**2025 Audi A5 Base Model Review**  
By someone who daily drives an RS3

I’ve spent a week ish with the 2025 A5 base spec, and here’s my honest take, especially from the perspective of someone coming from an RS3.   
  
**Driving & Handling**  
For a base model (non-S line, non-S5/RS5), it drives well. The A5 corners confidently, especially on the twisty northern roads where I live. Compared to my RS3, it’s more subdued, but still capable. The steering, though, takes getting used to. It feels overly electronic, especially when accelerating from a stop while turning, like it’s assisting you in a way that prevents natural correction. It’s subtle but noticeable.   
  
**Fuel Efficiency**  
Impressive. I averaged 5.7L/100km and got nearly 800km out of a full tank. For a non-hybrid, that’s solid. Sure, it’s not made to be driven hard, but it’s efficient.   
  
**Where It Falls**   
Apart Now here’s where things feel rushed.   
  
**Key Design & Entry**   
The key fob is underwhelming. Feels cheap. No metal accents, just plain plastic for a 50K car is sad... As for entry, Audi’s move to eliminate traditional door handles is… questionable. I had two people try and fail to open the door. It’s not intuitive.   
  
The touch-to-lock feature on the exterior works but lacks feedback, especially at night. The sensor is concaved beneath a subtle ridge, making it hard to locate. So you’re stuck tapping randomly, hoping to lock the car. its subtle but still annoying when the prior model was intuitive.  
  
**Driver Assistance – Too Sensitive**  
Side assist was overly sensitive. Constant false positives. It lit up like a Christmas tree for cars that weren’t there. I’ve driven S3s, RS3s, SQ5s, and other A5s, all with flawless readings in prior generations. This one? Not so much. 

**Mirror Placement & Rear Visibility**                                                                                                             The side mirrors are massive almost comically large but sit too far forward. I had to move my seat back just to feel comfortable. Rear visibility is poor too. The back glass offers a narrow field of view, which hurts daily usability BUT I got used to it like most things.  
  
**Build Quality vs. Usability**  
Build quality feels good. Soft-touch materials, sturdy finish, Audi didn’t cut corners until you reach lower down anywhere in the cabin, it turns to cheap scratchy plastic, but waist above its decent quality. But UX? It’s missing. By UX I am saying user experience, as a professional UX designer myself I take extra detailed care to the experience with the car. I am very particular and I know what I am looking for.   
  
**911 Malfunction Warning**  
This loaner had 1,000 km. Brand new. Yet when I stepped in, I was greeted with a 911 malfunction warning and a rattle from the passenger seat and lower tire pressure but i quickly resolved that simple issue... My point is, that shouldn’t happen on a fresh-off-the-lot car. 

**Door Handle Design**  
The interior driver door arm rest( only usable part to shut the door) is chunky and oddly positioned. To pull the door shut, your hand lands directly over all the controls, windows, mirrors, locks. Feels like an afterthought, even though the indent suggests it was intentional. BUT the door handle itself is fine but Audi has moved towards an electric open and close door, like Tesla, no longer the days of a mechanical mechanism opening and closing the door.   
  
**Steering Wheel & Controls**   
Not a fan. Looks like something off a Kia. The touch-sensitive controls are frustrating. It’s one clickable surface handling 9 different actions. Worst part? Clicking certain zones doesn’t even register... even though you feel and hear the click! INSANE. Swiping to adjust volume sounds cool until your song skips halfway through without warning. This happened nearly every drive. I wish wish WISH i was lying here but it became such a pain I got used to only hearing half my song.   
  
**Climate Controls... Dangerous Design**  
The touchscreen-based temperature controls are a disaster. They force you to take your eyes off the road just to adjust basic settings. I’ve never felt so distracted or unsafe because of a UI decision in a modern car. Every and any UX designer can tell you physical buttons out rule a display. The only reason I can see why they did this, was to save cost. I know for a fact the UX designers at Audi are still heated about this decision to this day with Audi.

**Performance & Power Delivery**                                                                                                                         For a car with a claimed 200hp and a price tag north of $50K, it felt underpowered. My old 2013 A3 felt quicker, granted yes, it was lighter, but still. Passing on the highway lacked the confidence I expected. 

**Digital Cockpit, lol... A Step Back?**                                                                                                                   The new digital cockpit feels like a downgrade. A permanent 3D render of the car sits in the middle of the display and can’t be removed. Having owned the first-gen digital cockpit, this one feels cluttered   
and less functional. Why take a step back? I guess this is another one of Audi's miserable decisions to cost cut.   


**Final Thoughts** 

The A5 base model drives well, looks sharp in specific angles but overall reminds me of a whale. BUT it offers good fuel economy. But the overall user experience,  between confusing door handles, false sensor alerts, poor infotainment UX, and inconsistent digital cockpit design, feels unrefined. The driving mechanics are there. The interaction design is not. If you care about the experience in your car,  as much as you care about ride quality, this one may leave you frustrated.

Updated a5 2025 Car loaner review