Compare the2025 Audi A5 SportbackVS 2024 Lexus IS

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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Both the A5 Sportback and IS have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A5 Sportback has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The IS’ child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The A5 Sportback has a standard Audi Backguard System, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Audi Backguard System moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The IS doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A5 Sportback. But it costs extra on the IS.

Both the A5 Sportback and the IS have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Audi A5 Sportback is safer than the Lexus IS:

	A5 Sportback	IS
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	164	220
Neck Injury Risk	26%	35%
Neck Stress	232 lbs.	429 lbs.
Neck Compression	55 lbs.	60 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	431/395 lbs.	599/675 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	236	282
Neck Injury Risk	25%	41%
Neck Stress	119 lbs.	152 lbs.
Neck Compression	47 lbs.	81 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	324/341 lbs.	399/459 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi A5 Sportback is safer than the Lexus IS:

	A5 Sportback	IS
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	308 lbs.	406 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	15 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

The A5 Sportback’s corrosion warranty is 6 years longer than the IS’ (12 vs. 6 years).

There are over 25 percent more Audi dealers than there are Lexus dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the A5 Sportback’s warranty.

Reliability

The Audi A5 Sportback’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the IS’ engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the A5 Sportback’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the IS’ camshafts. If the IS’ belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

The battery on the A5 Sportback is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the A5 Sportback’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The IS’ battery is in the hot engine compartment.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the A5 Sportback gets better mileage than the IS:

			MPG
A5 Sportback
	AWD	40 TFSI 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	26 city/36 hwy
		45 TFSI 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	23 city/32 hwy
IS
	RWD	5.0 V8	17 city/25 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/31 hwy
		3.5 DOHC V6	20 city/28 hwy
	AWD	350 F Sport 3.5 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		300 AWD 3.5 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the A5 Sportback’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The IS doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the A5 Sportback’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The IS doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Audi A5 Sportback uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The IS requires premium, which can cost on average about 84.9 cents more per gallon.

Transmission

The A5 Sportback offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The IS doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A5 Sportback’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The IS doesn’t offer launch control.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A5 Sportback has larger standard tires than the IS (245/40R18 vs. 235/45R18). The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the IS (265/30R20 vs. 235/40R19).

The A5 Sportback’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the IS 300’s standard 45 series tires. The A5 Sportback 45 TFSI’s optional tires have a lower 30 series profile than the IS F Sport’s 40 series front and 35 series rear tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A5 Sportback 45 TFSI offers optional 20-inch wheels. The IS’ largest wheels are only 19-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The A5 Sportback has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The IS base model’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The A5 Sportback Prestige handles at .94 G’s, while the IS 500 Performance pulls only .89 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Passenger Space

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the A5 Sportback a Mid-size car, while the IS is rated a Compact.

The A5 Sportback has .1 inches more rear headroom, 2.9 inches more rear legroom and 1.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the IS.

Cargo Capacity

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the A5 Sportback has a standard power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or optionally by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The IS doesn’t offer a power trunk.

Towing

The A5 Sportback has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The IS has no towing capacity.

Ergonomics

The A5 Sportback Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The IS doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the A5 Sportback and the IS have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the A5 Sportback is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The IS prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The A5 Sportback’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The IS’ cruise control switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The A5 Sportback’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The IS’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A5 Sportback to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The IS doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Laser headlights, standard on the A5 Sportback Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the IS’ LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A5 Sportback has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The IS doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the A5 Sportback has standard extendable sun visors. The IS doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Both the Audi A5 Sportback and Lexus IS offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The A5 Sportback offers available power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the IS’ foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

The A5 Sportback has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the IS. The A5 Sportback Prestige also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the IS.

The A5 Sportback has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the car heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the IS.

The Audi A5 Sportback has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the rear view mirror. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Lexus charges extra for Homelink® on the IS.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi A5 Premium Plus/Prestige has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the front center console. The IS doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The A5 Sportback Prestige’s Park Steering Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The IS doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

The Audi A5 comes in coupe, convertible and four door hatchback bodystyles; the Lexus IS isn’t available as a coupe or convertible.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the A5 Sportback owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the A5 Sportback will cost $465 less than the IS over a five-year period.

Recommendations

The Audi A5/S5 outsold the Lexus IS by 6% during 2023.