Hello 2025 Audi A5, goodbye A4

The new 2025 Audi A5 has been revealed as a sportier, more upmarket replacement for the current A4 sedan and wagon.

And the new Audi A5 Sportback and Avant will be available with a full range of electrified petrol and diesel powertrains plus fresh in-car tech when sales commence in Europe later this month and Australia by early next year.

Renamed as part of Audi’s strategy to assign odd-numbered badges to combustion or hybrid models and even-numbered names for pure-electric EVs, the new Audi A5 is the first model to ride on the German car-maker’s Premium Platform Combustion (PPC), which replaces the old model’s MLB architecture.

Not related to the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) chassis architecture on which the all-new A6 e-tron, PPC is believed to be a heavily upgraded version of the MLB evo platform and still mounts the combustion engines in the A5 longitudinally.

The sedan body style has been dropped in favour of a sportier four-door coupe-style Sportback. The Avant wagon, meanwhile, has more rakish rear styling that makes it look more like a shooting brake than a family hauler.

It’s understood there will not be replacements for the existing A5 coupe and cabriolet.

Bringing a much larger footprint, the new Audi A5 Sportback measures 4830mm long (+67mm), 1860mm wide (+13mm) and rides on a wheelbase that grows by 68mm to 2900mm.

In the metal, the A5 looks like it’s closely linked to the A6 e-tron concept revealed at the 2021 Shanghai motor show, boasting smooth lines and flared wheel-arches.

Up front, there’s the usual single-frame 3D honeycomb grille flanked by slimmer headlights, while at the rear are Audi’s second-gen OLED tail-lights that allow for car-to-x communications.

Once launched, the new A5 will be available with either pure combustion power or mild-hybrid powertrains.

The latter will employ a new MHEV Plus system that incorporates not one but two electric motors including an integrated starter generator (ISG) and a second powertrain generator (PTG).

The benefit of Audi’s new mild-hybrid system is that it can recover as much as 25kW of power under braking and boost the combustion engine by as much as 18kW/230Nm when needed.

The complex new MHEV Plus system also improves driveability at low revs, providing a torque-filling effect before a turbocharger spins up to provide maximum boost.

Using two motors helps recharge the battery much faster in regeneration mode, the system also provides enough braking in most scenarios so Audi says it will reduce brake wear.

From launch, the entry-level engine will be a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder with variable turbine geometry (VTG), producing either 110kW or 150kW.

Both engines will come with a dual-clutch automatic transmission as standard – the latter combined with all-wheel drive.

A more efficient 2.0-litre turbo-diesel will also be available, producing 150kW/400Nm, available with either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive and also fitted as standard with a dual-clutch auto.

Unlike the petrol engine, the diesel gets the trick new MHEV Plus mild-hybrid system, which helps slash fuel consumption to just 4.7L/100km.

If that’s not efficient enough, a plug-in hybrid powertrain will follow, offering an EV range of more than 100km.

At the top of the new A5 tree is the faster S5, which once again comes with a 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 that produces 270kW with the help of both VGT and MHEV Plus tech.

Combined with AWD and a revised S tronic dual-clutch auto, the new A5 flagship (at least initially) is said to produce 14g/km less CO2 than before, with the S5 Sportback averaging around 7.4L/100km.

As standard, the new S5 will come with a Quattro Sport rear differential in an all-wheel drive system that’s capable of torque vectoring to deliver greater agility.

Speaking of handling, the entire Audi A5 range is said to have undergone an extensive chassis rethink when it comes to suspension and steering, with all models claimed to bring more precise steering and neutral handling.

New adaptive dampers are also said to deliver more differentiation between comfort and sportiness.

Inside, the Audi A5 follows the Q6 e-tron by adopting the car-maker’s latest E3 electrical architecture, which brings faster processing power for the curved panoramic multimedia display.

The latter combines an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster with a 14.5-inch infotainment touch-screen, with the option of a further 10.9-inch passenger display and a configurable head-up display.

First deliveries of the new A5 are due to begin in November in Europe, where prices start at €45,200 ($A73,100) for the cheapest 2025 Audi A5 Sportback.

Stand by for full Australian details and release timing.

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