Summer is just a couple of months away and what a better way to enjoy the best season of the year than in a convertible car with your roof down? The 2017 Audi A5 Cabriolet or convertible is one hell of a sexy car with a decent level of practicality.
The 2017 Audi A5 Convertible: What’s new?
The new A5 convertible is thoroughly refined, from the engine to its design and the technology inside. Audi has taken what they know best and implemented it in such a way that makes it such a pleasure to drive. It’s a lot more comfortable, offers a slightly bigger room at the back and when it comes to tech, my favourite is the new seatbelts with microphones built in.
Audi offers a wide range of engine sizes to suit your budget; whether you need something that’s economical, sporty but still economical or something that just absolutely kills your wallet with speed and cost of extras. There’s the 2.0 TFSI s-Line, the 2.0 TDI Sport and the S5 – yes you guessed right, the S5 is my favourite but, I’d go sensible and get the 2.0 TFSI S-Line if you ask me.
The 2017 Audi A5 Convertible: Exterior Design
To bring the A5 Cabriolet into the new age, everything about its design has been refined to give it a rather sportier look, it looks meaner and more aggressive without compromising the style that Audi fans have come to love about the outgoing version. The grille’s wider, the wheel arches are more pronounced and the bonnet has been blessed with lines to allow for better aerodynamics as well as looks.
The leading line from the bonnet fades out to the back to give it a nice soft look to the eye when looking at it from the side and while there’s no spoiler present, there’s a slight lip on the back for a bit of downforce without making it look like a racing car. I don’t think Audi designed it to be a track car, it’s more of a cruiser down the coast while you take in some amazing views and fresh air.
Walk round to the front and you will notice the lines that give it an illusion of a longer bonnet when inside the car and even from the outside, but what I like is how it complements the grille very well and the slimmer lights too. A lot of the design update stays true to Audi’s design DNA, but they have managed to make a 4 seater convertible look sexy.
If you get the sportier S5 model, you will notice that everything seems a lot more pronounced, I can almost image the designer and engineers rubbing their palms together saying people will love this. There’s a double twin exhaust system at the back and nicer alloys that are designed for less wheel turbulence.
The roof now takes less time to open and close compared to its predecessor and can be activated at one touch as Audi describes it so you can focus on the road. You can activate at speeds of up to 30mph which is impressive too. Even with the roof up, the A5 cabriolet still tickles my fancy here.
The 2017 Audi A5 Convertible: Interior Design
Audi’s design efforts did not end on the outside, in fact, I reckon most people would want to show off the interior more than the exterior because, for me, it’s where the magic happens. It has one of the best interiors there is in any car today. It’s stylish, premium, functional and very practical in that it’s easy to find things without taking your eyes off the road.
It doesn’t require you to learn a whole new bunch of skills or reading manuals till Sundown before you can figure out where everything is in the car. For the regular Audi user, it’s nothing new, you get the MMI system that is intelligent and intuitive. The controls are within arm’s length with multi ways of controlling things.
You have your regular steering controls, enough for changing tracks, controlling the sat nav and activating the voice control system. If there’s anyone to make the perfect dynamic control cluster, it’s Audi. Centre console has space to place your wireless charging device, a low profile gear stick and the MMI rotary control with a touch sensitive pad for writing and a couple of cup holders.
As it’s a convertible, Audi has included a neck warmer built into the headrest’s neck between where it attaches to the seat and there’s a wind deflector on the back to keep wind noise down. Neck warmer combined with heated seats means you can even drive with your roof down in Winter if you really want to. The Wind deflector feels flimsy, but it does the job well. As mentioned before, you now have microphones built into the seat belts to capture your voice even when it’s windy.
The 2017 Audi A5 Convertible: Engine Performance
If you are planning to test drive the new A5 convertible, I’d recommend doing the non-S5 models first, because from my experience with the cars, driving the S5 first had me hooked and I couldn’t settle for the other models. The S5 has more character, it gives you the confidence of an F1 racing driver as you take corners and push it to its limits. This is not to say the TFSI or the TDI models aren’t up to scratch, though, but the S5 feels more solid on road even without selecting dynamic mode.
Road handling in all the models feels super-safe, it takes corners like it’s a straight road, thanks to Audi’s Quattro technology. You have the option to select different drive modes to help you enjoy different road types as you see fit and even with the roof down, there’s still so much performance churning out of the A5 Cabriolet. Where you’ll notice the difference in handling is when you drive the diesel models, you begin to notice more body roll as you take corners.
The 2017 Audi A5 Convertible: How Practical Is It?
Surprisingly, the A5 Cabriolet is very practical. You can get a baby seat in the back seat area and there’s enough knee room for a short 2 to 4 hours journey. The front is very spacious for both the driver and the front passenger. The boot space is big also with 380-litres of space when the roof is up and 320 when the roof is down.
Conclusion: Is It Worth Buying?
From our first impressions, the A5 Convertible or Cabriolet is definitely a car to consider when looking for a practical, functional and economical soft top vehicle. With a variety of engine options available, there’s something for everyone. The interior is premium with an ample amount of entertainment to keep your passengers occupied. Depending on which engine size you go for, you can have a car that runs from 20mpg to 52mpg.
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