Audi A5

Walter d’Silva, Audi’s head designer, once called his A5 the most beautiful car he’d ever drawn. If you take that as fact, is there any way to top it?

The only thing we can think of is to de-top it. The best way to improve on the sensual 2011 Audi A5 Coupe is to turn it into an open-air Cabriolet, in our opinion. And given the choice, the convertible is the way we'd go when spending more than $40,000 on a luxury two-door from Audi.

In either body style, the A5 comports itself well. It's a boulevard cruiser at heart, with a light touch to its controls and a well-organized, finely built cabin. It's cozy enough for two adults and lots of weekend bags, though adding another couple for a cross-town trip isn't out of the question. But as a convertible, it shines: the top lowers quickly, or rises to the occasion of keeping passengers well-insulated from sun or rain. It loses some of the polished surfaces of the hardtop, and still the Cabriolet does a better job of entertaining its wards. Two of them, at least, since the back seat gets even smaller when the roof removal project is complete.

The turbocharged four-cylinder common to all A5s also earns fuel economy numbers that keep it within psychological grasp for shoppers lurching toward higher-mileage choices. There's no diesel or hybrid available, but EPA ratings in the high 20-mpg range give the A5 enough cover to substitute for thirstier, more overtly sporting two-doors.

It's well-equipped in base form, and has a full set of options to entertain drivers, including a new HD Radio option for the 2011 model year. The big omission from the 2011 A5's features list probably is a great-weather guarantee. Let us know when you find that one, will you?