Smart, swish, and sporty, the new Audi Q5 is destined to do a lot more than add to the crush in the burgeoning family sports utility-crossover vehicle sectors.
Audi is very much the badge of the moment, with sales and brand loyalty on the up and still a long way off being on the crest of the wave.
The Q5’s flowing lines and lower, more sporting, stance should quickly attract a strong following when it goes on sale in Britain later this year, and could even dent the market aspirations of the firm’s new A4 range - the Q5’s pricing won’t be far removed from that of its popular saloon sibling.
One rival that will be watching its back when the Q5 arrives is the current crossover market leader, the Nissan Qashqai, whose seven-seater version, the Qashqai+2 arrives in the UK in October.
The Qashqai+2, at 4.52 metres long, is closer to the five-door Q5’s dimensions, which stretches a little more to 4.63 metres in length.
Yet the new Audi has the longest wheelbase - at 2.81 metres - in this segment, which means a roomy cabin, albeit for only five adults.
The Q5’s seats are designed to be flexible, especially at the rear, where the backrests are angle-adjustable and easy to fold down via a remote release lever in the boot.
The cargo space itself has a second under-floor storage area, allowing basic load space to first expand to 540 litres before a flattening of the rear seats ups that to 1,560 litres.
Longer cargo can be accommodated by fitting options such as a slide-forward rear bench seat, and a front passenger seat with folding backrest.
The Audi Q5 will initially arrive with three engines, one 2.0-litre turbo petrol unit, and 2.0 and 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine choices. But that powerplant line-up could quickly change - Audi is noted for adding more powerful motors once demand for a range is established.
The four-cylinder 2.0-litre TFSI petrol unit sprints from 0 to 62mph in 7.2 seconds, can touch 138mph, and averages 33.2mpg on the official combined cycle.
The refined 2.0-litre turbo diesel has a combined cycle fuel consumption of 42.1mpg, can reach 62mph from standing in 9.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 126.76 mph.
The most powerful engine in the line-up, the 3.0-litre TDI, is a V6 diesel that delivers 237bhp to take the Audi Q5 from 0 to 62mph in 6.5 seconds, before accelerating away to a top speed of 139mph. The V6’s thirst equates to a reasonable 36.6mpg on the combined cycle.
Six-speed manual and seven-speed automatic transmissions will be available, and the Q5 gets Audi’s famed quattro four-wheel drive system as standard.
In normal conditions, 60 per cent of the engine power goes to the rear wheels for sporting, rear-focused driving enjoyment, but the transfer box can deliver up to 65 per cent of the power to the front axle, and a maximum of 85 per cent to the rear axle, when there is a demand for it.
Hi-tech fittings and options include cruise control, hill descent control, a parking system with rear-view camera, a lane departure warning system, and Audi’s side assist, which warns of hazards when changing lanes.
Other buy-in items include tyre pressure monitoring, a panoramic glass sunroof with tilting function, triple-zone climate control, sun blinds for the rear side windows, adaptive cornering lights, and a powered, push-button tailgate as seen on the firm’s bigger Q7 4×4.
By Phil Vaughan
One Comment
Another corpulent, unnecessary, niche model destined to be purchased by badge snobs with low self-esteem, who value brand image and a lofty driving position before anything else.
This Q5 will clearly state - to car enthusiasts - “I can’t afford a Q7″. Which is very sad, as most car enthusiasts already view the Q7 as a talentless hippo of a car.
So there you go. But a Q5 if you want a cheap, pointless hippo on four wheels. If you want a little cred, buy an Audi A4 Avant.