CTC Review: 2008 Audi A5

[CD_Editor]

Day 1:

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There is one word that describes this week's test car. I shouldn't even be writing more than this one word as it may distract you, the reader, from the images in this article and in the gallery that you are drooling over.  Whoa there! Close your mouth; you're drooling on your keyboard!  Yes, this week I am behind the wheel of the new Audi A5, and this car is HOT HOT HOT!  More...

[Railton]

$53,850 including the upgraded wheels eh...Audi has another winner!
Railton

[mmret]

Wing you should drop by Nortel tomorrow...

HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT

[Cord]

Gorgeous car. I remember feeling the same way toward the original Lexus SC300/400.

[Railton]

Gorgeous car. I remember feeling the same way toward the original Lexus SC300/400.

Big dollar cars ($40k) when they first came out in the early 90's. Very limited buyer. This new Audi A5 is a relative bargain in 2008 dollars.
Railton

[Mitlov]

Pictures do not do this car justice.  It is just plain amazing in person.

And as cool as the S5 is, the A5 3.2 is a very compelling package indeed...with a character-loaded engine, 265 hp, a six-speed manual, an athletic chassis, Quattro, a great interior even without thousands of dollars in options, comfortable seating for four, and a trunk worthy of a midsize sedan.

[rrocket]

Beautiful ad in this month's Vanity Fair.

[Demosthenes X]

Gorgeous car. I remember feeling the same way toward the original Lexus SC300/400.

  I still find the SC400 one of the most beautiful cars on the road.  There's one for sale in town for $7500, and it's very, very tempting...  no go on it since I could never bring myself to drive it out East and in the snow, though.  A few people have taken SC400s and swapped in the Toyota Supra turbo motor... 

On to the A5, though: stunning machine.  Spent some quality time with this one at the autoshow, and it is definitely a very, very impressive machine.  I think we'll be seeing a lot of these on the road once Audi is able to meet demand...  it's much nicer inside and out than the G37 imo (and the G37 is no slouch!).

James, I think you're next car is going to have to be an Audi.  All of your Audi reviews seem to be bursting with love for the brand... 

[dasiuyan]

sorry to interrupt the discussion of this beautiful A5... Wing, what happen to this pics?
How come it look so weird and distorted? from the exif data, it seems to be from a screen capture from a movie file. But could your Canon DSLR take movie at all?

[si]

I'll take mine in black

http://youtube.com/watch?v=FpTLn-8zCrk

[wing]

dasiuyan, not much room in the back of the A5 -- that was taken at like 18mm

[TopGun]

Say what you will about competitiveness of this product, $54K is a lot of cake...for me anyway.

Now...at $41K with the wheels (the price in "you know where")...I could swing it...especially 'cause I can get it with red/tan...although, hello, Germany, the dash must be black.

[wing]

James, I think you're next car is going to have to be an Audi.  All of your Audi reviews seem to be bursting with love for the brand... 

Of course the Audi's I test drove: RS4, A5 ummm yeah....

[Mitlov]

James, I think you're next car is going to have to be an Audi.  All of your Audi reviews seem to be bursting with love for the brand... 

Of course the Audi's I test drove: RS4, A5 ummm yeah....

Didn't Wing once pass up the opportunity to drive an R8 because it was a three-or-four-hour drive to the event?  That's certainly not the act of a rabid Audi fanboy.

[canadiandriver18]

I was at one of the gas stations near the YYZ Airport, and i see these 2 Audis. I know the LP, and this is the one. I saw a Q7 TDI, and this, the A5 TDI. They went to the car wash line, and oh my, were they lookin' good. *

* I don't know if any of you believe me, but i'm true.

[vdk]

WOW! now that's sex on wheels... that thing's just GORGEOUS!

I hate you Wing.

[JT816]

I saw a white one in d/t Toronto driven by a gorgeous blonde woman inside and it screamed "WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!!" Hot looking lady, hot looking car.

But anyways, what I thought was interesting is that this is what I call a "little big car". It's little in the sense that it's a coupe (coupes are mostly smaller than 4 doors) and the interior feels and looks small but at the same time, this car really looks long and big from the outside.

I haven't driven it but do you guys think 3.2L 265HP engine is enough to power this fairly large heavy coupe? I don't know if I would call $54k a bargain for this car because it's in a weird position in the market (power-wise, it can't compete with G37, 335 coupe) but at the same time, if you compare this to the Volvo C70, Saab 9-3 Convertible, it seems like a heck of a deal (granted those are convertibles and the A5 is not). Also, if you consider it takes some styling cues from the R8, it also looks like a good deal although you could also wait and go with the 2009 A3 and A4 which also share similar styling with the R8 to make it an even better deal. 

[Railton]

"The Audi A5 is not available with an automatic transmission, which is rather odd in this day and age of the automobile"
Ahhaa...that's why we've not seen more of these on the road.
Railton

[UmroAyyar]

I saw one in black the other day. My eyes were transfixed, head turning. Luckily I wasn't driving the car. Its simlply gorgeous.

[Mitlov]

"The Audi A5 is not available with an automatic transmission, which is rather odd in this day and age of the automobile"
Ahhaa...that's why we've not seen more of these on the road.
Railton

That's bizarre.  It's available with either a six-speed or an automatic ("tiptronic," which I think is their conventional automatic) in the States.  I wonder why they don't offer the Tiptronic A5 in Canada?