Sportback is Audi's style statement

Sportback is Audi's style statement

A BLAST from the past has helped Audi turn on the style for its 100th birthday.

The A5 Sportback, launched only days after the German car maker celebrated its centenary, has borrowed some of its good looks from the iconic Audi 100 Coupe of the early 1970s.

Take a look at the flowing lines at the rear of the latest addition to the A5 line up and the resemblance is uncanny.

The Audi 100 was regarded as one of the sleekest fastbacks ever and the Sportback is placed to follow suit.

In profile the new A5 looks sensational but from any angle it is going to turn heads.

The Sportback is basically a four door coupe with a hatchback and joins the A5 convertible and coupe models launched over the past few months.

It goes on sale in October and will be priced from £25,440 for a two-litre diesel to £36,220 for a three-litre diesel with Audi's seven speed S tronic gearbox.

Two-litre turbocharged and 3.2-litre petrol engines will also be available on quattro versions.

Stop/start technology is being brought into play on both two-litre diesel and petrol models giving the diesel average fuel economy of 54.3mpg with CO2 emissions of 137g/km which is low for a car of this size.

The petrol version will average a claimed 38.2mpg but emissions of 172g/km will not make it so attractive to business users.

The stop/start system has only just been introduced by Audi on the A4 range and works effectively in traffic. Come to a rest and the engine switches off, firing up again as soon as the clutch is depressed.

It is rapid and seamless and drivers will quickly become accustomed to it.

The A5 shares much of its characteristics with the A4 with Audi having elected to keep the latter for the mainstream saloon and estate market.

The A5 is aimed at the more discerning motorist who wants something a little special, hence the additional styling.

On the Sportback the wheelbase is longer than on the A5 coupe creating as much legroom in the rear as on the A4, despite the curving roofline.

There's also plenty of luggage space, 480 litres with the rear seats in place and 980 with them folded - which is almost estate car proportions.

However, there is a trade off and the Sportback does not feel quite as agile as the coupe or the convertible.

Nevertheless it's brisk. The two-litre diesel with six speed manual gearbox can knock off the standing 60 is 8.7 seconds with a claimed to speed of 141mph - and there is plenty of punch to the engine.

The three-litre diesel is the quickest of them all at 155mph maximum and 0 to 60 of 6.1 seconds which is marginally faster than the 3.2 and two-litre quattro models.

Both quattro versions can be fitted with Audi's new sport differential which moves power not only from front to back axle but also from wheel to wheel at the rear, noticeably improving cornering ability.

Pound for pound the 2.0 TFSI quattro priced from £28,625 offers the most fun although those with their minds firmly on economy will still go for the diesels.

That said, this car is more about style than anything else and with LED lights front and rear, a menacingly deep grille and a wide, low stance it has that in spades.