Nonetheless among the many most weird selections Audi has ever made, its AUDI sub-brand (sure, that’s simply Audi in all caps) has lastly launched its E5 Sportback, some 5 months after it made its debut at Auto Shanghai. The timing might have been tardy, however this primary three way partnership mannequin with SAIC wasted no time racking up the orders, with 10,153 pre-sales achieved inside simply half-hour of the launch.
Constructed on the co-developed Superior Digitised Platform (ADP) and sharing componentry with the likes of the IM L6 and LS6, the E5 Sportback is obtainable in 4 variants, with costs starting from 235,900 yuan (RM139,000) to 319,900 yuan (RM188,500) – about the identical as an A5L. For that cash, you get a selection of both rear- or quattro all-wheel drive, each in customary and lengthy vary variations.
In customary trim, the E5 Sportback makes 299 PS (220 kW) and 420 Nm of torque, getting it from zero to 100 km/h in 6.1 seconds. With a 76 kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery, the claimed vary is 618 km on China’s lenient CLTC cycle.
The quattro variant boosts the rear motor to 314 PS (231 kW) and 475 Nm and provides a entrance motor making 211 PS (155 kW) and 250 Nm. This ends in a complete system output of 525 PS (386 kW) and 725 Nm, rocketing the automotive to 100 km/h in simply 3.9 seconds. Regardless of this, a barely bigger 83 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery allows the automotive to eke out barely extra vary at 623 km.
Stepping as much as the RWD plus mannequin will increase the battery capability nonetheless additional to a spherical 100 kWh, enabling a formidable 773 km of vary – very barely larger than beforehand predicted. It additionally boosts the rear motor to 408 PS (300 kW) and 500 Nm for a zero-to-100 km/h time of 5 seconds flat.
On the top quality sits the lengthy vary quattro that turns the facility to 11 – the rear motor to an astonishing 515 PS and the entrance motor to 272 PS (200 kW) and 300 Nm. All in all, this factor produces a heady 787 PS (579 kW) and 800 Nm, blitzing the century dash in simply 3.4 seconds. With the identical 100 kWh battery, the vary is barely shorter at 647 km.
By way of DC quick charging, the E5 could be topped up from 10 to 80% in below 13 minutes for the bottom mannequin and 17 minutes with the most important 100 kWh battery. One outlier is the mid-tier quattro model, which takes a yawning 35 minutes for a similar metric; we suspect that this variant has a 400-volt electrical structure moderately than the same old 800 volts. Additionally disappointing is AC charging pace that’s capped at simply 6.6 kW for the lower-rung fashions, and even the 100 kWh battery solely maxes out at 11 kW.
Underneath the pores and skin, the E5 rides on double-wishbone entrance and five-link rear suspension, with air suspension, adaptive dampers and rear-wheel steering fitted to the flagship quattro variant. A 6.6 kWh vehicle-to-load (V2L) operate is fitted customary.
Primarily the manufacturing model of final yr’s E idea, the E5 has been catered particularly for the Chinese language buyer. It being spun off from the primary Audi model means it will probably ditch Ingolstadt’s iconic design cues, such because the “quattro” field flares and the singleframe grille.
Of their place are rounded haunches and a brand new Mild Body – a black ring that encircles your entire entrance finish, incorporating the slim LED headlights with elective matrix expertise, the AUDI script, driving help sensors and air inlets. That is framed by an illuminated tessellated sample made up of greater than 1,000 lighting components, which include a welcome animation on the top-spec mannequin.
Shifting additional again, you’ll discover a black roof and a kinked window line that leads as much as the thick body-coloured D-pillars, whereas the rear finish receives the identical Mild Body because the entrance, right here forming the taillights. A entrance spoiler, flush pop-out door handles, an elongated rear wing and elective digital rear view mirrors enhance aerodynamic effectivity, with a drag coefficient as little as 0.252.
Step inside via the also-optional powered doorways and also you’ll discover that the E5 Sportback adopts a number of design cues already frequent in Chinese language automobiles. These embrace a full-width 27-inch panel that includes a driver’s show and a single infotainment touchscreen for the centre and entrance passenger, in addition to headrest audio system (linked to an obtainable Bose sound system) and an expansive centre console with storage for 2 telephones and a 50-watt Qi wi-fi charger.
You additionally get ambient lighting strips constructed into the wooden inlays – imported from North America, no much less, AUDI claims – and an elective electrochromic glass roof. Explicit consideration has been paid to the entrance seats, which characteristic a nine-layer composite construction for optimum help and an eight-point therapeutic massage operate with 4 modes and three pace settings.
The E5’s infotainment is underpinned by a brand new AUDI OS, operating on the newest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip and coming with an AI-powered AUDI Assistant – this, as is common for Chinese language automobiles as of late, can settle for a number of instructions without delay, and is visualised via a 4.29-inch AUDI Sensible Island contact panel with 24 “personalities”. There’s additionally an app retailer that includes facial recognition, plus a zonal electrical structure that enables next-generation connectivity and over-the-air updates for all car programs.
This can be a automotive designed for China, so after all the E5 will get highly-automated metropolis and freeway driving within the type of AUDI 360 Assisted Driving. Due to a lidar sensor, Adaptive Cruise Help can evade obstacles, determine pink lights and carry out automated lane adjustments and U-turns; it will probably even detect tricycles and supply riders, Audi says. Autonomous emergency braking, rear cross site visitors alert with auto brake and a door opening warning all come as customary.
GALLERY: AUDI E5 Sportback at Auto Shanghai 2025
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