Audi A5 Sportback review - Practicality, comfort and boot space

The Audi range is among the biggest and most extensive offered by any manufacturer in the UK, with a different model for seemingly every niche. The A5 Sportback is one of those niches – offering a more desirable design than the boxy A4 saloon and greater practicality over the standard A5 coupe. However, greater practicality doesn’t mean it’s all that versatile, with space in the back limited for taller adults, and the sloping roofline limiting overall bootspace. 

Size

At 4.73m long, the A5 Sportback is 90mm longer than a BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe (4.64m). It’s ever-so-slightly wider, too (1.84m plays 1.83m), though the cars are identical in height, give or take a few millimetres (1.39m). On the road, the BMW feels slightly more agile, though neither is unwieldy. The Audi is more surefooted, especially on those models fitted with Quattro all-wheel-drive.

Leg room, head room & passenger space 

If you regularly carry taller adults then an A4 or A6 remains a more sensible choice, however, if you have smaller children or only require the back seats very occasionally, then the A5 Sportback is a brilliant halfway house. It offers a degree of extra practicality without losing the sleek and stylish coupe body.

Headroom isn’t all that plentiful for those over six feet tall, though anyone else should find there’s enough space in the back for longer journeys. The middle seat is near enough useless, however, as you sit perched up above the outer seats without any kind of bolstering to keep you in place. 

Boot

This is where the Audi A5 Sportback comes into its own, offering buyers style by the shed load, mated to a decent 480-litre boot. Unlike the coupe, the Sportback’s boot opens from the roof, infinitely improving versatility. Owners will find handy tie-down points and luggage nets too, though there’s no underfloor storage for stashing valuables out of sight. 

The rear seats do fold down, and although Audi doesn’t publish a total volume with everything folded flat, it’s a usable space that should suffice on the occasional trip to the tip. It’s certainly a match for the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe’s 1,300-litre loadbay.

Of course, if it’s ultimate practicality you’re after, an A4 or A6 Avant estate will tick more boxes, while the new Q5 offers plenty of space in a trendy SUV body