// PARTNER IN DRIVE

WITH ITS INTUITIVE DESIGN, THE AUDI A5 CABRIOLET ALREADY KNOWS ALL THE FUN YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE DRIVING IT.

With its intuitive design, the Audi A5 Cabriolet already knows all the fun you’re going to have driving it.

I first approach the new Audi A5 Cabriolet from the front. It’s sneering at me—already, an encouraging sign.

Refreshed for this year, the Cabrio has lines that are a bit more aggressive, and the hood and doors are now sleeker and less rounded. Most noticeably, the grille sits lower and wider, and those headlamps squint menacingly.

Less menacing is the technology inside, which takes me all of five minutes to master—an achievement in an age of endless controls and counterintuitive interfaces. The dash’s 12-inch digital display, something akin to the avionics display in a jet, has me toggling between fuel-efficiency updates and Google Earth.

Using the seat belt’s built-in microphones, I demonstrate the Cabrio’s voice-recognition capabilities for my wife as the handling sticks to the tight turns of Rock Creek Parkway. (She’s very impressed.) The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine doesn’t overwhelm with horsepower, so I switch to the “dynamic” mode, which makes the throttle a little more responsive, and drop the gearshift into “sport” to engage the paddle shifters.

Yes, of course the top is down—it takes only 15 seconds to lower. An unseasonable cold snap is no match for the heated steering wheel or the warm air that blows on my neck from the vents below the headrest. Starting at $48,600. Ourisman Audi Frederick, 6001 Urbana Pike, Frederick, 301-6627600; audifrederick.com

Pro tip: The top of the convertible can be raised during speeds up to 31 mph, which is good to know if you run into an unexpected rain shower. Or a flock of seagulls.