Audi A5 Sportback review: the executive four-door for buyers who want a coupe roofline
4/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
The 45 TFSI quattro A5 Sportback is the pick for a Bahrain buyer who wants German executive-car presence without the ubiquity of a 3 Series. It drives with quattro-assisted confidence, the cabin has aged well, and the causeway ride is composed at speed. Insist on full service history and a pre-purchase inspection of the S tronic gearbox behaviour before buying — it is the one component that punishes deferred maintenance.
Pros
- Sportback proportions look genuinely special a decade into the generation's life
- 265 hp 45 TFSI quattro is quick, refined and confident on wet or sandy roads
- Cabin design and material quality remain a class benchmark, especially post-2020 facelift cars
- Composed, quiet high-speed cruiser on the causeway run to Saudi Arabia
Cons
- S tronic gearbox mechatronics punish deferred maintenance on neglected cars
- Franchised dealer servicing costs noticeably more than an independent Audi specialist
- Rear headroom is tighter than a conventional sedan because of the sloping roofline
- Early pre-facelift infotainment feels dated next to a current Mercedes or BMW
Audi's Sportback treatment — a four-door body with a coupe's falling roofline — suits the A5 better than almost any other car it has tried it on. The proportions work from every angle, the frameless doors still feel special a decade into the shape's life, and the interior, especially post-facelift cars from 2020 onward, carries the crisp, button-light design that made this generation of Audi cabins the class benchmark.
The 45 TFSI in daily use
265 hp and 370 Nm from the 2.0-litre turbo four is more than enough for Bahrain's roads, with quattro putting the power down cleanly off traffic-light starts and the seven-speed S tronic shifting quickly once warm — though like most dual-clutch Audis it can feel hesitant at parking speeds until it has fully woken up. On the causeway run to Saudi Arabia it settles into a genuinely relaxed high-speed cruiser, with wind and road noise well controlled for the class.
Running costs sit where you would expect for a German executive car: servicing through an independent Audi specialist is meaningfully cheaper than a franchised dealer, and the usual watch items are the S tronic mechatronic unit on neglected cars and the timing chain tensioner on early pre-facelift examples. Buy a car with documented service history and both are manageable.