A few observations on my year of ownership, in time-honoured forum tradition.
THE GOOD
* Nothing gone wrong at 17k miles, but you don't expect it to.
* I love the hatch that gives my both handsome looks AND practicality. I don't like estates so this is brilliant! As expected, the hatch has been useful many times in carrying bulky loads that would not fit into a car that only had a boot.
* Performance is perfectly adequate for me. I need an automatic, and the "multitronic" auto box is very-smooth, but ...more later.
* The ride is quite comfortable and the seats supportive for long journeys
* Handling is just adequate (it's no BMW), but it's not a priority for me anyway.
* The engine is very quiet, and the car feels very solid and rattle-free.
* I like the way that, after a screen wash, the windscreen wipers do 5 sweeps, then pause, then a single sweep to catch the drips!
* The cabin is a nice place to make a long journey in. Being an automatic, I haven't noticed the (in)famous problem of pedals being offset to the right.
* The instruments are beautifully clear, and the nightime illumination is a classy white. I love the display between the rev counter and speedo that shows the info from the trip computer. I usually set it to display a digital readout of MPH.
* The electro-mechanical parking brake. Sorry guys, I know it is heresy on this forum but in works just great for me.
* The standard stereo is very good and I have rediscovered my music collection.
THE NOT SO GOOD
* Costs
The Audi was cheaper to buy than an equivalent BMW, but I am finding that the running costs are significantly higher. Servicing is more expensive, and tyres wear quicker and are more expensive than I am used to. Plus, there are extra servicing costs that I will have to face if I keep the car for a long time as intended, e.g. cam belt replacement at 5 years costs £1100!
The excellent fuel economy (for a car of this size) of 47 mpg only partially offsets this.
* No rear wiper. This is the first car that I've ever had which does not have a rear wiper. It needs one.
* Image. I shall be honest even though I'll probably get flak, but I don't like being an "Audi Driver". I don't like Audi as a company either, and would need to be persuaded to give them more of my hard-earned cash
* Missing equipment (though not an intrinsic problem with the car)
Since I was unable to spec the car myself, there are a couple of items missing which I feel are vital, however. Firstly, the seats are not heated, and at 05:30 starts on frosty mornings, I miss them badly. Secondly, I miss front parking sensors. I managed without them for years, but I think that some modern cars really need them.
VERDICT
Overall, I am happy to keep the car up to about 100k miles, which seems to be the limit on which you can get a warranty. (From what I read on the net, I wouldn't want to own an Audi that was out of warranty.) At 17k a year this means I should have it for 5-6 years.
When the time comes for replacement, would I get another one? .... Not necessarily. I don't expect to find the perfect car, and it depends on how it weighs up against potential rivals. Though I do like the car, there are three significant irritants, which are:
- The running costs
- The image
- The gearbox. After the novelty had worn off, I discovered that I am not a fan of CVT gearboxes. (This could be a thread all of its own.)Give me an old-style torque converter box any day. The trouble is that Audi don't do them on the A5. There are DSG-type boxes available, but only on engines that I am not interested in (i.e. petrol and 3.0 litre diesel quattro)
If you've got this far, then thank you for reading.
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Sounds a good car. Even if it isn't an estate...
:-)
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Nice write up. Real life, that's what these forums are all about.
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Enjoyed that, fair appraisal.
Shocking cambelt cost, thats £220 a year for goodness sake without anything else.
I'm intrigued by the animosity towards Audi when you have one, especially one that gives reliable service.
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I agree with you, CVT boxes are horrid!
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I remember being pleasantly surprised by the Multitronic box in an A4 I tried ten years ago. Wouldn't have actually bought one, though, even if the car had had enough room inside; that was in the days of the VAG TDI 130, which was a great drive as a manual. DP, of course, will tell us it still is.
Useful write-up of the A5, Londoner. It was a type that appeared briefly on our list, and part of me still fancies one, but it failed on the criterion of being able to carry adult passengers - or near-adult Beestlings in a few years' time - in the back. It wasn't helped by the utter cul of a salesman we talked to, who kept wittering about 'sporty design' without listening to what we actually wanted the car to do, which was roughly what my Saab 9-3 used to do 13 years ago*. (This may be related to your principled objection to Audi in general; the other dealer we visited solemnly took details, promised to find us an A6 and was never heard from again.)
I'd be interested to know what you think an 'Audi driver' is. I took a long time to acknowledge myself as a 'Volvo driver' but now I'm not driving one any more I realize I must have got comfortable with being one.
*That had the pause-and-wipe feature too.
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>> I'd be interested to know what you think an 'Audi driver' is.
If a brand is lucky it will have an image or USP which will automatically bring it to the notice of certain sub-groups of consumers. BMW will attract keen drivers, for example, Apple will attract people who like a certain style to their gadgets, and Manchester United will attract glory-hunters. Audi's USP is "Premium German, especially interiors / Not Rear Wheel Drive / Wide Range of Cars".
So who drives Audis? The main groups IMHO are:
- The most prominent group are the Junior and Middle managers, who choose an Audi company car over a BMW because they get slightly more toys to boast about. This group contains a subset of individuals who are pushy by nature, both at work and on the roads. The prominence of this extrovert, but small, minority, pollutes the whole brand and constitutes the Top Gear view of an Audi driver.
- People who want a premium German brand, but want Front Wheel Drive or Quattro, rather than rear wheel drive.
- People who just like Audi - maybe because their cabins are nicer, or they actually like the "Multichronic" CVT!
- People who like their looks (which for most models means that they should have gone to Specsavers)
- People who want a smaller car but want a whiff of quality (That's why Audi made the A1, but I don't like it)
- Snobs who want a premium badge first, and happen to pick an Audi over some other premium brand for secondary reasons
As well as these groups there are people who just fall into the brand without really wanting to, e.g. Sole choice for company car scheme, Audi had the best finance deal at the time, people who want a handsome car with a hatch (i.e. "Londoner" and a 2 blokes in Nottingham)
P.S. The multitronic that you drove 10 years ago was a horror story in terms of reliability. Jury still out on the modified 7-clutch one that I have.
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Nice write up, Londoner. Sounds a lot more reliable than a BMW! :-)
Lovely looking cars. Still intrigued as to why you don't rate Audi as a company though.
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Very good report, Londoner: I must do one after a year with my Octavia vRS when I have a moment.
As image is purely subjective on the part of the perceiver, I'm not bothered by it. I loved the A4 Avant 2.5 TDI (just affordable) that I had a few years ago, but it was superseded by the 2.7 (just not affordable) so if I could only afford the 2-litre I might as well have a Skoda. Audi build quality is worth perhaps £1,000 over the mexhanically identical Skoda, but not the £7,000 or so that is the actual price difference. And of course an Octavia Combi has a lot more space than an A4 Avant.
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Audi A5 Sportback - A year with an Audi A5 Sportback - Runfer D'Hills
