Audi took the wraps off an all-new compact luxury sedan today, the 2025 Audi A5. With a pair of turbocharged engines to choose from, a new fastback shape, and an available torque-vectoring steering differential, it should be an attractive alternative to the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. It’s also, strangely, a replacement for both the 2024 A5 and the venerable A4.
Just the sedans, though. The A5 Coupe is disappearing from the lineup. And while there is an A5 Avant wagon, it likely won’t come to the U.S.
The company hasn’t revealed any pricing details. With the new car replacing both the A4 (with a starting price in the low-$40,000 range) and the A5 (in the low $50,000 range), we expect price to come closer to the latter.
The A4 name likely won’t disappear from the market. Audi has just adopted a new naming scheme. “Going forward, even numbers stand for electrically powered models, odd numbers for vehicles with combustion engines.” So, a future A4 is likely, but it will probably be an electric vehicle (EV).
268 Or 362 Horsepower
The A5 is decidedly not. The car you see here is destined for European markets. Audi will reveal the U.S.-spec A5 later. But the brand usually changes little for different markets, so we expect the same power setup.
That means a choice of engines. Buyers can select a 268-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder or a 362-horsepower turbo 3.0-liter V6. Both engines come mated to a mild-hybrid system, adding 24 horsepower and likely a moderate mpg improvement.
The only transmission on offer is a dual-clutch automatic. Details are a little sparse in the first press releases – Audi hasn’t said how many speeds the transmission has.
The company does say, however, that the two engines will be available “at market launch,” so we expect a full lineup of RS-badged high-performance variants in time.
Sportback Look
Audi has said little about the suspension and chassis, promising “precise, effortless, and largely neutral handling which, if the optional suspension with adaptive dampers is optioned, can be differentiated significantly more between comfort and sportiness.”
Audis have a signature shape, and the 2025 A5 won’t alter it dramatically. But it wears a distinctive sportback profile that (dare we say it) brings the brand a little closer to rival BMW in appearance. The grille has grown wider, with tall, angular vents beside it that give the impression the car is sucking in a lot of air.
Canted headlights have a long series of piano-key-style daytime running light LEDs above. They combine with the wraparound taillights to play startup and closing animations.
Optional Passenger Screen
Inside, the 11.9-inch driver’s instrument screen and 14.5-inch central touchscreen are housed together like one curved expanse of glass. To their right, buyers can opt for a 10.9 inch touchscreen in front of the passeneger. It comes in a unique parallelogram shape and you haven’t read that word since school, have you?
Audi has, so far, had little to say about the cabin beyond noting the screens and a “generous sense of space with a high level of comfort.”
But the German luxury brand does promise one new feature we’re happy to see. An optional “digital interaction light,” the company says, will “support the car’s interaction with the occupants.” This may be the clever system parent company Volkswagen uses in its electric cars. A thin band of LEDs at the base of the windscreen, it changes color and strobes side-to-side to communicate things like turn-by-turn directions in the driver’s peripheral vision.
We expect to learn more details as Audi introduces the U.S.-specific version of the car. For now, it looks like a compelling alternative to the more common BMW 3 Series. If Audi sticks with this simplification of its lineup, we’ll miss having so many variants – liftbacks, coupes, convertibles, and sedans. But it will simplify decisions for shoppers.
