Should you buy one?

We like the Audi A5 Sportback, and it’s easy to understand its popularity. It’s a sleek family hatchback with a coupe attitude that’s practical and beautifully finished inside. The Sportback does a lot of things very well, but towards the end of its lifetime, the technology started to lag behind its key rivals.

That said, it still looks great inside and out, and is practical and decent to drive. But it’s not massively spacious in the back and lacks standard equipment. We reckon the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe is a sharper steer, and feels much newer inside. However, the Audi’s beautifully finished interior and stylish trim levels, such as Black Edition and S Line, mean there are many reasons to choose it.

We think the Quattro four-wheel drive version is the best all-rounder, with the most balanced handling and the security of great all-weather grip. But considering you get all of that in a cheaper A4, just without the coupe-inspired styling on purely objective grounds, perhaps the inflated price of the A5 Sportback is hard to justify.

What we like

The interior quality is superb and although the infotainment and controls are not the most modern, we really like this layout. It’s highly stylish with more than enough practicality for most families, and is great for long-distance travel.

What we don’t like

It doesn’t drive quite as well as the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe. Standard equipment isn’t massively impressive, and lots of useful tech is optional – making it harder to find well-equipped used examples.