The base 2010 Audi A5 Cabriolet -- dubbed 2.0T -- gets Audi's stout 2.0L turbo four, which puts out 211 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. The front-drive 2.0T, which should start at around $42,000, comes only with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), while the rear-biased 40/60 quattro all-wheel-drive version receives a conventional six-speed automatic.
For roughly $49,000 to start, the 2010 Audi A5 Cabriolet 3.2 comes to America exclusively with quattro and a six-speed auto (no available seven-speed dual-clutch, as in Europe), and, like its badge suggests, a 3.2L V-6 making 265 hp and 243 lb-ft.
While the S5 is the only one to boast the rear diff, all A5/S5 Cabs receive a sturdy and handsome cloth top that opens in just 15 sec (17 ticks to close). The power retractable hardtop on the BMW 3 Series models, in comparison, takes 22 sec to open and 23 to close.