A5 Sportback

[dema]

I’ll be handing back my company car later in the year and will move to private ownership again.

I’ve been looking around for a while for some inspiration and the 2018 onward A5 sportback seems to tick most boxes. Due to the current mileage, it will be a diesel and being an Audi, has to be a Quattro!

I was hoping to get some inside knowledge from the group:
There are only 2 post 2018 A5 sportback with the 3.0 engine on Autotrader. Can’t find much on the web, was the 3.0 discontinued?

I presume I won’t be able to fit 2 bikes in the boot (child just taken up cycling…) are bike racks an option?

A common theme when reading reviews, is how slow the auto box can be from a standstill start. Anyone that has recently moved from a manual to an auto Audi be able to share some thoughts? Is it something that can be improved with a remap?

Thanks

[ads_4116]

2020 onwards, the 3.0 TDI unit in A5's was replaced by the Audi S5 which had about 345bhp with a 3.0 TDI engine.

Edited by ads_4116 on Thursday 1st June 23:55

[dema]

Thanks

[FMOB]

This is exactly what I did 8 months ago, went from a 2005 S4 with manual box to a 2021 S6 with automatic box.

From your post I assume your company car has a manual box, I suggest you should consider what it is about driving a manual gearbox that you enjoy. Is it the control you have, the responsiveness, etc because a changing to an automatic gearbox you lose a lot fine control, yes you can use manual mode but it is different.

You mention Audi 3.0 TDI Quattro as a potential option, as mention earlier the S5 replaced the 3.0TDI but the post 2018 S5 isn't much different from the 3.0TDI it replaced, think different frock, a few extra horses and £10k on the asking price.

Now if you looking at the S5 and reading about the lag in the gearbox, yes this is an issue and no Audi haven't sorted it out and won't because it is part of their emission fixes for diesel gate so owners are stuck with it.

You will read about getting the lag fixed with a remap on various forums but I would say 95% of this relates to S-tronic, DSG type gearboxes not the ZF8 tiptronic boxes that is in the current S6 and probably S5 too. These are a very different beast all together with very limited options for 3rd party remapping to fix the lag.

My experience of the gearbox lag, in mine it is so bad you can slow count 1, 2 and possibly 3 before anything happens after pressing the throttle, same in both Drive and Sport, Audi did put an update on it, no idea if this the TPI as they wouldn't say. Driving away from the dealer the lag was improved but bizarrely after 500 miles it forgot it had been updated and is now as bad as it ever was.

If the car was leased I would terminate the contract and send it back, I have driven old school autos but the Audi tiptronic is just a pile of ste.

The same box is used in BMW's, Jags, etc without the poor behaviour so forget Audi and look elsewhere.

[dema]

Thank you! Super helpful.
I do currently drive a manual (and always have), and I like the control of it. Current car is a 2018 V60, far from sporty but, you still have the control.

Interesting also hearing about the ZF box, I knew BMW, Alfa and Maserati do have this fitted and works well, I wouldn’t have thought it would behave differently in other brands.

Shame, as I nearly made my mind up but, seems like I would ended up disliking it too.
Off to consider 4 series and XF…

Thanks !
Alex

[Dr G]

Politely; drive one and make up your own mind if that's a concern.

The majority of drivers don't feel it is quite as big an issue as suggested on this thread (myself included). No new turbo/auto car has a whipcrack throttle response.

I've just been driving a 2020 530d (part exchange) that feels little different to the 2019 3.0TDI Allroad he replaced it with in terms of response. Both are totally acceptable for a normal road car.

[dema]

Very true and thanks.
Closer to the date, a test drive will be needed.
Shame that all decent >2018 seems autos this days.

The slow gearbox in the Audi seems a reoccurring comment, not so much in other brands (which all have their own downsides)

[FMOB]

Dr G said:

Politely; drive one and make up your own mind if that's a concern.

The majority of drivers don't feel it is quite as big an issue as suggested on this thread (myself included). No new turbo/auto car has a whipcrack throttle response.

I've just been driving a 2020 530d (part exchange) that feels little different to the 2019 3.0TDI Allroad he replaced it with in terms of response. Both are totally acceptable for a normal road car.

Absolutely agree with trying one and see what you think but when I took the 10 minute test drive it was fine, no problems indicated and yes allowance was made for the auto v manual responsiveness of the two gearbox types.

Since buying the character has changed and is noticeably worse than during the test drive, after Audi updated the TCU SW it was improved but re-lapsed into the old behaviour. I know this sounds strange but this exactly what has happened, there is no consistency in the behaviour.

The only comparison I think of is driving a different car everyday, even it is was poor but consistent you could live with it but this changes all the time. After 8 months I still don't know what movement is needed on the throttle, you just have to press it until something happens, add in variable lag and you never know where you are.

Another example the TCU update supposedly to fix the lag issue actually completely remapped the transmission, changed all the shift points, engine hangs on to revs in sports mode. Audi happily chuck the update in and say nothing about what has changed.

If the OK/Cancel buttons in a computer app changed locations everytime you used, it is useable but a complete nightmare because it isn't consistent you'd get pretty pissed off pretty quickly. Exactly what the car is like.