Audi Q5 test

Audi Q5
After more than a quarter century of praising the qualities of four-wheel drive with the Quattro technology in its sedans and saloons, Audi got a very late start in the SUV sector.




While the competition has been there for some time, it wasn’t until the fall of 2005 before the Q7 saw the light of day. Now that the programme is up and running, things are accelerating with the arrival of the smaller Q5, three years later.
The Q5 follows the same technical specs as the Q7. This is a high-end SUV with a plethora of innovative technologies to accentuate driving pleasure. As you may have noticed, the all-while drive transmission comes into play when weather conditions are at their ugliest. When it works this well there’s no reason to change.


4.63 metres long, 1.88m wide and just 1.65 tall to embellish a sporting look; the Q5 has the most favourable aerodynamic coefficient in the segment at 0.33.

The sport character can, on option, be reinforced with 20-inch wheels like the ones on our test car.

No matter the angle, the Audi style is near impossible to miss.

Another option is the parking aid with an integrated camera in the hatchback to help scratching the bodywork when squeezing into a spot.

Storage capacity is variable.

The interior is classic Audi. The driving position has been adjusted. It is higher and straighter. The blend of leather, wood and aluminium is as usual top drawer.

Fitted with a TDI 3-litre V6 and coupled with a new double-clutch seven-speed gearbox, the Q5 is a surprisingly pleasurable to drive. The 240 brake horsepower nearly make one forget the 2 metric tons of the car, while the gear shifts are done quickly and with little loss in revs.

If you add the Audi Drive Select system, first introduced on the A4 allowing for the adjusting of the steering reduction, the adjusting calibration of the suspension and the engine mapping in accordance to the mode of driving that you want, you nearly forget you are driving an SUV.

When perhaps driving just a bit too aggressively, the brakes come in and put everything right. The pedal travel has been lengthened and we show why it has been.

Versatile, agreeable to drive and well made, the Q5 has what it takes to satisfy anyone’s SUV desires.