Stylish and comfortable, the Audi A5 Cabriolet makes for an easy-going cruising companion

SINGAPORE

Who’d buy a convertible in Singapore? Given our weather’s propensity to start pouring with little advanced notice, especially during monsoon season, an open-top car might not seem like the best idea. But once the clouds go away and the sun emerges, top down driving is an experience like no other.

If the random showers don’t faze you, and you’d like to take the plunge into convertible motoring, then the latest model for you consideration is the Audi A5 Cabriolet, which has been recently updated along with the rest of the A5 range.

Visually, the changes are minor, mostly just a slight nip and tuck around the front end with a revised grille and bumpers. But the A5 has always been a handsome looker to begin with, and with the roof down (which takes 15 seconds to fold and can be operated at speeds of up to 50km/h), it looks especially alluring, with the car attracting plenty of stares from passers-by as you cruise along.

The interior too gets the same upgrades as the other A4/A5 members of the family, with the updated Virtual Cockpit instrument panel, and the new 10.1-inch MMI touchscreen infotainment system. Nothing major here, and the cabin still feels premium and solidly-built, as one would expect from Audi.

What’s more interesting though is under the bonnet. Unlike the other two members of the A5 family here, the A5 Cabriolet gets a more powerful version of the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine that develops 190hp (as opposed to 150hp for the Coupe and Sportback).

The A5 is also available in Sportback flavour, if practicality is more your thing

The extra grunt does make the Cabriolet brisker to accelerate, going from 0-100km/h in 7.9 seconds, a full second quicker than the Coupe. But it doesn’t quite feel as fast, probably because the Cabriolet weighs a good bit heavier than the Coupe (over 200kg more) due to the extra strengthening needed to reinforce the car after the deletion of the roof.

The result is a car that feels more at ease just cruising around town. The powerplant, which also incorporates a mild hybrid setup, delivers its power smoothly in a linear fashion, and generally implores you to chill and take it easy. With the roof up, there’s very little noise intrusion, and overall refinement is impressive as well.

The car’s easy-going character is matched by a ride quality that generally well-controlled, and the A5 Cabriolet is able to soak up most road surfaces pretty nicely, only getting unsettled once you hit larger bumps. There’s also hardly any evidence of that scuttle shake that tends to afflict some convertibles due to the reduction in rigidity, and it handles decently well, with a bit of understeer to remind you of its status as a comfortable cruiser rather than an outright sports car.

But that’s alright, because the A5 Cabriolet is a car that feels like a nice antidote to combat the stresses of life. It lets a little sunshine into your life, and probably best epitomes the term ‘chillax’. And given the 2020 that we’ve had, it’s something we can have more of surely.

Audi A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TFSI advanced

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