We drive the German automaker’s new midsize line—coming next spring—in France. The target buyers: The upper-middle class.

The 362-horsepower Audi S5 is shaper, nicer, and technically better than the car it replaces. But it's less thrilling, too.

The significance of this model is twofold: on the one hand, this is the first of several new combustion-powered cars to be based on Audi's new Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture, while on the other, this is the official sounding of the death knell for the combustion-powered Audi A4, which will become an EV in its next incarnation.

The rear lights on the S5 get Audi’s new OLED tech as standard: there are 60 segments per panel that offer configurable lighting displays and a shimmering welcome. They’re really quite mesmerising to look at, so that’s a pleasant distraction for anyone behind you in a traffic jam.

Our first taste of the new A5 via the European spec S5 has us eagerly anticipating strapping our test gear onto the fastback once the U.S. model arrives.

OK, so Audi changed the name. From here on out, the Audi A4 is gone. It’s dead. Kaput. Thirty years of history were thrown out the window and die-hard Audi fans are understandably big mad. The Audi A4 was always the car that Volkswagen Golf and Jetta owners aspired to afford when they got that promotion,

Audi's 2025 line-up is changing considerably. If the new 2025 S5 Sedan is the benchmark, is that good news or bad?