2009 Audi A5 Sportback 2.0L TDI CVT (177 HP)

Vehicle Overview

Audi started production and selling of the five-door fastback Audi A5 Sportback in September 2009 for specific markets, while other countries followed in the next year.

After Mercedes-Benz brought back the four-door coupe vehicles along with the introduction of the 2004 CLS, other car manufacturers joined the new trend. After the three-pointed-star brand, Volkswagen came with the Passat CC in 2008, and Audi followed a year later with the 2009 A5 Sportback. While it wasn’t exactly a four-door coupe, it offered an alternative that attracted many customers. After all, it had that stance of a fastback vehicle, and customers couldn’t care less if the car had two, four, or five doors as long as it served the purpose of transporting a family of four in a car that looked sporty and provided decent running costs. Furthermore, it was available with a wide choice of engines and transmissions, making it a better alternative for the A4 Sedan, with which it shared its platform.

Audi didn’t have to design the entire car from scratch. It took the front fascia from the coupe and adapted it on the 2009 A5 Sportback. It featured a broad, reversed trapezoidal grille flanked by a pair of xenon headlights adorned by 13 LEDs each for the daytime running lights. The lower bumper looked slightly different depending on the trim level and options. Regardless of that, it was also available with a pair of fog lamps integrated into the side scoops that flanked the main grille.

The first four-door coupe vehicle in automotive history was the 1962 Rover P5 Mark II. After that, most automakers moved to more conventional shapes, but that idea didn’t catch on. It was too early. Then, in 2004, Mercedes-Benz launched the CLS and revived that idea. Audi considered improving it and made the 2009 A5 Sportback a four-door coupe with a tailgate at the back. The low-slung profile, the sloped down rear end, and the frameless side windows won the hearts and wallets of its customers. To increase visibility, the automaker added a third window between the rear doors and the tailgate, emphasizing the car’s sporty look. In addition, thanks to the wide opening, loading and unloading the trunk was a breeze.

The interior of the 2009 Audi A5 Sportback resembled the one from the 2007 Audi A5 Coupe at the front. It had the same instrument cluster with large dials for the speedometer and tachometer, which flanked an LCD for the onboard computer. However, the most significant advantage was for those seated in the back. The two-door version was often criticized for its cramped rear seats. That problem was solved for the Sportback version. Thanks to its four-door bodywork, ingress and egress were easy. Even though the transmission tunnel limited legroom for the middle-seated passenger, there was still enough space to accommodate two people on the split-folding (60/40) bench seat.

Under the hood, Audi installed a wide choice of gasoline or turbodiesel engines. It paired them with manual, automatic, or CVT transmissions. The former two sent their power to the front wheels or in all corners for the quattro versions, while the latter was a front-wheel drive affair only. The automaker even offered an adaptive suspension.