Audi'S A5 Sportback, which has just been launched in Malta, joins the coupé and cabrio as the third member in the A5 family.

This five-door, with a long, flowing rear end unites the best of various vehicle genres: the emotion and elegance of a coupé, the comfort of a saloon and the practicality of a station wagon. The A5 Sportback features an emotion-packed design, high everyday practicality, a sporty character and engines that are as efficient as they are powerful.

Audi, the inventor of the Avant, is setting new trends in design with the A5 Sportback. It is 36 millimetres lower than the A4 Saloon and sports a short front overhang, long wheelbase, wide track and the four frameless doors with their slender window lines.

The interior is spacious and the large luggage compartment hatch is harmoniously integrated into the long, tapered tail end with the flat C pillars. The spoiler lip underscores the tension-filled character.

All engines are highly-efficient direct injection models - TDI for the cultivated diesels, FSI for the gasoline engines - and all comply with the Euro 5 emissions standard.

This model is equipped with a recuperation system that recovers energy during braking and deceleration and stores it temporarily in the battery. Audi is initially offering three petrol and three diesel engines, with three more engines to follow by mid-2010. The petrol engines - the two-litre TFSI with 132 kW (180 hp) or 155 kW (211 hp) and the 3.2-litre FSI V6 with 195 kW (265 hp) - are equipped with the Audi valve lift system for variable control of valve lift.

The 2.0 TDI Diesel produces 125 kW (170 hp) and consumes on average a frugal 5.2 litres of fuel per 100 km. It is coupled with the start-stop system, which further enhances fuel efficiency in city traffic. The 140 kW (190 hp) 2.7-litre TDI offers even more power. The 3.0 TDI, which also features the S tronic, puts out an impressive 176 kW (240 hp).

The Audi drive select vehicle dynamics system enables the driver to freely vary the throttle response characteristic, the shifting points of the seven-speed S-Tronic, and the boost provided by the Servotronic power steering, which comes as standard. The system is offered as a modular package with at least one of the following three options: sport differential, adaptive shock absorber control or dynamic steering with variable boost.

The Audi A5 starts from €55,998.

For more information visit the Continental Cars showroom in Testaferrata Street, Ta' Xbiex, or call 2347 6340.