Audi A5 3.0 TDi (2007) CAR review

Haven’t you driven the Audi A5 before?

We have, but only in S5 guise, and not on UK roads. Back in April we drove the 354bhp V8 but that was Audi’s attempt to steal a little limelight from the BMW M3; now we’ve got behind the wheel of the 3.0-litre diesel. Audi hasn’t been in the big coupe game for 11 years, not since the S2 went out of production in 1996. Now it’s back, and with an all-new platform – dubbed MLP.

Is that the modular longitudinal platform we’ve been hearing about?

It is, although MLP is less of a mouthful. Audi believes that in order to compete successfully as a premium manufacturer it needs some driving credibility; the MLP is supposed to herald a change in dynamic philosophy at Ingolstadt. The front axle has been moved 120mm further forward, extending the wheelbase and moving the engine back in the chassis. The A5 is our first chance to try the new platform that will be the basis for the next A4, Q5, A7 and many more. It’s all part of Audi’s plan to sell 1.5 million cars by 2015. The company is on target, too, with sales up sixfold from 1991 to 2006, and up 20 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2007.