Quick test drive: Audi Q5 2.0 TFSI Quattro

Posted on December 2nd, 2008 by Robert Adams | Posted under: Audi, Test drives

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Last week I had a chance to test drive the all-new Audi Q5. I am glad that the snow which came down few days earlier was still there and city was having hard time keeping the roads clean. This just seemed like a perfect test to see how the Q5 handles roads that I was having hard time getting through with my front wheel drive car.

Q5 measures 4.63 meters (15.19 feet) in length and is 1.88 meters (6.17 feet) wide. It is biggest in its class and at the same time its height 1.65 meters (5.41 feet) is lowest, making it sportier than any of its competitors.

Looking at all the snow I just had to drive it into the deepest snow possible. Audi’s permanent all-wheel drive had there no problems, the car was quiet and had no problems at all. To be honest it was boring, as just earlier in the morning I helped my neighbor to push his car and now in this deep snow the car proved faster than I expected how reliable Audi’s all-wheel drive is.

In normal running conditions, the transfer case distributes the power to the front and rear axle in a 40:60 ratio for a rear-focused style. When needed, the quattro driveline can deliver up to 65 percent of the power to the front axle and a maximum of 85 percent to the rear axle.

According to Audi, the standard hill descent control system makes it safe to navigate down steep inclines by regulating the preselected speed when driving at under 30 km/h (18.64 mph). The ESP and its sub-function, the ABS, have special ranges for off-road driving. The ESP focuses on achieving maximum traction in off-road driving; the ABS automatically recognizes the consistency of the driving surface and selects the ideal strategy for sand, gravel or loose rocks. As this was a test car for half a day I didn’t dare to try it in such road conditions. Perhaps next time.

Out on the highway it feels like an A4 almost, just little higher. New twin-clutch seven speed S tronic transmission changes gears right when needed. There is no wait time when you press the pedal like it felt on the Mercedes GLK.

Looks beside, Q5 is not the usual SUV, in corners you forget that you are driving an SUV. It handles all the bumps very smoothly, steering is very proper and consistent. Just excellent when it comes to pleasing the driver.

You look at it and it feels so familiar yet something new. It is simple and elegant. Surely there are people who say that Q5 is a smaller version of the Q7. Can’t agree with them, it’s another Audi, not the smaller version of Q7.

Q5 does not impress when you look at it. Tail lights seem to be over designed when comparing to the generic front end. There just isn’t much to say about the way it looks. It is an Audi inside-out.

There is one thing that really bugs about this car though. Yes it is quiet, most materials are in high quality, but two buttons seem to be done in a hurry. First one is the central locking button, which looks cheap, plus the sound it makes when you lock or unlock doors is unbearable. It sounds like you are locking the doors in a 20 year old Ford.

The second one is the scroll button on the steering. When you choose radio stations it makes a very noisy click. All is quiet and then these two buttons just kill the feeling.

Q5 is not cheap, just like the GLK I think it is over priced. The car I tested had a price tag of over 65,000 EUR. Sure it had plenty of features(too many to name), but to pay over 22,000 EUR for additional features sounds crazy.

Don’t get me wrong when I say that Q5 is better than the GLK I tested last month. It’s not that GLK isn’t any good, it is also very fun and comfortable to drive, but it seems that GLK was built to impress not to handle the road like Audi.

If you like the aerodynamic and sporty look/feel then Q5 is for you, if you prefer tough muscular look go with the GLK. Surely you can always turn to ABT Sportsline and make your Q5 look tougher than the GLK.

Hopefully already next year we will see how the new X3 compares to the Q5 and GLK.

The Audi Q5 is being offered with three engine variants – one gasoline engine and two TDI units. All of the engines are direct-injection models with a turbocharger.

Test car had a 2.0 TFSI (155,1 kW/211 hp), with 350 Nm (258 ft-lb) of torque @ 4200 rpm.