In spite of some recent hiccups with plans by other manufacturers to introduce new diesel models in the U.S. market (see here), Audi is one company that at least publicly remains fully committed to oil burners. During the recently completed Audi Mileage Marathon, the company brought over examples of most of its lineup powered by diesel engines including the TT TDI. One of the few diesel models that was not included was the A5 TDI. The A5 debuted in 2007 as a coupe built on the company’s new B8 platform which also forms the basis of the 2009 A4 sedan.

The A5 TDI is unfortunately not yet available in the U.S. market so we got our example courtesy of Honeywell. Honeywell’s Garret division is one of the largest manufacturers of turbochargers which of course are a critical part of any modern diesel engine. Earlier this year we also tested a BMW X5 diesel and an Audi Q7 4.2 TDI from Honeywell’s fleet. Like the A4s, Q5s and Q7s that participated in the marathon, this A5 came to us powered by a 3.0L V6 diesel. Read on after the jump to find out how voluptuous body work, high performance and fuel economy get along.

Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading In the AutoblogGreen Garage: Audi A5 3.0 TDI 6MT