Best Sportbacks

By Stuart Johnston

Ask a South African to name his or her favourite sportback and the answer may be something along the lines of: "That's easy. Audi of course!”

Truth is, Audi has the only range of cars officially called Sportback in our local market. But elsewhere the term is  more generic,  while  in point of fact ,many of our cars here fit the unofficial definition of what a “sportback” is.

In America, Buick recently launched its Regal Sportback, and a quick study reveals it is a sedan with an extended C-Pillar or rear window from that also houses a fifth door, or hatchback lid as we tend to know it. That’s pretty much the identity of the modern sportback, generically speaking.

Audi introduced the Sportback  way back in 2004

The Audi Sportback was in effect an extended version of its A3 hatchback, which had been available in three-door form since the mid ‘90s, and later in five-door form. The A3 Sportback was introduced in 2004 in Europe, and soon became available here. Think of the A3 Sportback as a compact station wagon or estate version of the A3 and you will get the general idea. Its wheelbase is some 80 mm longer than a standard A3, and as it proved so popular, sporty RS versions were later introduced.

Audi extends the Sportback theme to other model segments

It was in early 2009 that Audi showed its Sportback concept at the North American Automobile Show in Detroit, and six months later the first A5 Sportback appeared in production. This car in no way resembles the A3 Sportback, but is in essence an Audi A4 with a sloped C-pillar that contains a ginormous rear hatch lid. It remains  a stretched version of the A4 today, which means it has serious rear leg room. Great stylistically, and practical too!

Later came the A7. The all-new A7 Sportback had its world preview in Cape Town in February, and it will be introduced here in the third quarter. The current model is a beautiful piece of machinery, and priced to suite at over R1-million in “base” guise.

Sportbacks in spirit, if not name

Just because there aren’t any other cars carrying the Sportback name here doesn’t mean that Audi has it all its own way in this particular niche. In fact it was Mercedes-Benz that created the larger-sedan niche in the first place, in terms of style, if not added practicality. The original Mercedes CLS was a beautiful piece of kit,  creating the four-door coupé look. It only lacked that practicality of a  fifth door to make it a more usable car, but those who bought it – in large numbers, it must be said – loved the cocooning aspect of the car, and its snug bucket seats in the rear as well as up front.

BMW followed this trend with the rather odd  5 Series Gran Turismo, more commonly known as the 5 Series GT.  When launched in 2009 it was in essence a  five-door fastback version of the sedan, but unfortunately it is not fondly remembered. Even when it was new we heard executive car sales people warning their customers against investing in one of these.

Newer version of the Grand Turismo – in 3 Series and 5 Series form - are better looking, but still not universally liked by BMW hard-core fans

However, the 4 Series Gran Coupé and its 6 Series Gran Coupé equivalent are far more successful, stylistically.

Porsche’s estate car

Perhaps the car that most deserves the “sportback” title is the latest version of Porsche’s Panamera. The Panamera now comes in a sort of estate car version known as the Sport Turismo, and it epitomises hyper-quick sporting motoring with a good degree of practicality. We have even seen one of these being used to tote a mountain bike!

The thing is, for this ultimate “sportback” you need to be very well-healed. The least expensive one available in South Africa is R1 467 160, for the V6 turbo model, while the top-of the-range Turbo S e-hybrid will set you back just over R3-million.

But these cars are under threat from lumbering SUVs

All these sportback models mentioned here have a lot going for them. It’s a pity, though, that they are overshadowed by the increasingly-competent SUVs produced by the very manufacturers that offer these dual-purpose machines. Because, in terms of driving satisfaction, the sedan-based sportbacks remain streets ahead of the much heavier SUVs with their high centres of gravity.

As for the best Sportback?

 When all is said and done, when choosing a sportback, you’d be well-advised to choose one of the Audi derivatives which uses the name unashamedly. Whether you choose an A3 Sportback RS, an A5 Sportback or an A7 Sportback, you can rest assured that you are buying a superb piece of machinery.  When it comes to styling, build quality, interior design and equipment, and in engines drivelines and steering/suspension integrity, the Audi brand continues to build a wide range of models that are, by and large, all at or near the cutting edge.

Well done to Audi for inventing the Sportback concept, which has generated all manner of variations  on the theme , along diverging streams of thought that go way beyond the simple extension of a compact hatchback!