"Nice Audi." Every time I rolled up in the glossy red A5, I heard the same refrain. Young, old, rich, poor– if the onlooker had a tongue, they wagged it at me and my Audi. And there you have it. The people have spoken. I find this curious for two reasons. First, das volk haven't driven it. Second, the A5 is a two-door variant of the new A4. Has anyone other than a nurse or desperate housewife looked at an A4 and exclaimed, "Nice Audi?" Perhaps so, but the ad hoc A5 admiration society still raises an important question: is it a nice Audi? It sure it is gorgeous. I understand Audi's decision to graft goatees onto the front of their cars– the big mouth bass look differentiates their vehicles from Bimmers– but that doesn't mean I've ever liked it. Until the A5. Fine, the corporate snout looks pretty slick on the A8, too. But the A5's gaping maw is, finally, perfectly balanced with the flanking headlights and air intakes. It's also the coupe's least sexy bit. The tail is double-take eye candy, with muscular haunches that [should] haunt Jag designer's dreams.
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