OPORTUNITY has a habit of knocking on the strangest doors. A co-driver suddenly finding himself sans passport returning from France offered Eurostar passengers the chance to stare at the new Audi Sportback parked outside HM Border Agency's naughty boys office.
Reciprocal gawping revealed a very healthy number of Euro-plated TTs, A4s and Q5s heading for le rosbif. And therein lies the secret to Audi's recession damage limitation. A car for all seasons.
In fact a car for every day of the year and plenty in reserve. A quick GCSE grade C calculation suggests there are around 420 model variants.
This however, is not just for the benefit of a man in Sittingbourne called Norman who wants a car no one else has. It helps Audi expand share: 'Without overheating any segment with forced sales'.
Enter the Sportback, a unique combination in the compact executive market of a five-door hatchback living within the lines of a coupe. On the face of it a product easily mistaken for a dog's cassoulet of indecision. In reality a clever route into user-chooser budgets where the salaryman may pine for the sex appeal of a coupe but has to match this with the reality of car sharing to sales conferences.
The Sportback comes with ten engine and gearbox configurations and three trim levels. There is a conservatively powered two-litre petrol TFSI and a 167bhp diesel turbo in the cheaper seats and a three-litre diesel support act to the range-topping 261bhp 3.2 litre FSI in the circle. In between there is a 260bhp petrol and a 2.7-litre diesel. Gearbox options are six-speed manual, basic auto multitronic and seven speed S tronic
The two-litre models get emission enhancing stop-start function if you choose the manual gearbox and all but the smaller diesel have standard Quattro all-wheel drive. Complications stop there.
So what's it like? Very pretty for a start, with sleek lines drawn for the A5 coupe. Inside, however, things are on the dull side with something of a mass market feel for a car which seeks uniqueness. In a VW this would be quite acceptable but falls below Audi expectations.
It is, on the other hand, comfortable and as you would expect, well put together. Legroom benefits from the extended A5 wheelbase and there is a good boot, too.
The 168bhp petrol TFSI is not the most inspiring of drives. The smaller diesel is a better bet. Which is good news for Audi with this expected to be the top seller.
Pick of the bunch is the three-litre diesel which is smooth almost beyond belief. A cosseted ride at 80mph will have you in denial over the source of power. Its natural environment is the motorway where yo can look forward to near silent mileage gobbling. And there is no sloth either, with 60mph coming up in 6.1 seconds and a 155mph top speed.
Basics include climate control, CD Audi system and a driver information system, daylight running lights alloys and an electronic parking brake. The £32,000 larger diesel comes in SE and S line trim. SE adds leather seats, rear parking sensors and ten-speaker sound. S line brings with it paddle shift and a lot of cosmetics.
Prices range from £23,440 to £36,220 but this is for the basic car and a cap-in-hand visit to the divisional accountant may be necessary to fully equip the Sportback with the little comforts you no doubt richly deserve, like the Audi drive select damping and throttle set up system. The basic two-litre diesel can beat 50mpg and comes under the increasingly common 160g/km company imposed threshold.
This crossover concept is likely to have pan-European appeal among business users.