Audi A5 Cabriolet Review, First Drive

The new Audi A5 Cabriolet tries to demolish all the presumptions of owning a convertible. Is it truly nonconformist, or is it trying too hard?

There is a certain joy in driving a convertible – drive one and you will know why a dog sticks its head out the window of a car. The wind on the hair offers a sense of freedom– something that not many body styles can claim to deliver. But as they say, all good things come at a price. In the case of convertibles, you trade practicality for fulfilment. The Audi A5 Cabriolet, however, challenges this line of thought and tries to break away from the norm. Will it succeed? 

Topless Treat

Someone who buys a convertible inevitably makes a style statement. With that in mind, anything short of gorgeous just doesn’t cut it. Fortunately, the Audi A5 Cabriolet doesn’t fall in that category. Although it does have the design traits typical of Audi, the A5 Cabrio manages to set itself apart from its siblings. The bulging wheel arches and a few additional creases on the bonnet endow the car with the right amalgamation of elegance and sportiness. And then of course, there is the canvas roof. Topping it all off, Audi offers the A5 Cabriolet in 15 colour options – the most in any of their products. And there’s also four hood colours to choose from – black, grey, brown and red. We wish Audi had a few alloy wheel options to choose from as well. 

On the inside

The dashboard is typically Audi – from the steering and centre console to the floating infotainment system. In most other cars, a dash washed in grey would look dry as dust, but with the combination of unveneered wood, the A5 Cabrio looks anything but that. When it’s an Audi, a certain level of quality expectation is always there, and the A5 convertible doesn’t disappoint. However, it does let down in terms of features on offer. Certain features that the company offers as standard on cars cheaper than the A5 are optional extras here. This list even includes Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, LED headlights as well as the flat-bottom steering wheel. That being said, it does have fancy microphones on the seat belt to ensure the clarity of your voice when driving with the top down. 

One of the biggest highlights of the new Audi A5 is its capability of seating 2+2 in a rather comfortable manner – something that most convertibles don’t even come close to. If, like me, the driver is a 5-foot-something, there is just reasonable room at the back. Of course, it won’t be the most comfortable thing over long distances, but for a small family on a weekend trip, it should be just fine. And at 380 litres, it’s boot is large enough to accommodate your luggage too, but if you are driving with the top down, expect a decrease of 60 litres in the boot space. 

Matter of the heart

While the A5 Cabriolet is on sale with several engine options in the international market, it only has a 2.0-litre diesel engine on offer in India. This makes it the only diesel convertible on sale in India – something that can work in favour of the car. The A5 Cabrio gets the advantage of 400Nm of torque, all of which kicks in as low as 1,750rpm. Off the line, some amount of lag is evident, but once you get past that, the engine performs quite effortlessly. Of course, keeping in mind that it only makes 188bhp, it isn’t a car that will set new land speed records, but it doesn’t feel strained or vibey at high speeds. The motor feels impressively refined, and you don’t quite hear the typical thrum of a diesel motor inside the cabin – and that’s despite the canvas roof. The engine comes mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission that sends power to all four wheels with the help of the Quattro system. Shifting between gears is smooth and swift in the auto mode or even when you use the paddles. 

The A5 Cabriolet comes with driving modes that essentially alter the way its steering and powertrain behave. The steering of the A5 is possibly among the best we have experienced in any of the Audis off late. It weighs up well and also offers good feedback. These modes don’t affect the suspension of the car – not that it needs it. The suspension too is well tuned and offers a fine balance of ride and handling. You may, however, feel an occasional creak, but that’s down to the flex in the chassis. 

Audi has packaged the A5 Cabriolet really well to ensure that it ticks all the right boxes. It looks fabulous, is well built and has all the features you could possibly hope for. But above all, the space and boot capacity it has on offer adds the element of usability to the A5 Cabriolet – something that no other convertible has been able to offer. With all that in mind, the Audi A5 Cabriolet gets a big thumbs-up from us.