After the A5/S5 Coupe and the A5/S5 Sportback liftback sedan, Audi took the wraps off the third body style of this model family. And as anticipated, the Audi A5 Cabriolet and the Audi S5 Cabriolet look a bit better than their more practical siblings.
Similar to their predecessors, the second-generation A5/S5 Cabriolet makes use of a soft top, not a folding metal roof. At the pull of a switch gives the acoustic hood the command to fold. The whole operation takes 15 seconds. To close, the fabric roof needs a lil' more time than that: 18 seconds.
Chopping the roof off might have rendered the A5/S5 a sexier car, but it’s a heavier car than the coupe on which it’s based. 40 percent stiffer than the old one, the 2017 Audi A5 Cabriolet in front-wheel-drive, 2.0 TDI 190 PS 6MT configuration tips the scales at 1,690 kilograms (3,725 pounds). The A5 Coupe, on the other hand, weighs 1,535 kilograms or 3,384 pounds.
The heftiness comes as a result of additional struts in the body and reinforced sills. Head-thorax side airbags and automatically extending aluminum profiles also add poundage. Strictly a four-seat vehicle, the 2017 Audi A5 Cabriolet ships with seat belt microphones that can be used for Bluetooth telephony, voice control, and so forth. Just like in the A4 from which the A5 originates, Audi virtual cockpit is an optional extra. On the infotainment front, the 8.3-inch MMI navigation plus with MMI touch has 10 GB of flash memory.
LTE Internet connectivity, Wi-Fi hotspot, inductive charging for your Qi-enabled smartphone, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto are on the menu as well. For those who want to enjoy their music as crystalline as possible, the options list features a Bang & Olufsen audio system with not one, but two subwoofers. As far as standard equipment is concerned, the highlights include xenon headlights, partial leather seats and MMI radio plus infotainment.
Powertrain and drivetrain configurations are plentiful. Front- or quattro all-wheel-drive, 6-speed manual, 7-speed S tronic dual-clutch or 8-speed tiptronic auto, TDI and TFSI engines ranging from 2.0 to 3.0 liters, there are lots of ways the Audi A5 and S5 can be configured. The most efficient model of the lot is the 2.0 TDI 190 PS S tronic, which drinks as little as 4.5 l/100 km (52.3 U.S. mpg) of diesel fuel.
At the other end of the spectrum, the 3.0 TFSI V6 in the S5 Cabriolet motivates the ragtop with 354 PS (349 horsepower) and 500 Nm (369 lb-ft) of get-up-and-go between 1,370 and 4,500 rpm. The go-faster S5 Cabriolet can sprint to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 5.1 seconds.
Slated to roll into European showrooms from March 2017, the A5 Cabriolet and S5 Cabriolet are priced from €49,350 and €67,800, respectively.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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