WITHOUT doubt ecologically friendly, high economy motor cars are very much the flavour of the month, but even so interest in machines that offer panache and performance seems to be as strong as ever.

Some evidence in this direction comes from Audi with newly announced best ever half-year trade figures for revenue, profit and production, along with UK sales up by nearly 20 per cent.

Underlining this trend is the very recent availability in Britain of a couple of stylish all-new Audi 4-seater coupes.

These are the A5 240PS 3.0 litre TDI (diesel) quattro at £33,430 and the S5 354PS 4.2 litre V8 petrol costing £39,825.

Neither of these can be regarded as shrinking violets with each one having a top speed limited to 155 mph and sufficient acceleration to blow your socks off.

But, ever mindful of the value of good fuel economy figures, Audi are able to claim a staggeringly good combined 39.2 mpg for the diesel and a very respectable 22.8 mpg for the decidedly beefy petrol engine.

One might just wonder why Audi is reappearing in this particular coupe market sector which they last occupied with the 80-based model in 1989, I suspect that they are keen to try to challenge their arch-rivals BMW whose similar performance machines have long been a yardstick in this area.

Body styling always seems good with Audi, well emphasised by the flowing body lines and downward sweep of the coupe tail section.

One slight reservation for me is the enormously deep front grille - great for its prime purpose of cooling, but aesthetically perhaps a bit too heavy. Appearance though is all according to personal taste; rather more hidden from view is the new chassis configuration that incorporates a whole host of desirable features including the longest wheelbase ever to underpin any Audi in this market segment.

More technical goodies are such as the new five-link front suspension and revised trapezoidal rear suspension.

That might sound a bit boring, but the right geometry here makes all the difference to ride, handling and road holding.

Whisper quietly, there has been some criticism of the ride quality of certain Audi models in the past - these latest models are conceded to be much improved!

A six-speed close ratio manual gearbox is standard with an eight-ratio CVT automatic transmission as an option next year for the quattro.

Another item amongst the multitude of clever technical features is the new "intelligent key".

Not only does it does it do away with the ordinary type key, it also can communicate electronically with the car's electrical system as soon as it enters the cockpit; high levels of sophistication enable it to store important information such as current mileage and warning messages from the car's own management system which can be read by Audi Centre technicians to help expedite servicing.

As you would expect the interior appointments are neat, tasteful and comprehensive; the Multi media Interface that controls the cars infotainment systems gets particular acclaim.

Only time will tell whether or not the Audi will have the better of its Teutonic sparring partner, but there is sure to be quite a contest.