It’s a challenge to separate the global upheaval happening during this year’s hazy and not-so-lazy days of summer, but let us offer a moment of respite for those who appreciate advanced German manufacturing, and have got the stomach to handle tariff terrors.

The 2025 Audi A5 has brought a completely revised and reimagined approach to what is now a single, five-door sportback offering, versus previous separate sedan and sportback models. The new model comes with a well-concealed liftback style that substitutes a 22.6-cubic feet cargo area for a trunk, and also becomes a bike-friendly 36.6-cubic feet if you drop the rear seats. 

The new A5, built on a new shared vehicle platform, has been stretched out by almost two and a half inches. It is also a bit wider and taller, providing lots of extra people room inside, including 41.3 inches of front legroom and a comfortable 36.1 inches in the rear. It’s now 190 inches in length; its more powerful S5 variant, also new, is just a touch longer than that. Outside, animated and customizable LED headlamps and tail lamps and sporty wheels give the A5 an even more futuristic look. 

And while its cabin is full of screen-heavy tech that mirrors the transformation found in its electric vehicles, Audi’s A5 is still fully gas-powered, with a more powerful 2.0-liter turbocharged TFSI four-cylinder engine and a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. It now provides 268 horsepower, a 7-hp bump, and 295 lb-ft of torque, some 22 lb-ft more than before. Alternately, the 2025 S5’s turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 now pushes 362-hp and a stout 406 lb-ft, for more vibrant performance.

I did a variety of drives last week, including a transit of US 285 and an early morning return trip on Interstate 70, followed by a loop up and around the former Mount Evans – the latter of which turned out to be the same route Audi took its vehicle launch event a couple of months ago.

That road offers maybe the best chance to wring out the comfortable and sportily capable A5, and check out the capability provided by the Quattro all-wheel-drive system. Power is still quite striking on the A5 and it’ll even produce some exciting exhaust noises when you floor it to pass, with the engine’s other benefit being 31 official highway mpg and numbers considerably higher than that on occasion.

Suspension and ride here are smooth enough for passenger trips and not necessarily geared for screeching around corners, though it’ll still handle those quite nicely, and also provide lots of wintertime Quattro grip.

My $49,700 A5 was upgraded with the Prestige package and 19-inch wheels, bringing the total price to just under $59,000 with destination charges and adding the full range of new-fangled features, including a passenger-side touchscreen and an automatic self-dimming panoramic glass sunroof. The S5, meanwhile, starts at $62,700.

The A5 is a sleek-looking machine, with new, flush door handles that – well, are no longer functional door handles, but hide occasionally awkward electronic door release buttons underneath. I got a dose of the car’s very loud alarm system when I tried to open a passenger door with the settings probably improperly configured. I was also literally the first person to drive the car, besides the delivery crews.

Set yourself inside this package’s quilted and supportive sport seats, complete with Bang & Olufsen headrest speakers to complement the immersive sound system, and it is indeed a platform for what Audi calls the Digital Stage. 

That denotes a broad sweep of digitized instrument displays including a large, almost video game-styled active traffic warning and safety system — try to keep your eyes on the road, not the 11.9-inch screen — and a vast, 14.5-inch central touchscreen with painfully detailed built-in maps so clear I saw neighborhoods in outer Alma that I didn’t know existed. The optional passenger-side screen carries the effect even further, with additional displays and controls. There’s also a multi-modal, actively configurable head-up display, and an additional strip of LED lights above the dash to accentuate turn signals.

Happily the most important functionalities aren’t too deeply hidden, save for manual fan controls no car manufacturer seems to want you to access, and Apple CarPlay was also easy to connect and use.

The new slide-to-shift mechanism on the console is yet another futuristic oddity, which can be tapped to engage a revvier sport mode, while haptic controls above help access the more-responsive dynamic driving mode. There’s also a cooled wireless charging pad, though during daytime drives I had to resort to hiding my phone in the lifting center armrest box to avoid cooking it in direct sunlight.

Combine all that black of the screens and it borders on being overwhelming, though a tasteful array of LED highlight lighting and leathery trim helps keep things balanced. I also would have appreciated a couple of extra inches of telescoping distance from the sleek, flat-bottomed wheel.

Andy Stonehouse’s column “Mountain Wheels” publishes Saturdays in the Summit Daily News. Stonehouse has worked as an editor and writer in Colorado since 1998, focusing on automotive coverage since 2004. He lives in Golden. Contact him at summitmountainwheels@gmail.com.