Not content with refreshing the A5 and revealing the long-awaited A6 E-Tron, Audi's rolling out a third-generation Q5 SUV for people who want Audi style, but a little higher off the ground. Where the even-numbered Q6 is electric, the odd-numbered Q5 runs on gas and has plenty of toys to keep the whole family entertained.
The Q5 is a best seller for Audi and a hugely important car in the US. Over 1.6 million examples of the first-generation car hit the road, and more than a million second-generation cars are out there now. Movement for the mid-size executive familial masses is big business, especially for Audi. With that many people on the hook already, the new car needs to be a case of ‘the same but better… and better than everyone else.'
Two flavors of Q5 will be offered in the United States at launch. The base Q5 has a turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 268 horsepower, and SQ5 has a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 with 362 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque on tap. Both models should be perky enough to keep you ahead when the lights go green. The latter, according to the European WLTP test cycle, will get between 27.4 and 29.4 US MPG on a run, but it’s yet to be tested by the EPA. Each is linked to a seven-speed dual-clutch S Tronic gearbox, and Quattro all-wheel drive.
Both Q5 models ride on a mix of springs. The standard model is tuned to be comfy on steel springs, but you can spec a sports suspension (standard on SQ5) for a more exciting ride thanks to Frequency Selective Damping. Frequency Selected Damping is designed to reduce damping forces at high frequencies (terrible road surfaces, for example), and up them on the smooth stuff. Should you fancy, air suspension with adaptive dampers is also available as an option. Audi says there’s a wider spread between comfort and sport modes here. Progressive steering comes as standard.
Audi’s new design direction is wonderfully on show here. The new Q5’s exterior look is softer this time around—not that the second-generation car was aggressive, mind you. There are still standout lines around the car to draw your eye neatly to where it needs to be (according to Audi’s designers), but the whole car looks and feels a lot smoother on the outside.
There are a few details to pay close attention to: The creases at the bottom of the doors hide some of the car’s visual weight (it’s not a behemoth, but there’s a lot of metal there), and the soft shoulder lines guide you from wheel arch to wheel arch effortlessly. The rear looks pleasingly wide and ‘purposeful’—the full-width light graphic helps that—and the tailpipes are all real all the time. No more fake tubes for Audi. The Q5 will be available in eleven colors, including an incredible Ultra Blue, and will ride on wheels anywhere between 18-21 inches depending on your spec.
Up front, the new grille is, according to Audi, ‘sporty’—which, depending on the sport, could be true. Its single-unit headlamps are 1.6 inches higher than the last car, however, the DRL that sits within is a separate element. Up front, you’ll find LED daytime running lights, while at the rear you get second-generation OLED units.
Audi’s new party piece of eight adjustable dynamic light patterns carries over to the new Q5. Simply select your pattern of choice via the MMI while you’re stationary, and the next time you turn the car on you can dazzle onlookers with your new style. Only the European market gets to use them while driving. The US misses out on another neat lighting trick, too, as the rear OLEDs can be used to communicate with other road users (with… shapes) about what’s going on ahead.
It’s not all doom and lack-of-lighting gloom for America, though. The Q5’s got a very cool brake light. Under the rear spoiler is a row of super bright lights that look a bit like the floor of the carbonite chamber in The Empire Strikes Back. When you put your foot on the pedal, they reflect on the rear windshield and act as an extra visual cue for tailgaters to back off. In the US it’s not a mere line of tiny red slabs, but the word ‘QUATTRO’ is reflected there. In the EU that’s classed as advertising and is illegal. Not so in the land of the free.
Inside, the Q5 is more aggressive, pointy, and angular. It’s more in keeping with what we’re currently used to from Audi, but it also feels like it pays a neat homage to the design-lead cabins the firm was famed for back in the aughts and noughties. Everything looks and feels solid enough to last for decades more than the first owner will even be thinking about the car.
Keen eyes will spot USB-C ports front and rear, as well as an inductive phone charging pad. There are a few splashes of shiny plastic that will, inevitably, be clean for five seconds over the car’s entire existence and never look the same again, and a slab of buttons to control mirrors, seats, locks, and lights by the door handle is either untold genius or foolishness beyond reproach. Time will tell.
The new Q5 is based on the Premium Platform Combustion, much like the new Audi A5. The platform, says Audi, offers plenty of flexibility and allows for low cars like the A5, and higher ones like the new Q5.
Sharing a platform means they share plenty of technology. You might recognize the Digital Stage infotainment setup from the A5. It’s a big ‘ol curved OLED MMI display made up of an 11.9-inch virtual cockpit display, and a 14.5-inch MMI touch display. The former handles the bits that the driver needs to know, while the latter does everything you’d expect. For drivers lacking conversation skills, there’s an optional 10.9-inch screen for passengers to play with as well.
You’ll also recognize the Q5’s configurable heads-up display, which, as well as showing vital info, lets drivers scroll through various infotainment functions on the fly. A Dynamic Interaction Light spans the width of the cockpit and will react to things happening to the car, give a neat welcoming show, or a pleasing display as you leave.
Being an SUV, it needs to be practical. Having sat inside it, there’s plenty of room for average (ish) sized humans front and back, so regular families shouldn’t have any complaints unless they’re all seven feet tall, or regularly buy vast quantities of 2x4. Audi says there are 52.0 cubic feet of space in the trunk with the seats down, so you’ll be able to do a fair bit with it before deciding you need a truck. Pricing in Europe kicks off at €52,300, roughly $58,000, and the SQ5 starts at €82,900, or about $92,000.
Full US spec is still being decided, which means EPA mileage figures, trim levels, and pricing are still unknown. We’ll find out more as the Q5 and SQ5’s 2025 launch date looms ever nearer.
