Audi A5

Executive hatchback fills the departing A4's shoes to take on the BMW 3 Series On sale November Price from £41,950

- Darren Moss

THE SPIN-OFF TV series Angel ultimately outlived the hugely popular supernatural drama that spawned it: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now the Audi A5 is about to do the same to the long-running Audi A4.

Since it was introduced in 2009, the A5 hatchback (previously dubbed Sportback) has been the sportier foil to the more formal-looking A4 executive saloon and Avant estate, with the three cars virtually identical beneath the surface. Now, though, after three decades on sale, the A4 is at the end of the road - as a combustion-engined car, at least.

You see, Audi wants all of its electric models to have even numbers, and when the A4 returns as an electric vehicle (EV), possibly in 2026, it'll be as a rival to the Tesla Model 3.

The two-door coupé and cabriolet versions are no more, but an A5 Avant estate will replace the A4 of the same shape, joining the A5 hatch to take on the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class ranges.

To mark this new beginning, the A5 gets a new set of underpinnings and a more aggressive, sporty look than the A4 possessed. LED lights come as standard at the front and rear, and drivers can customise the looks of both by selecting personalised light signatures from the settings menu.

The A5's engine line-up kicks off with a 148bhp 2.0-litre petrol, which officially returns 42.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 150g/km. If you feel like you need more punch, there's also a more powerful version with 201bhp.