Audi A5 Cabriolet

The entire cabin of the Audi A5 Cabriolet looks very familiar, as it has been shared with the A5 Coupe with no single change. However, that’s not a disadvantage, as the cabin itself is laid out in a very organized manner and oozes quality of high level.

Finished in leather upholstery of high quality, the cabin of the Audi A5 Cabriolet is a good mix of black and dark brown colour options, with the right amount of dark wood and aluminium inlays at places. The cabin has been blessed with a full TFT virtual cockpit Plus instrument console and a pop-up 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

Other features which make the Audi A5 Cabriolet a premium car from the inside are three-zone automatic climate control, ambient lighting, powered front seats with memory function for the driver’s seat, leather steering wheel with multifunction plus, and frameless interior rearview mirror. One can even opt for the optional S line interior package with fine Nappa leather with embossed ‘S’ and Audi’s exclusive inlays in piano black finish. The space is adequate for four passengers at most, however, as expected, the rear seats do not have that much knee room and legroom on offer.

The Audi A5 Cabriolet is based on the A5 Coupe and shares much of the design of the latter. It is only the fact that the A5 Cabriolet has a soft top in place of a hardened roof, which is retractable and can be opened up as and when you want to.

The front profile of the Audi A5 Cabriolet is the same as that of the A5 Coupe, with swanky-looking Matrix LED headlamps with distinctive daytime running LEDs above them. The large hexagonal grille with wide honeycomb inserts and chrome surrounds looks sharp and makes the A5 Cabriolet look wide when viewed head-on. The design at the front looks very aerodynamic with smooth curves flowing on the bonnet and aggressive-looking air intakes integrated into the corners of the front bumper, the latter of which is accompanied by fog lamps adjacent to them.

The side profile of the Audi A5 Cabriolet looks smooth and flowing with a curved crease flowing from the edge of the headlamp to that of the tail lamp, much like how it is there in other A5 models and even the Q5 SUV. The two-door look and door-mounted rearview mirrors are what make the side profile look even sportier. The shoulder line is finished in chrome which flows towards the rear in a wraparound fashion while integrating an LED stop lamp below the rear windscreen.

The hardtop of the A5 Coupe is replaced here by a soft retractable top, which takes 15 seconds to open and 18 seconds to close. One can perform the opening and closing action of the roof at speeds up to 50 kmph. The design for the boot lid at the back completely resembles that of the A5 Coupe with wide LED tail lamps with tapering inner edges and a high-mounted loading lip. The rear diffuser looks premium with chrome garnish, which is further extended over the exhaust ports on either side.

While the Audi A5 Cabriolet is a front-wheel-drive car that misses out on the fabulous Quattro all-wheel-drive technology, the multi-link setup at both front and rear with damper control takes care of the ride quality pretty decently. However, there is a stiffness in the suspension setup which can make the long drives not as plush as one would have wanted.

Sharing its heart with the A5 Coupe under its hood, the Audi A5 Cabriolet gets a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, that is available with a 7-speed S Tronic automatic transmission as standard. The engine is capable of putting up a maximum power output of 190 PS and a maximum torque output of 320 Nm.

The Audi A5 Cabriolet is packed with safety features like front and side airbags, ABS with EBD, traction control, electronic stability control, front and rear parking sensors, park assist with 360-degree camera, active lane assist, Audi drive select with efficiency mode, Audi pre-sense rear and basic, cruise control, hold assist and lane change warning.

The Audi A5 Cabriolet gives a starry appeal of a two-door sports car with a retractable roof at a fraction of its price. While it might not have the fire-breathing performance of a traditional sports car, the open-top motoring experience commands attention wherever it goes, giving it a feel of an expensive car.