Audi
MUNICH—The German trinity of luxury automakers may have made its reputation on sedans, but the inconvenient fact is that they now sell far more SUVs and crossovers, particularly in North America, where the prevailing sentiment is that station wagons belong with bell-bottom jeans in ’70s suburbia and hatchbacks are reserved for college students. The ur-Quattro may have made Audi famous, but the Q5 is what keeps the company profitable.
A new Q5 is on the way, the third in its line. With global electrification timelines proving to be somewhat slower than once predicted, automakers are responding accordingly, and at Audi, that has led to the development of the Premium Platform Combustion, a new flexible architecture for combustion engine vehicles (including hybrids) that combines the latest software-defined vehicle technology with more fuel-efficient powertrains and the latest active and passive safety standards.
In mid-July, we published our first look at the first car to use PPC, the next Audi A5. Expect the SUV you see in this article to be seen a lot more often in the US.
The new Q5 is a car with a more hunched appearance than I might have expected, given Audi's tendency to design and build cars with intricate, crinkled body panels. In this case, that's limited to the treatment along the lower portions of the doors. Audi's growing expertise in streamlining its electric vehicles has been applied to the Q5 as well, though it remains unclear exactly how much this has contributed to the Q5's fuel efficiency until the Q5 actually goes on sale in the U.S. early next year.
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The new Q5 gets bigger holes in the radiator grille, which is now more of a 3D design. The grille also hides the forward-facing sensors. And the air vents are real air vents, not just for show.
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The new Q5 offers more space for rear passengers and luggage.
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The Q5's spoiler projects a brake light over the entire length of the rear window and also provides direct light.
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The SQ5 is the sportier version.
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SQ6s have round exhaust pipes.
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The layout of the interior is very pleasant.
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If that happens, we’ll be limited to a few models. There’s a 268-hp (200 kW) 2.0L four-cylinder TSFI engine powering the Q5, or a 362-hp (270 kW) 3.0L V6, powering the SQ5. Both are all-wheel drive, and both use seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions. But we don’t get the less powerful 2.0L Q5 here, nor the 48V mild-hybrid powertrain.
The US will also miss out on the Q5’s animated taillights. Like the A5, A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron, our cars will still arrive with three-dimensional OLED light clusters, but owners will have to make do with the ability to choose from eight different static themes. And don’t expect to be able to order a Q5 with a cloth interior: American Audi customers apparently only want leather.
The similarities with the A5 continue inside. There’s more headroom and it’s a generally airier cabin given the increased internal volume, but the layout of the dashboard, console and infotainment screens is essentially the same, including the optional passenger infotainment screen, which has an active privacy mode so the driver can’t see what’s being displayed while the car is moving.
Pricing will likely be announced closer to the Q5's launch in early 2025.
