Audi Q5 Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Audi Q5
Prices: £27,410-£38,660 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 15-17
Emissions: 175-199g/km
Performance: [2.0TFSI] 0-60mph 7.2s / top speed 138mph
Fuel Consumption: [2.0TFSI] 33.2mpg (combined)
Safety: ESP, ABS, Twin front, side and curtain airbags
Dimensions: length/width/height 4630/1880/1650mm

JOIN THE Q

Our Rating: 7.4 / 10

Audi tackled the luxury 4x4 sector with its gargantuan Q7. Now the Q5 is aiming at smaller posh-roaders with a rather different approach. Steve Walker reports.

Audi’s understated Q5 forgoes the excesses of the premium compact SUV market in favour of car-like driving dynamics. Its low-slung stance sets it apart but SUV fans shouldn’t be deterred. There’s a strong engine range, loads of advanced technology and a practical interior crafted in Audi’s own inimitable style.

Once 4x4 vehicles were for driving off-road. Then it became trendy to drive them to work, on the school run, to the supermarket and round to your mother’s at the weekend. Today, it’s not at all easy to pinpoint what 4x4s are actually for but a conservative estimate would be, well, everything. The basic 4x4 blueprint is available in a multitude of shapes, sizes and price ranges so that virtually everyone will find a variant on the theme that suits them. Audi’s latest effort is the Q5 and it’s taking a sporty approach with the manufacturer positioning it as "the performance SUV for all seasons and all surfaces".

Audi entered the 4x4 sector proper with the Q7 luxury 4x4 in 2006 but it’s no secret that this is a brand that has pioneered all-wheel-drive in road cars for many years prior to that. It all boded rather well. Audi’s classy brand image and quattro 4x4 technology made it appear the perfect parent for a high-end SUV. Sure enough, the imposing Q7 did the job very nicely and the Q5 is the follow-up. It’s a smaller, more affordable vehicle that’s noticeably less ostentatious than its big brother.

The Q5 is the beneficiary of three of Audi’s star engines. The 2.0-litre TFSI petrol unit is the entry level option, a powerplant that we’ve seen and been impressed by before in numerous racy VW Group products. In the Q5, it actually generates 208bhp and, crucially, a torque output that you’d be more inclined to expect from a big six-cylinder diesel engine. 350Nm from 1,500rpm to 4,200rpm is a whole lot of shove and it helps the Q5 to 62mph in 7.2s. Many 4x4s claim to be ‘sporty’ but the Q5 appears intent on delivering. The other options are both diesels. First is an economical 168bhp 2.0-litre TDI which also has a strong 350Nm but over a much narrower rev band. Then there’s the 237bhp 3.0-litre TDI with a huge 500Nm available between 1,500rpm and 3,000rpm. It can hit 62mph in only 6.5s.

The task of marshalling the power and torque from those advanced engines falls upon the standard six-speed manual gearbox but Audi also makes its S-Tronic seven-speed dual clutch gearbox available with the Q5. This transmission is teetering on the cutting edge of gearbox technology with its twin clutch system and clever electronics predicting the next gear and engaging it prior to the driver selecting it with the wheel-mounted paddle shifters. It makes for a lightening fast and buttery-smooth transition between ratios whether you’re flipping the paddles in manual mode or letting the gearbox take care of the whole process. As well as the greater security of four driven wheels, the Q5 also uses an advanced ESP stability control system that senses when a roof rack is fitted and compensates for the vehicle’s higher centre of gravity by intervening earlier.

The Q5 rides on a lightweight suspension system predominately built of aluminium. The multi-link design front and rear promises composure and a sporty feel on the road as do the Q5’s dimensions which are markedly un-SUV. The vehicle is 4,630mm long but only 1,650mm tall, giving it a sleek, ground-hugging stance and bringing the centre of gravity closer to terra firma than in the majority of the Q5’s rivals. This low profile look is evidenced by a drag coefficient of just 0.33cd.

The Q5 might be as bold or brash externally as we’ve come to expect in the SUV sector but inside, it aims to replicate the interior versatility of its most sizable rivals. Audi’s cabin design and build quality remains tough to fault and the Q5 also includes some clever features that make the whole thing more practical to use on a daily basis. The rear seat backs can be reclined to increase comfort and the whole of the back bench can be folded into the floor at a stroke by means of a lever in the boot. Luggage space is 540 litres but once those seats are stowed, 1,560 litres is opened up.

The Q5 kicks off at around the £27,000 mark and is o