Crossovers are the anti-coupe. They’re everything a coupe is not: tall, wide, ungainly, roomy and really, really popular. The four-seat, sedan-based coupe is an endangered species, and yet, like the wagon, it attracts a small but loyal following.

Audi hopes to revitalize that core with the 2018 Audi A5 Coupe. If you’re burnt out of crossovers, the coupe is the antidote.

But for a one-car family, the coupe encounters problems solved by four doors and headroom.

During a weekend filled with airport runs and city shuttles, the A5 Coupe was not kind to my 6-foot-5-inch passenger. And with two other riders in the back, this became comical. Watching the three exit the car was like slow-motion popcorn popping from the kernel of a car.

On another trip, with one passenger, we used the 60/40 folding seats to stow our golf clubs. Had the seats not folded down, our clubs would’ve lost out to the cooler. Priorities.

After the weekend, when my passengers left, the A5 Coupe became everything it was intended to be: a sleek, sporty getaway car.

The second-generation A5 Coupe is leaner, longer, lower and accentuated by sexy wheel arches. The biggest difference is under the hood and behind the wheel. The tester had the 2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 252 horsepower. From a dead stop, there isn’t much hesitation from the TSFI turbocharger, and it hits max torque of 273 pound-feet at 1,600 rpm. It’s quick and nimble, as a coupe should be.

My favorite feature was the tech on the inside. Audi’s Virtual Cockpit and MMI multimedia system is the best unit on the market and well worth the $2,600 upcharge.

The Virtual Cockpit is a 12.3-inch customizable display. There’s a speedometer and tachometer, of course, separated by a vehicle info display. Most makes have this in most premium models. What they don’t have is a “view” button on the steering wheel that minimizes the speedo and tach to the edges, so that the vehicle info takes up nearly the whole space. Arrows on the steering wheel let the thumb walk through phone info, radio stations, trip meters and other vehicle info, or the navigation map. The 3-D map display in satellite or traffic view is brilliant.

In the amount of time, and with the same risk, as checking your speed, drivers can check the map or change the radio station without taking their eyes off the road.

Coupes are more fun than sedans, but with high-horsepower, low-slung sedans becoming more prevalent, as well as turbocharged crossovers with coupelike rooflines, the audience for the true coupe is limited. But as a second car for solo commutes or weekend getaways, or as the antidote to cookie-cutter crossovers, the A5 Coupe can fill the prescription.

rduffer@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @DufferRobert