2025 Audi A5 Review

The redesigned A5 replaces the old A5 and the A4 sedan, offering improvement with a few compromises.

Tim Stevens | 

Jun 20, 2025 | 8 min read

Tim Stevens

In addition to ultimately replacing the A4 sedan, the redesigned Audi A5 supersedes its direct predecessors. However, the former A5 coupe and convertible are no longer available because Audi has streamlined the 2025 A5 lineup down to a single Sportback body style.

The recipe is a familiar one, the new design taking its most significant step forward on the inside, where a sweeping series of OLED displays dominate the dashboard. You'll also find a bump in power under the hood and, for the sporty S5, a switch from a conventional automatic to a dual-clutch transmission.

Apart from the A4's impending discontinuation and the dropped coupe and convertible body styles, the changes don't radically alter the A5/S5 formula. Instead, they represent subtle refinements and a slight refocusing that puts a bit more daylight between this luxury-minded model and the smaller, more affordable Audi A3 sedan.

Tim Stevens

About the 2025 Audi A5 and S5 Review Vehicles

The 2025 Audi A5 is available with Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige trim packages, with base prices ranging from the low $50,000s to the high $50,000s, including the destination charge for shipping the car to a dealership from the Neckarsulm, Germany, factory that builds it. The more powerful 2025 Audi S5 offers the same three trim-package tiers, with base prices ranging from the mid-$60,000s to the low-$70,000s, including destination.

For this A5/S5 review, I drove two versions of the cars. The A5 Prestige came with optional 19-inch wheels and Chronos Gray paint, increasing the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $58,840, including the $1,295 destination charge. On the S5 side, I drove a Prestige model with Ascari Blue metallic paint and the Edition One package, which includes 20-inch wheels and black trim. It carried a $73,940 price, including destination.

Audi provided the vehicles for this review and covered the costs of airfare, lodging, and meals during the evaluation period.

Tim Stevens

Bigger and Shapelier Style for the 2025 A5

Take a look at the new A5 compared with the outgoing model, and it's easy to see it has grown significantly, with a 2.7-inch increase in length and a 2-inch increase in height. The car's look, though, has also evolved, with a slightly more extended appearance than before. That's especially noticeable at the rear, which features a more evident trunklid and dramatically styled taillights.

Viewed from the side, the new A5 has lost the distinctive creases that accentuated the front and rear fenders, resulting in a car that, it must be said, is more anonymous looking than before. Still, the combination of a sedan shape and hatchback practicality will surely win this car many fans, as it now offers 22.6 cubic-feet of cargo space in the trunk and 36.6 cu-ft with the rear seats folded down. That's a little more than the old A5 Sportback, and way up from the 12 cu-ft in the outgoing A4 sedan's trunk.

Even bigger changes are found inside the car, where a pair of curved OLED displays dominate the dashboard. The left screen offers digital instrumentation, and the center screen provides touchscreen access to the infotainment system. Add the newly available third screen for the front passenger to use, and there's not much dashboard left to be seen.

Tim Stevens

There's a wider expanse of center console between the seats, though, with space freed up by a change to a much smaller shifter this year. That makes way for a pair of cupholders and a veritable sea of piano-black plastic framed by a strip of unfortunate-looking wood trim in the A5 I tested. In the S5, Audi instead used a strip of carbon-look weave. That, at least, looked the part.

Buyers have a choice of three upholstery colors: black, brown, or beige. The standard heated front seats are quite comfortable, and ventilation and massage are optional with the Premium Plus trim and standard with Prestige trim. Heated rear seats are also available. Adults may find the rear headroom and legroom usable, while an available panoramic glass sunroof allows plenty of light to enter the cabin.

Tim Stevens

Pixels and Panels for Days in the 2025 A5

On the tech scene, the A5's new series of displays sweeping across the dashboard brings it up to speed with rivals. They're similar to how BMW and Mercedes-Benz unify multiple panels, but Audi frames them in a curvier, more organic shape. More importantly, those displays are OLED, which offers great contrast and truly black blacks.

The driver's display measures 11.9 inches, while the Multi Media Infotainment (MMI) screen is 14.5 inches. Wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto connectivity is standard, and the available 10.9-inch front-passenger display allows that person to interact with the MMI or stream video without distracting the driver. If that's not enough, a new head-up display is standard with the Premium Plus and Prestige trims. It is bright and colorful, and remains visible even when the driver is wearing polarized sunglasses.

On the safety side of the ledger, the 2025 A5 comes standard with the typical ADAS features. They worked as expected, and the Adaptive Cruise Assist system with lane-centering assist did a great job of keeping the A5 in position even on roads with broken asphalt and poor lane markings. However, it is not a hands-free technology.

Tim Stevens

More Feel and Feedback When Driving the 2025 A5

The heart of the A5 driving experience is a revised version of the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that powered the outgoing A4 and A5. It supplies 268 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, representing increases of 7 horsepower and 22 lb-ft. Step up to the S5, and you get a pair of extra cylinders and a substantial displacement bump, thanks to a turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 making 362 horsepower and 406 lb-ft, up 13 horsepower and 37 lb-ft.

Those engine changes are mild, but there's a bigger shift regarding how the power gets to the pavement in the S5 model. The previous eight-speed Tiptronic automatic is gone, replaced by the same seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT) Audi uses in the A5. Naturally, Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system is standard.

In my experience, DCTs can sometimes result in a sportier but less luxurious driving character; however, that is not the case here. Putting the A5 into motion is just as smooth and easy as it ever was, free of abrupt application of power or rough shifting. Switching from one gear to the next when gliding through traffic happens without fuss, and the DCT is every bit as good as a traditional automatic.

Tim Stevens

Unfortunately, Audi may have refined its DCT a little too much. When driving the car in Dynamic mode or using the steering wheel shift paddles, my requests for a higher or lower gear were met with a noticeable delay in the A5. That was less problematic in the S5. In that sport-tuned model, the DCT displayed a far more aggressive attitude, downshifting early and holding gears far longer.

The S5 also offers more steering feel than the A5, resulting in a greater sense of what's happening at the front tires. There's little resistance to the steering, but I appreciated the boosted feedback on a twistier road. However, slightly more harshness was evident when driving over sharp, short bumps, such as separation joints on highways. Nevertheless, both the A5 and S5 were excellent cruisers on the highway.

While driving the new A5 and S5 in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, fuel economy suffered. The A5 averaged 17.9 mpg, well short of its EPA estimate of 26 mpg in combined city and highway driving. The S5, on a different route, returned 20.8 mpg, not far off the EPA estimate of 22 mpg in combined driving. Owners are likely to see much better efficiency when driving at typical altitudes in flatter regions.

Tim Stevens

Is the 2025 Audi A5 a Good Car?

After a day spent driving the new A5 and S5, the general poise of the latter and the comfort and luxury of the former impressed me. Additionally, the new interior design, tech, and chassis dynamics are welcome. They should help ensure that, regardless of what Audi calls it or how it's configured, the automaker's most mainstream car will prove competitive against its archrivals, the BMW 3 Series, BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Tim Stevens

Tim is a freelance automotive and technology journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He is a frequent contributor to major domestic and international online, print, and broadcast news outlets, sharing his insights and perspectives on everything from cybersecurity to supercars. Tim also serves as a juror for the World Car Awards and regularly acts as speaker and moderator at major industry events such as CES, Web Summit, SXSW, NAIAS, and AutoMobility LA. He formerly served as editor-at-large and vice president of content at CNET. Before that he was editor-in-chief of Engadget and editorial director at AOL Tech.