Audi A5, S3 earn 2026 MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice Awards for Best Luxury Car, Best Sport Sedan

The Audi A5 and S3 have both received MotorWeek 2026 Drivers’ Choice Awards (DCA). The all-new Audi A5 has been honored with the MotorWeek DCA for Best Luxury Car, while the Audi S3 has been honored with the MotorWeek DCA for Best Sport Sedan. The award-winning Audi A5 sees significant technology and feature upgrades for model year 2026, while the added power, chassis upgrades, and advanced RS 3-based rear differential added to the Audi S3 for model year 2025 continues to set performance/value benchmarks for the brand.

Based on the new Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture, the all-new A5 debuted in the Audi lineup for model year 2025. Wider, longer and taller, with a wheelbase stretched 2.6-inches compared to the previous generation, the new A5 offered a more spacious interior, more cargo volume, more power, improved driving dynamics, and an all-new design incorporating the latest convenience and driver-assistance technologies. The all-new A5 artfully integrates its ingenious new rear-liftback design, permitting the A5 to maintain the 5-door practicality of its predecessor while delivering a sleeker, almost coupe-like silhouette.

John Davis, host and creator of MotorWeek, had this to say about the award-winning Audi A5: “There are many definitions of luxury, but for us, luxury means not only fine materials and lots of creature comforts, but easy-to-use tech and precise overall refinement. With the new-generation A5, Audi is successful in bringing the midsize A5 Sportback’s style and practicality downstream as a replacement for their compact A4 sedan. Frankly, the results just blew us away; combining two fantastic cars into one modern ride that impressed us more and more every time we got behind the wheel.”

Epitomizing the brand’s refined-performance value, the Audi S3 expands upon the already sporty character of the A3 sedan with additional S model details that underscore the elevated abilities for which Audi S models are known. For 2025, the S3 saw substantial increases in performance with added power, chassis upgrades, and the addition of an advanced rear torque splitter first introduced for the ultra-high-performance RS 3. Coupled with an extensive freshening that sharpened the exterior design, extended standard equipment, and introduced new interior materials, the increased output and rear torque splitter further accentuate the strong performance and agile handling embedded into the S3 sedan’s everyday usability and efficiency.

In referencing the award-winning S3, Davis had this to say: “Audi is no stranger to the art of delivering oversized performance in a tidy package. But its prowess creates a new class benchmark in the S3, with its perfect balance of RS3 performance and A3 practicality. With standard all-wheel-drive, a 328-horsepower turbo-4, and a willing chassis, the S3 provides an extremely capable and rewarding driving experience that you don’t need to be on a racetrack to appreciate, and is proof that bigger is not always better.”

For the last 45 years, MotorWeek has paused halfway through its television season to judge the best new cars and trucks of the year. From driving, researching, and performing instrumented testing on over 150 new cars and trucks each year, they choose their final list of the best vehicles in 12 consumer-driven categories, based on driving performance, technology, practicality, fuel efficiency, and value for the dollar. DCA winners are selected by their adherence to pertinent criteria and standout nature, each reflecting a facet of their respective segments and current consumer trends.

An episode of MotorWeek featuring all of the 2026 Drivers’ Choice Award winners is currently scheduled to air beginning February 7 on PBS (check local listings for broadcast times).

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