Much like when one—or in this case several—of your co-workers moves on, the A5 and S5 are now facing the same workload and must cover for the sportier, sexier appeal of the two-door A5s, the A4 sedan’s more conventional vibes, and the A5 Sportback’s blend of both.
Given the new responsibilities, it’s not surprising that that the updated models adopt the outgoing Sportback’s handsome, muscular-looking four-door style that resembles a sedan but with faster, coupelike rear backlights hiding large liftgates. The A5 gets a 268-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine, while the S5 upgrades to a 362-hp turbocharged V-6 with a mild hybrid setup.
Audi starts off on the good foot with the A5’s price: $50,995 to start, barely above the average transaction of a new car in America today. Even the priciest A5 Prestige model rings in at a reasonable $57,445. The least expensive S5 is a little over 10 grand more and enjoys a similarly limited pricing runway, topping out at $71,545. And now every A5 and S5 gets standard Quattro all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
There are other upgrades besides the A5’s engine power—up seven ponies from last year’s four-cylinder engine in the A4/A5 models—including a switch to Audi’s latest in-car technology suite and moving its underpinnings to the latest Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture.
Praise came in from judges for the new Audi digital displays, which consist of a 11.9-inch digital gauge cluster and a 14.5-inch touchscreen curved around the driver-side dash area; a third 10.9-inch screen can be optioned to keep the front passenger engrossed, too. The touch response is excellent, and the graphics and layouts are both easy to use and relatively subtle—this is the rare large array of intuitive screens that can fade into the background (thanks to their black backgrounds) rather than glow with cartoonish tiles or other graphic flourishes.
Do the Audi A5 and S5 Succeed at Trying to Be Everything at Once?
The updated A5 and its performance S5 variant are solid all-arounders, but what do they excel at?Alexander StoklosaWriterWilliam WalkerPhotographer
Oct 07, 2025
Pros
- Good value
- Practical packaging
- S5’s sweet engine
Cons
- A5’s not so sweet engine
- S5 not as sporty as past cars
- Cabin materials
Audi’s compact luxury lineup is undergoing what’s known in corporate parlance as a restructuring, shrinking from the A4 sedan, A5 coupe and convertible, and A5 Sportback (plus each one’s sportier S-branded version) to just one model: the A5 and its sporty alternative, the more powerful S5.
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Much like when one—or in this case several—of your co-workers moves on, the A5 and S5 are now facing the same workload and must cover for the sportier, sexier appeal of the two-door A5s, the A4 sedan’s more conventional vibes, and the A5 Sportback’s blend of both.
Given the new responsibilities, it’s not surprising that that the updated models adopt the outgoing Sportback’s handsome, muscular-looking four-door style that resembles a sedan but with faster, coupelike rear backlights hiding large liftgates. The A5 gets a 268-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine, while the S5 upgrades to a 362-hp turbocharged V-6 with a mild hybrid setup.
Audi starts off on the good foot with the A5’s price: $50,995 to start, barely above the average transaction of a new car in America today. Even the priciest A5 Prestige model rings in at a reasonable $57,445. The least expensive S5 is a little over 10 grand more and enjoys a similarly limited pricing runway, topping out at $71,545. And now every A5 and S5 gets standard Quattro all-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
There are other upgrades besides the A5’s engine power—up seven ponies from last year’s four-cylinder engine in the A4/A5 models—including a switch to Audi’s latest in-car technology suite and moving its underpinnings to the latest Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture.
Praise came in from judges for the new Audi digital displays, which consist of a 11.9-inch digital gauge cluster and a 14.5-inch touchscreen curved around the driver-side dash area; a third 10.9-inch screen can be optioned to keep the front passenger engrossed, too. The touch response is excellent, and the graphics and layouts are both easy to use and relatively subtle—this is the rare large array of intuitive screens that can fade into the background (thanks to their black backgrounds) rather than glow with cartoonish tiles or other graphic flourishes.
Dimensionally, the new A5 is larger than the previous Sportback, with most of that increase going to the rear seat. Beneath the rear hatch are 22.6 cubic feet of configurable cargo space, besting the only other hatch-equipped competitor, BMW’s 4 Series Gran Coupe, at 16.6 cubes. Fold the rear seats down, and that volume expands to 36.6 cubic feet (though BMW boasts 45.6 with seats folded).
But darn, our pesky Car of the Year criteria will eat up even the nicest cars. Although both Audis are strong on the value, safety (excellent driver assists), efficiency (up to 36 mpg highway for the A5), and performance of intended function, they lag in advancement in design and engineering excellence.
While very clearly Audis, neither the A5 nor the S5 appear new—both closely resemble, well, the old A5 and S5, and their interiors, though nicely equipped, don’t impress when you start touching stuff. And we’re not fans of Audi’s obsession with stuffing most secondary controls into a touch-sensitive panel on the driver’s door. Buttons would be just fine, thanks.
As for its powertrains, several judges found the four-cylinder to be gruff under acceleration, and it too readily transmitted unwanted sounds to the cabin. As for the smoother and more powerful S5, it felt merely like a big-engine A5, not a special sport variant like past S models, though its ride is very comfortable.
Overall, while the A5 and S5 are more than solid offerings in their primary and secondary segments, both compact luxury sedans and coupes, neither moved the needle enough to push past better cars and reach our finalist round at Car of the Year. Given Audi’s refocused efforts with the departure of the A4 and two-door A5s, that proved disappointing.
This review was conducted as part of our 2026 Car of the Year (COTY) testing, where each vehicle is evaluated on our six key criteria: efficiency, design, safety, engineering excellence, value, and performance of intended function. Eligible vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised.
| 2025 Audi A5 Quattro Specifications | 2025 Audi S5 Specifications | |
| BASE PRICE | $50,995 | $63,995 |
| PRICE AS TESTED | $58,840 | $73,940 |
| VEHICLE LAYOUT | Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door internal combustion hatchback | Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door internal combustion hatchback |
| POWERTRAIN | 2.0L turbo direct-injected DOHC 16-valve I-4 | 3.0L turbo direct-injected DOHC 24-valve V-6 |
| POWER | 268 hp @ 5,000 rpm | 362 hp @ 5,500 rpm |
| TORQUE | 295 lb-ft @ 1,600 rpm | 406 lb-ft @ 1,700 rpm |
| TRANSMISSION | 7-speed dual-clutch automatic | 7-speed dual-clutch automatic |
| CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST) | 4,109 lb (56/44%) | 4,306 lb (56/44%) |
| WHEELBASE | 113.8 in | 114.0 in |
| LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT | 190.1 x 73.2 x 57.0 in | 190.3 x 73.2 x 56.5 in |
| TIRES | Bridgestone Turanza LS100 RFT REO 245/40R19 98H XL M+S | Bridgestone Potenza Sport R0 HL245/35R20 98Y XL |
| EPA FUEL ECONOMY, CITY/HWY/COMBINED | 22/31/26 mpg | 19/28/22 mpg |
| EPA RANGE | 385 mi | 326 mi |
| ON SALE | Now | Now |
| MotorTrend Test Results | ||
| 0-60 MPH | 5.6 sec | 4.4 sec |
| QUARTER MILE | 14.1 sec @ 98.3 mph | 12.9 sec @ 107.1 mph |
| BRAKING, 60-0 MPH | 121 ft | 106 ft |
| LATERAL ACCELERATION | 0.84 g | 0.95 g |
| FIGURE-EIGHT LAP | 26.4 sec @ 0.69 g (avg) | 24.7 sec @ 0.80 g (avg |
