With Audi racing headfirst into an all-electric future, and its sexier sister brand Porsche having recently unveiled an EV-only Macan range, the new petrol and diesel-powered Audi Q5 range admittedly raised an eyebrow.
So what’s the story behind the Audi Q5?
The Audi Q5 is the same mid-sized SUV shape as the Porsche Macan, and is at least notionally a competitor for it. But now, you can have your Audi with an internal combustion engine or as an EV (that would be the Audi Q6 E Tron).
So why can’t Porsche offer you the same thing? Considering they both sit under the huge Volkswagen Group umbrella, this makes the Q5 a tad unexpected. But I digress.
It’s here, it’s all very new – including the platform it’s been built on: the Premium Performance Combustion PPC) – which apparently offers moere space and even better ride handling and chassis stiffness.
Even more excitingly, at the top of the range sits a new Audi SQ6 with a very loud and exuberant 3.0-litre V6 engine. You can also choose between a 2.0-litre petrol and a 2.0-litre diesel, while all three offer Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle (MHEV) tech. Meaning you can start them up in EV-only quiet mode, and you’ll get better overall fuel economy.
Who’s the buyer?
Presumably one of the many, many, many Australians who love a medium SUV with a bit of German panache, but aren’t quite ready to go for an EV yet. And quite possibly some people who would have bought the new Porsche Macan in the past, but now won’t.
Tell us about your first impressions.
The most striking detail is just how good-looking this new Audi Q5 is. There are so many of the old ones on Australian roads that it’s practically become part of the street furniture: a bit ordinary, rounded, bulbous, even dull.
This one, on the other hand, looks sharp, next-gen, and attractive – particularly at the rear with its wraparound light bar.
As usual, Audi has raised the bar again when it comes to the interior with a beautiful and futuristic cabin full of materials that feel lovely, soft, and expensive to the touch. And it has so many screens, from door to door, including one for the passenger. The interior is just a fabulous place to spend time.
Give us the top lines on performance and/or efficiency/range. What’s it like to drive?
The range starts with the 2.0-litre TFSI four-cylinder petrol engine, which generates 140kW and 420Nm, and that genuinely feels like enough to keep a keen driver interested. It’s an enthusiastic engine that makes the most out of an excellent chassis and encourages sporty driving.
The 2.0-litre TDI diesel version offers 150kW/400Nm. Unfortunately, it feels a generation old: quite a lot of noise and not a whole lot of enjoyment. Audi diesels are usually less groaning and more torquey than this, so this variant is a bit of a let-down. Particularly if you drive it back to back with the other two.
The one you really want is the SQ6, which has a 3.0-litre six-cylinder TFSI petrol engine capable of 270kW and 550Nm. It’s an absolute hoot on a winding mountain road, and feels like a proper sports car (not a family SUV); it also sounds like one, too, with metallic trilling and thrilling noises in spades.
Tech & connectivity – what’s the word?
Like we mentioned earlier, in the new Audi Q5, you have screens for days. Beautiful OLED ones the passenger can watch YouTube on while you’re driving; though the driver can’t glimpse thanks to some tricky “privacy” technology.
When you’re both stopped, you can select driving games or karaoke from in the onboard app store and treat your Audi like a mobile entertainment space.
The Augmented Reality heads-up display is another technological tour de force, and generally speaking, this Q5 feels very much at the cutting edge of tech
And the lowdown on safety?
The new Audi Q5 has so many active safety systems – more than 30, in fact – that Audi couldn’t even list them all. Safe to say (pun not intended), there are radars and cameras bristling in and around the car to keep you informed of disasters.
A speed limiter, lane departure warning, and an attention and drowsiness assistant are all standard.
The most memorable – or heartbreaking – thing about your drive?
The biggest shock about the international launch drive of the new Audi Q5 in Malaga, Spain, was the optional off-roading section. And we’re not just talking about a short bit of gravel road, either. We’re talking about a proper climb up and over a mountain on rock-strewn and pothole littered dirt.
This is not where you expect to see (or take) a premium SUV like the Audi, but I can happily report that it coped very well, indeed. The all-wheel-drive system certainly does the job and I remained comfortably cosseted throughout.
One thing you should know before a test drive.
The full-colour HUD, with its wooshing Augmented Reality graphics – the screen literally throws speed limits towards your face in an entirely new way – might freak you out. Just a little. Consider yourself warned.
Tell em the price, son!
The entry-level Audi Q5 currently is a diesel variant priced at $73,400, though do note it won’t be replaced, so pricing will start around $87,000 for the 40TDI Quattro Sport (final pricing TBC when the Q5 goes on sale domestically mid-to-late this year).
The entry-level 2.0-litre petrol model – that’s the 45TFSI Sport MHEV with front-wheel drive only – will hover around $88,500. Alternatively, you’ll be staring down the barrel at $96,515 for the 45TFSI Quattro S Line (same engine with all-wheel drive).
The excellent Audi SQ5 will most likely land around $125,000, depending on spec level.
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