Audi A5 Avant: Mid-size wagon could go PHEV in Australia

Audi Australia has previously committed to offering wagons in its lineup, though the successor to its A4 Avant is currently under a cloud of uncertainty despite the high-performance S5 Avant being confirmed for launch.

Following an announcement of preliminary details for the new A5 and S5 range, Audi’s team suspiciously left out any mention of an A5 Avant to sit alongside the S5 Avant flagship.

We could have a clue as to why, though.

Esther Choi, product manager at Audi Australia, hinted that a wagon-bodied A5 would need to offer a similar package to the A4 Avant before it – which was sold only as a high-spec 45 TFSI quattro in its final days.

“If you looked at A4, our Avants were always the quattro. Our [Avant] customer demand has been for the higher-spec cars rather than the entry variants – so watch this space,” Ms Choi told CarExpert.

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Audi A5 Avant: Mid-size wagon could go PHEV in Australia — **Audi A5 Avant**

By omission, Ms Choi has perhaps given a couple of leads to how the A5 lineup might expand in Australia, given the A5 Avant is currently advertised as “coming soon” on the brand’s website despite not being mentioned in the initial launch announcement.

Given the entry-level A5 Sedan will be powered by a 150kW 2.0-litre ‘TFSI’ four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine in Australia driving the front wheels, it appears Audi’s local arm is waiting for additional powertrain variants to be approved for the Australian market before committing to bringing the A5 Avant.

Oddly, the 150kW 2.0 TFSI in Europe with 48V ‘MHEV plus’ technology is only available in Europe with quattro all-wheel drive, despite the same powertrain in Australia being FWD only.

The only other quattro variant available in overseas markets is a 150kW 2.0-litre ‘TDI’ four-cylinder turbo-diesel, which would be unlikely for Australia.

Thus, our attention turns to the recent announcement of the A5 e-hybrid range, revealed in March offering two power levels across both the A5 Sedan and Avant body styles – crucially, both variants come standard with quattro all-wheel drive.

Both A5 e-hybrid models mate a 185kW 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with a 20.7kWh net/25.9kWh gross lithium-ion battery, an electric motor with up to 105kW, and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Available power levels are 220kW/450Nm or 270kW/500Nm, with the more powerful version quoting a brisk 0-100km/h time as quick as 5.1 seconds. All e-hybrid models are AWD, and can be charged on AC power at up to 11kW.

Perhaps more importantly, EV driving range is as much as 110 kilometres on the WLTP cycle, with weighted combined fuel consumption quoted at 2.0-2.7L/100km depending on variant.

The A5 e-hybrid can be driven in either EV or hybrid modes, with the former using purely electric power until the battery is depleted or if you put it in sport mode. The combustion engine also engages during kickdown.

The A5 e-hybrids can be driven on purely electric power at speeds of up to 140km/h.

Based on Audi Australia’s previous form with its TFSI e-branded plug-in hybrids, the local division typically opts for the higher-output PHEV option and positions it as a mid-tier performance variant to sit below the equivalent ‘S’ grade.

CarExpert understands that, should the A5 Avant e-hybrid (and Sedan) be confirmed for the Australian market, it’ll likely only be offered with the beefier 270kW/500Nm tune and priced a smidgen under the new S5 Sedan and Avant performance models.

Prior to going out of production last year, the Audi S4 Sedan and Avant were priced from $110,715 and $113,215 respectively, both before on-road costs. Pricing for the new-generation S5 Sedan and Avant is still to be announced.

We’d expect an increase in price for the new S5 – likely starting around the $115,000-$120,000 mark, so the high-output A5 e-hybrids could well be worth six figures if and when they arrive in Australian showrooms.

Also worth noting is that Audi Australia will also offer S5 edition one models at launch, pitched as “purist” versions priced under the standard S5 – much like BMW’s previous “Pure”-badged M Performance models.