With pure internal combustion slowly going the way of the dodo and with electric cars not yet fully ready for prime time, hybrid powertrains have once again risen from the ashes. What I’m sure many people once believed to be nothing more than a mere stop-gap, we have seen that good hybrid vehicles really are the best of both worlds, which Audi is keen to capitalise on with a now-expanded Audi A5 line-up. Their new A5 e-hybrid quattro, coming soon to a Saloon or an Avant near you, pairs the brand’s tried-and-tested 2.0-litre TFSI inline-4 petrol engine, putting out a rather decent 252 PS, with an electric motor, itself cranking out a fairly modest 142 PS.
For a combined output of 299 PS and 450 Nm of torque, the e-hybrid quattro powertrain then sends power to all four wheels – like any quattro, it’s a permanent AWD set-up, too! – via its 7-speed gearbox. This ought to yield you a 0 to 62 mph sprint in just 5.9 seconds, with a good bit of torque available from idle speeds. So, this might look like your typical executive saloon, but this new Audi A5 e-hybrid quattro is no slouch, handily catching up with its speedier rivals. And, as it’s a hybrid, it’s worth diving deeper into the battery pack, too. Inside the A5 e-hybrid quattro, you would find a rather impressive 25.9 kWh (gross vs. 20.7 kWh net) high-voltage battery.
Next-Generation Hybrid Tech For Today’s Audis
This is a huge leap forward over Audi’s previous generation of hybrid batteries, as the new A5 e-hybrid quattro’s batteries are 45% bigger in capacity, yet they’re more energy dense. In short, if you’re thinking of commuting day-to-day in the new A5 e-hybrid quattro, it would easily cover most of your daily journeys, with up to 67 miles of range on a full charge for the UK-spec cars. That said, I’d reckon most people could handily use their A5 e-hybrid quattro as a daily driver, and barely even touch the engine! If and when you do need to charge up the battery, an 11 kW charger should top it up from 0% to 100% in just 2.5 hours, so a nightly trickle charge will do.
You could also make great use of the new Audi A5 e-hybrid quattro’s neat hybrid management and recuperation system. There are EV and hybrid-specific drive modes to best leverage the A5 e-hybrid quattro’s clever powertrain, either letting you drive it entirely as an electric car, or for when you need to balance the electric motor and the engine. In fact, you can even play around with a handy little ‘state of charge’ slider in the infotainment system for more precise planning of when you need to charge. Elsewhere, Audi is rightfully eager to boast about its regenerative braking tech too, with upwards of 88 kW of recuperation, without affecting the brake feel.
Immense Practicality And Inspiring Performance
In short, the new Audi A5 e-hybrid quattro proves that hybrid powertrains have a lot of life left in them. You are looking at a mightily awe-inspiring fuel consumption rating of between 108.6 to 141.1 mpg (combined), and very low CO2 emissions, at just 46 to 60 g/km (combined). Eco-friendly motoring has never been kinder to both your wallet and Mother Nature, and you get a lot of luxury once you step inside the A5 e-hybrid quattro, as well. The cabin layout and interior design are typically Audi, as you’d expect, with a nice mixture of plush materials broken up by a flurry of big screens. Plus, as with any Audi, hybrid or not, it offers generous practicality.
The Avant model, for example, with the rear seats folded down, gets you a humungous 1,306 litres of storage (or around 361 litres with the rear seats up). Meanwhile, the Saloon variants could manage a still-awesome 1,175 litres of storage with the rear seats folded. Additionally, for those of you who like or need to tow, the A5 e-hybrid quattro still offers you up to 1,900 kg of braked towing capacity, and if you’re fitting in a roof rack, it could also hold up to 90 kg. If the Audi A5 e-hybrid quattro seems like your cup of tea, it’ll start from £48,950 for the Saloon, and £50,850 for the entry-level Avant model, with order books opening soon on the 7th of May.
