Category: Convertibles 
Price Range: £29,800 to £40,390
Excellent choice of engines, quality interior, quiet, great for cruising.
Shaky ride, not very exciting to drive, dull steering.
A perfectly competent, classy open-top but it's not going to take your breath away.
We found the 3.0-litre TDi the most rewarding out of all the variants. It combines the best compromise of power, torque and performance: it also seems to make the most sense as far as fuel costs are concerned (see Running Costs).
There are no real weak links in the engine line-up: the 2.0-litre 208bhp petrol offers just enough power to make overtaking manoeuvres on B-Roads uncomplicated, the 261bhp V6 petrol is riotous, and the 237bhp TDI has the perfect blend of power and low-down torque to make it extremely flexible: it's happy to trundling around town yet equally at home blasting along open country roads.
You can opt for a six-speed manual (with stop/start), a multitronic auto (similar to a CVT) or a 7-speed S tronic auto. The S tronic, using dual-clutch technology is probably the smoothest and sharpest, particularly when you use the paddleshifts on the steering wheel. Audi's multitronic system is impressive too, offering eight different forward gears. It's quite smooth and the gearing never feels like it's racing, which is so often the case on other similar systems.
The performance stats tell an encouraging story: the 2.0-litre manual goes from 0-60mph in 7.5 seconds, the 3.0-litre diesel S tronic in 6.4 seconds and the 3.2-litre multitronic will get you there in 6.9 seconds.
Handling-wise there's not much wrong with the A5 Cabriolet, but it's not particularly rewarding either. The four-wheel-drive 3.0-litre Quattro we drove felt the most planted on the road and turned in more keenly than the rest of the line-up.
We didn't experience the horrendous levels of understeer that you expect from a big heavy car, but it's not much fun either. Tail-out exponents will find this a dull experience. There is a fraction of body roll on all cars but nothing to get uppity about.
Brakes feel solid and dependable, but the steering still feels somewhat dull. It's nicely weighted, but it's not particularly quick or confidence-building.
The gearchange on the manual felt slick, but we think this car works best with the S tronic automatic 'box.
