Audi A5 Sportback review - Reliability and safety

Our most recent Driver Power survey showed Audi falling down the ranks when it comes to reliability and owner satisfaction. The brand finished a disappointing 21st place out of 32 makers – a drop of eight since 2015. Reliability was a particular bugbear, where Audi finished 23rd – despite a sixth-place finish for quality.

Safety is very good, too, and while the Euro NCAP hasn’t specifically tested the A5 Sportback, it awarded the A4 saloon and A5 Coupe the full five stars. It gained an 89 per cent rating for adult occupant protection, 87 per cent for child protection and 75 per cent for pedestrian protection. A 75 per cent safety assist score is also impressive. 

All cars get AEB automatic braking, a host of airbags and ISOFIX child seat mountings. Blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning are on the options list.

Warranty

All Audis come with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty, and while that may sound generous enough, many manufacturers offer a more competitive guarantee these days. Even BMW offers an unlimited mileage policy for the first five years, while many will provide cover for even longer.

However, with many buyers trading their cars in after two or three years, lengthy warranties are becoming less and less relevant. If you fall into this bracket, you should have few concerns about the Audi’s reliability.

Servicing

The Audi A5 Sportback needs servicing every 12 months or 10,000 miles (£164 for a 2.0 TDI or 2.0 TFSI), whichever comes sooner. A bigger and pricier service (£319) comes every two years or 20,000 miles. The 3.0-litre TDI is more expensive to maintain, costing £199 and £399 respectively.