FIREANDICE

The new Audi A5 Sportback is an elegant coupé with a sporty profile. The S5 Sportback is its wild twin, writes Joshua David Luther

When you get to drive an elegantly sophisticated car for a very short duration on roads filled with people and other vehicles, you can either bawl throughout your drive or look for empty stretches and test the superb strength of its roaring engine.

This was our dilemma when we stepped out of the Jaipur Airport and were handed the keys to the Audi A5 Sportback, the elegantly designed five-door family coupe with a very sporty profile. The low slung car with its single frame grille gives a bold stance to the front end of the car while side air intakes have bold edges.

I also later drove the new Audi S5 Sportback, which happens to be the sportier version of the A5 Sportback. The only thing that distinguishes the two cars is the powertrain, apart from some subtle design elements.

Among the many features that make the new Audi stand out in its segment is a flowing bonnet, an athletic body with frameless doors, aluminium silver lining on the window frames, a stretched luggage compartment lid with a spoiler edge, and slim, threedimensionally shaped rear LED lights. The brake light on the upper edge of the rear window glows along the entire width of the glass frame.

The S5 Sportback comes with a beefier engine. The rear, too, is distinct with two exhaust pipes on the left side and four tailpipes (two on either side). Rather than a lot of chrome and aluminium, the S5 Sportback relies on matt finish.

Both cars boast rich interiors with ample seating space in front rear. A continuous air vent strip and plunging centre console give the impression of a floating instrument panel. The a minimum number of buttons and dials suffice for convenient control. When a finger approaches one of the rocker switches, the function is shown enlarged on the LCD display and is selected at the push of a button.

The three-spoke steering wheel in the A5 Sportback makes the car sportier from inside. The dashboard comes with a dull black and charcoal wood finish at the bottom. The S5 Sportback, on the other hand, is comparatively brighter with its brushed aluminium finish.

The rear seat back splits in the ratios of 40:20:40. Luggage space is around 480 litres, and with the rear seats folded, increases to 1,300 litres. Audi also offers the option of sensor control for opening and closing the standard-fit electrically powered luggage compartment lid. A proximity sensor in the rear bumper responds to a kick movement if the optional convenience key is detected.

The new Audi A5 Sportback has a large, easyto-read analog speedometer and tachometer as standard and between them is the display of the driver information system (DIS).

The 1,968cc four-cylinder TDI diesel engine-powered A5 Sportback was a smooth drive, but the S5 Sportback with a 3-litre V6 TFSI quattro tiptronic engine was a mind blowing experience. Driving the latter on the Dynamic mode on a clean stretch makes you forget all the traffic and people you encounter on the way.