Audi A5 Sportback
Editors' Review
You could call the 2018 Audi A5 Sportback a baby A7. You could call it Audi's answer to the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. But I call it my favorite model in the very solid A4 and A5 lineup.
The A5 Sportback is built on the same bones as the A5 Coupe and A4 Sedan -- a nicely tuned, sporty platform. And while this genre-bender (or genre-blender) isn't without its compromises, after a week behind the wheel, I'm convinced that the 2018 Audi A5 Sportback is much greater than the sum of its parts.
Sexy Sportback
The additional stuff-hauling space added by the Sportback expands cargo capacity to as much as 35 cubic feet when the rear seats are folded flat, enough for a decent Costco run. Perhaps more useful is the enlarged rear aperture made possible by the power opening liftback with hands-free kick-to-open functionality. This enables easy loading of bulky items, making the Sportback good for Ikea runs, too.
The Good The 2018 A5 Sportback blends the capacity of a wagon with the style and dynamism of a coupe, and Audi's tech continues to be the best in class. The Sportback corners with grin-inducing agility.
The Bad Engine noise has an artificial, video game feel to it thanks to an over-reliance on sound generation. Rear seat headroom is limited.
The Bottom Line The Sportback is an excellent addition in the A4 and A5 lineup, blending all of the best parts of the series into one attractive package.
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