Audi A5 design & styling

There are knock-on effects too. Because the motor can fill some low-rev torque gaps and the turbo now has variable geometry (for more low-down shove), the engine no longer needs the capacity for torque multiplication that a torque converter gives. As a result, Audi has ditched the eight-speed automatic gearbox for a seven-speed dual-clutch unit, which it says is more efficient.

Power goes to all four wheels, as you would expect in a sporty Audi, but it now does so through a clutch pack, rather than the traditional centre differential, and at the back there’s now an electronically controlled limited-slip differential.

As usual, the standard A5 comes with a wide choice of powertrains, which often used to be a confusing affair to identify with Audi. But it has now ditched its 30/35/40/45/etc nomenclature to indicate the power level and instead it refers simply to the output in PS, which is much more logical.

As such, in the UK there’s a 2.0-litre petrol with front-wheel drive and either 150PS (148bhp) or 204PS (201bhp). If you want Quattro four-wheel drive, you will have to either shell out for the S5 or go for the 201bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel, which gets it as an option.

A pair of plug-in hybrids are on the way as well, but Audi won’t say anything about them other than that they will have 295bhp and 362bhp and an electric-only range of more than 70 miles.

Visually, the new A5 and S5 clearly belong to a new generation of Audi, with softer lines and a reinterpreted ‘single-frame grille’. Audi’s long-standing design cue has got wider and is flanked by triangular inserts in either black or silver, depending on the trim level.

The saloon actually isn’t a traditional three-box one now, having traded its traditional bootlid for a big ‘liftback’ hatch, thus taking the baton from the outgoing A5 Sportback.