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The cost of cutting a dash in the Audi
A5 coupé has just been further reduced by the frugal new 53mpg A5 2.0
TDI, which is available to order now in front-wheel-drive and quattro
four-wheel-drive forms priced from £28,485 OTR, and will reach its first
UK customers in March 2009. Its launch also coincides with the
introduction of the even more striking S line specification for all A5
models, available at a premium of £2,250 over standard trim.
In keeping with its performance coupé
positioning, the A5 adopts the most powerful, 170PS version of the new
generation 2.0-litre TDI unit first seen in the A4 Saloon and Avant.
Enhanced by an advanced common rail piezo fuel injection system, the
state-of-the art unit makes its impressive 350Nm torque output available
from just 1,750rpm, and by fully exploiting this via the standard
six-speed manual transmission the 0-62mph sprint can be dispatched in
just 8.3 seconds in the front-wheel-drive version. This strong
performance is underpinned by fuel economy that at 53.3mpg on the
combined cycle is 20 per cent better than the already sparing A5 2.7 TDI
(44.1mpg), and CO2 output that at 140g/km is 9 per cent down
on the next lowest producer, the A5 2.0 TFSI (154g/km)
The significantly improved refinement
of the new common rail TDI and the sophistication of the aluminium-rich
five-link front and trapezoidal link rear suspension makes for unruffled
progress in the A5 2.0 TDI, helped by its longest-in-class wheelbase.
The repositioned front axle permitting shorter overhangs and much
improved axle load distribution also works in favour of handling balance
and agility, traits which are especially evident in the quattro version
with its latest generation system with 40/60 front-to-rear power
distribution.
The addition of the latest generation
2.0 TDI engine brings the total number of units powering the A5 to six.
The range includes 2.7-litre and 3.0-litre V6 diesels with outputs of
190PS and 240PS, two 2.0-litre TFSI petrol units with 180PS and 211PS
and a 3.2-litre V6 FSI petrol with 265PS.
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