel seems to be set unusually high, the A5 is generally a more appealing place in which to spend time than the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, and only the latest Mercedes C-Class poses a serious challenge in terms of dashboard design; even then, the Audi has the edge in terms of overall ambience.
Equipment
Standard equipment for the A5 Sportback is generous. The range kicks off with Sport trim, and this includes leather seats, three-zone climate control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity, sat nav, heated front seats, a powered bootlid, all-round parking sensors and autonomous emergency braking (AEB).
Sportback customers can also choose S line, Edition 1 and Vorsprung trims. In addition to the standard equipment, S line adds a sporty bodykit, Matrix LED headlights and 19-inch alloy wheels. Edition 1 adds a black styling pack, privacy glass and yet bigger alloys, while the Vorsprung is equipped with a Bang & Olufsen sound system, a panoramic sunroof and the Driver Assistance Pack as standard.
Options
We’d normally provide a caveat here about Audi’s options list being long and expensive, but while there are still some pricey boxes to tick if you want, Audi has mostly simplified its range so there are few optional extras.
Audi’s ‘Driver Assistance Pack –Tour’ is a key one and although it's expensive, does get you a bundle of systems that give the A5 Sportback the ability to drive itself in certain circumstances. See the Reliability and Safety section for more on this.
The other pack that's available is the Comfort and Sound pack, which adds a Bang & Olufsen stereo, a 360-degree camera and ambient lighting.
