The Audi A5: The Equipment
High-tech from the luxury class You can appreciate one example of how the Audi A5 marries good design and high functionality as soon as you pick up the key: with its soft contours and pleasant surfaces it sits beautifully in the hand. But the key also represents the modern electronics and the advanced equipment level of the Audi A5. For one thing, it dispenses with the conventional key bit. The innovative key communicates electronically with the vehicle electrical system as soon as it is inserted into the cockpit. Pressing the key stops and starts the engine. The new key can also store important information, such as the cars current mileage or warning messages from the Audi A5s driver information system. The data are always up to date and available to allow staff at a dealership to receive the vehicle for servicing quickly and easily. Extensive standard equipment The electronic convenience key is part of the Audi A5s standard equipment specification, which also includes the electromechanical parking brake, 17-inch forged aluminium wheels of 6-arm design with 225/50 R17 tyres, the three-spoke leather sports steering wheel, servotronic power steering, automatic air conditioning, the chorus radio system featuring a CD player, MMI operating logic and a separate screen, and the driver information system with monochrome display. The xenon plus headlights with their characteristic strips of LED daytime running lights and the front fog lights are also standard, as are the folding rear seat backs and the automatically opening boot lid. Optional equipment from the luxury class The Audi A5 can also be ideally adapted to buyers and drivers personal wishes and requirements with a wide range of customisation features. These include numerous high-tech options that are typically the preserve of luxury class cars, such as deluxe automatic air conditioning with three temperature zones, the dynamic cornering light system Audi adaptive light, the Audi parking system advanced with rearview camera, the Audi Bluetooth car phone, DAB digital radio reception, navigation system with DVD including MMI or the high-end sound system from Bang & Olufsen. The Empore cloth for sports seats, two different leather qualities and an Alcantara/Leather combination are also included in the range of optional extras. Access by a gentle touch Hard to beat for ingenious convenience: the optional advanced key system, which allows you to leave the key in your pocket or briefcase, where sensors can still detect it within a range of roughly 1.5 metres from the car door. As soon as you touch the sensor surface on the new bow-type door handle or the button on the boot lid, the key identity is checked and the lock is released. This happens so fast that the normal movement of opening the door is not interrupted. You can then start the engine using the start-stop button next to the gear lever. An intelligent search function detects whether the key has been left behind in the car and makes it impossible for the driver to be locked out.
Daytime running lights make an impression The xenon plus headlights on the Audi A5 with the optional adaptive light system include a raft of innovations that were previously unavailable in this vehicle segment. The most striking feature of the stylishly designed light modules is the revolutionary strip of daytime running lights comprising eight light-emitting diodes on each side. From a safety point of view, they provide an important enhancement by making the Audi A5 easier to see, especially in critical visibility conditions, for instance, when the sun is low in the sky. Moreover, the LED strip on the lower edge of the headlight is also a clear distinguishing feature for the Audi A5. Separate daytime running lights are expected to become legally obligatory for all new cars in the EU from September 2010. Audi is already offering the maximum safety advantage of this feature today with an extraordinary design and low energy draw. The power consumption per headlight is only 12 watts. That ultimately saves fuel. Motorway lighting for extended headlight range The A5 headlights use a new mercury-free xenon system. Conventional xenon bulbs contain small quantities of mercury, which can now be eliminated thanks to new bulb and control unit technology. At speeds of 120 km/h or higher, the dynamic headlight range control raises the light cone slightly to illuminate a longer stretch of road ahead for motorway driving. The adaptive light is an additional feature of the xenon headlights. At speeds between 10 and 110 km/h, this dynamic cornering light system turns the ellipsoidal module for the dipped and main beams to follow the line of the road and bends. This greatly improves illumination in front of the vehicle and to the sides, making it easier for the driver to anticipate the course of the road ahead. The two-section tail lights each have three rear light bulbs, helping to make them easily visible in adverse weather conditions. In emergency braking, the hazard warning lights are automatically switched on. All bulbs are designed for very long life and electronically protected against voltage surges. A clear view behind The Audi parking system advanced is another feature that is more typical of a luxury class model. Its rearview camera and the large image on the MMI system monitor make even cramped multi-storey car parks easy to negotiate. The camera is inconspicuously integrated into the boot lid and captures the area behind the vehicle with a wide angle of 130 degrees. Reference lines are shown in the monitor image to assist the driver in judging the vehicle size and distances. In addition to this real image mode, the system also provides parking assistance with the familiar acoustic and visual signals. Infotainment programme for all demands The range of infotainment features on offer in the Audi A5 can be perfectly adapted to individual demands with various radio systems, CD players, digital radio reception (DAB), and top-class sound systems. Even the standard chorus radio with a single CD player in the centre console is fully integrated into the MMI operating system, as are the even better equipped models concert und symphony (with six-disc CD changer), which can play MP3 and WMA files from CDs and SD/MMC memory cards. The radios also have the phase diversity reception concept, in which the digital signals are continuously monitored by two aerials and combined to give a robust, interference-free reception. This maintains a high-quality signal even in adverse conditions. Digital-quality radio sound The optional DAB tuner offers radio reception with unprecedented quality. Digital radio is far superior to even the best analogue FM receivers in terms of dynamic range, transparency and spatiality. And digital quality really comes into its own in combination with the high-performance sound systems in the Audi A5. Digital audio broadcast (DAB) is already widely used in many European countries. In Germany, the UK and Belgium, for instance, almost full coverage has been achieved. If you should come across a gap in the DAB network, the audio system instantly switches to the corresponding FM transmitter this is noticeable, however, due to the different sound of the music. The standard or optional sound systems in the Audi A5 ensure optimum conversion of the electronic signals into sound waves. The Audi sound system does so with a six-channel amplifier and ten speakers, including centre speakers and subwoofers, and produces a maximum amplifier output of 180 watts. Perfect sound experience The Bang & Olufsen sound system in the Audi A5 turns music into a perfect experience for your ears. For the A5, as for the luxury-class Audi A8 and S8 saloons and the Audi R8 high-performance sports car, the experts from the high-end specialist Bang & Olufsen have created absolute listening pleasure. Highest requirements were set out for the development of this top sound system: it has to have sufficient dynamic range from pianissimo to fortissimo possibile; an orchestra should come over as one unit, but the individual instruments still have to be clearly placeable. The Bang & Olufsen sound system achieves all this with a precision and quality hitherto unknown in this vehicle segment. This, of course, requires an advanced range of components: in total, 14 speakers of up to 270 millimetres in diameter are distributed at optimum locations in the interior. They are powered by a ten-channel amplifier with a total output of 505 watts. The digital sound processor delivers surround sound, has dynamic vehicle noise compensation and can be adjusted to the listeners preferences via the MMI operating system. Direct iPod connection For many, a constantly available, portable music collection has become a fixed part of their lifestyle. Using the Audi music interface you can connect up an Apple iPod to the A5s audio system and control it via the MMI operating system with the same intuitive logic that iPod users know and value. But many other MP3 players with a USB interface can also be used to play music via the Audi sound system. An Audi A5 always knows for sure where its heading when fitted with one of the available navigation systems. The basic model has its map data stored on CD and uses arrow symbols; the DVD navigation system provides a range of detailed display options on a seven-inch colour monitor. If desired, this screen can also display TV only when the vehicle is stationary, but then with a choice of analogue and digital channels (DVB-T). The ideal car phone Safe and easy use of the phone is an important requirement today, not just for motorists who travel long distances for work. Combining the advantages of a hands-free mobile phone system with the strengths of a classic built-in phone, the Audi Bluetooth car phone offers the best possible solution. That makes phoning on the move convenient, more flexible and simpler than ever. The handy feature of this telephone solution is that your mobile phone can simply stay in your jacket pocket once you have registered it with the system, which can then automatically access your phones functions as soon as you get into the car. The only condition is that your phone must support the so-called SIM access profile, as many current-generation models do. This allows the car phone to retrieve the data of your mobile phones SIM card, your own telephone number and personal phone book. The mobile phones telephone module is then switched off, which also prevents radiation in the vehicle interior. The car phone uses the vehicle aerial for an optimum reception at all times. Simple operation via MMI and speech control The Audi Bluetooth car phone is operated via the easy-to-use speech control system, the MMI operating system or the multifunction steering wheel. The latest digital voice processor, especially adapted for the A5, largely suppresses interference from echoes or vehicle noise to deliver excellent hands-free voice quality. For discrete phone use, a cordless operating handset can also be added to the system. Practical details are often essential to the everyday value of a car, especially when it is used for work. One example is the optional 230V power socket. It is positioned in the centre console at the rear and is invaluable for recharging a laptop after a business meeting.
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