Remember how a Silvercar employee was telling me they’re getting the Audi A5 soon? Well, he was right! The Audi A5 is joining Silvercar this summer.
A5 Cabriolet
Just in time for summer, Silvercar is adding its third vehicle type to its lineup. The Audi A5 Cabriolet will be available for rental beginning on June 29, 2018, and will be available at the following locations:
- Chicago O’Hare
- Denver
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Newark
- New York: Brooklyn Downtown, Columbus Circle, and Manhattan
- Orange County
- Salt Lake City
- San Diego
- San Francisco (airport location)
- Seattle
- Washington Dulles
Notably absent from this list are Austin, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Miami South Beach, Orlando, Phoenix, and Tampa. So, the guy at Silvercar Las Vegas was only partly right; Silvercar is getting A5 Cabriolets, but not his location. And I can understand why, because would want to go driving around in a 115 degree Fahrenheit dessert with the top down? Same for Phoenix and maybe the Texas locations too. But why are South Beach and Orlando locations excluded? Outside of SoCal, I would think Florida is a major market for convertible rentals?
What to Expect
Anyway, as far as driving dynamics go, don’t expect a sporty driving experience. The reason I say this is that the A5 Cabriolet’s curb weight of 3,990 lbs is just 55 lbs less than that of a Q5. And all vehicles share the same 2.0-liter direct-injection, turbocharged 4-cylinder, putting out 252 horses at 5,000 RPM and 273 ft/lbs of torque at 1,600 RPM. That’s good for a 0-60 time of 6 seconds in the Cabriolet, while the A4 and Q5 do it in 5.7 and 5.9 seconds, respectively. And, of course, all of Silvercar’s vehicles feature Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system.
Audi A5 is Joining Silvercar This Summer, Final Thoughts
As I said in my speculation post, more options are always a good thing. But, man, $161/day? And for a vehicle with less interior space than an A4, less performance, and no trunk space (with the top down), that’s a steep premium to pay, in my opinion. Then again, I’m not really a convertible fan anyway. I mean, sometimes it would be cool to have a drop top, but most of the time (like 95-99%) I’d prefer something with a fixed roof. If convertibles are your thing, though, now you have more options beyond the standard Mustang and Camaro convertibles you get with Alamo, Hertz, Avis, etc. Just be prepared to pay a hefty premium for it, though using your Sapphire Reserve 30% discount code will help bring that price down a bit.
I’m still hoping Audi will add something like an S4 to Silvercar’s lineup one day ?