Audi A5 e-hybrid

A new plug-in hybrid option joins the engine line-up of this BMW 3 Series-rivalling executive model On sale Now Price from £48,950

- STUART MILNE

COMPANY CARS REMAIN a hugely important part of the UK's motoring landscape; indeed, almost one in six new cars that hit the roads last year did so as part of a company car fleet. And a significant proportion of them are plugin hybrids (PHEVs) – sales of which were up 50% in May compared with the same month last year.

Low benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax rates and reduced fuel costs, allied to the fact that they're virtually as easy to live with as any other petrol or diesel car, make PHEVs an ideal choice for many drivers. So, with the Audi A4 going fully electric, it's time for its direct replacement – the A5 – to pick up the mantle for those who still want the reassurance of a combustion engine.

We've already driven the A5 in regular petrol and diesel forms, but this is the first time we've tested the PHEV (e-hybrid) version, which comes as a hatchback (although Audi, confusingly, calls it a saloon) or an Avant estate.

The A5 e-hybrid pairs a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine with an electric motor mounted on the rear axle, providing it with four-wheel drive and a total power output of 295bhp. The motor is fed by a battery with a 20.7kWh usable capacity, which gives the A5 e-hybrid an official electric range of up to 67 miles. That's slightly more than the 62 miles promised by the rival BMW 330e, but less than the Mercedes-Benz C300e's best of 71 miles.