It’s been a busy few weeks for our revamped A5 Sportback 2.0 TDI S Line as it’s clocked up more than 1,000 miles on a series of short and long distance journeys.

But with each passing mile my mind turns away from its obvious good looks and grace to consider how much the Audi costs to run, and how that compares to its rivals.

The BMW 320d Sport and Mercedes-Benz C220 CDi are amongst its closest competition in terms of performance and price, but how do their running costs compare?

With a P11D price of £31,145, the A5 retains around 35% of its original value after 36 months/60,000 miles at £10,925. Add a further year and 20,000 miles and the price falls to £8,598 – around 27% of the original P11D price.

However, both the C-Class and the BMW perform better over 36 months/60,000 miles and 48 months/80,000 miles.

The C220 CDi has a P11D price of £31,210 and retains around 37% of its original value after 36 months/60,000 miles at £11,575. After 48 months/80,000 miles, the price falls to £9,250 which is nearly 30% of its original value.

It’s a similar story for the BMW, which at £12,150 on a P11D price of £29,025 retains 42% or the original price after 36 months/60,000 miles and 32% (£9,350) after 48 months/80,000 miles.

The BMW depreciates at 28.13 pence per mile (ppm) on a 36 months/60,000 miles cycle, compared to 32.73ppm for the Mercedes-Benz and 33.70 for the Audi.

Run them over the longer cycle of 48 months/80,000 miles and the BMW depreciates at 24.59ppm, compared to 27.45ppm for the Mercedes-Benz and 28.18ppm for the Audi.

SMR ppm costs on the C-Class are the highest out of the three at 5.13ppm over 36 months/60,000 miles and just behind the Audi at 5.76ppm over 48 months/80,000 miles.

The BMW’s SMR costs are the lowest at 4.24ppm over 36 months/60,000 miles and 4.55ppm over 48 months/80,000 miles, while the Audi sits in the middle at 4.53ppm over 36 months/60,000 miles, but increase to 5.79ppm over 48 months/80,000 miles.

In terms of fuel, it’s the C-Class which comes out on top with a ppm rate of 10.23, beating the BMW’s 10.70ppm and the Audi’s 12.10ppm.

Looking at all of the above, it’s possible to establish the so-called running costs associated with each vehicle and perhaps given the previous results it’s unsurprising that the A5 Sportback comes bottom of the pile.

Its running costs over 36 months/60,000 miles equate to 50.33ppm (46.08ppm over 48 months/80,000 miles), compared to 43.06ppm for BMW 320d Sport (41.11ppm over 48 months/80,000 miles) and 48.09ppm for the Mercedes-Benz C220 CDi (43.44ppm over 48 months/80,000 miles).

The Audi could therefore cost you £2,000 more over 36 months/60,000 miles to run than the BMW, you’ll have to decide whether that’s a price worth paying.

By Gareth Roberts