Audi Q5 (2025 - ) review

Later this summer, a pair of plug-in hybrid versions of the Q5 arrive, with as much power as the sporty SQ5, but with a potential 62-mile electric range on a full charge. Those will likely be the ones to go for if running costs are high on your mind (and assuming you can charge up overnight at home to maximise the electric range). In the meantime, the diesel is the running costs champ, with the potential for 48mpg, and the mild-hybrid system’s ability to allow limited electric running at very low speeds, such as when parking. The 2.0-litre petrol engine is quite a bit thirstier in real-world conditions — figure on about 30mpg — while the SQ5 driver will be lucky to break 25mpg. All Q5s will cost a small fortune to tax (PHEVs aside) thanks to high emissions and price tags starting above £40,000.

Audis certainly have the potential to be very reliable indeed, and there’s nothing in the Q5 — the new mild-hybrid system apart — that hasn’t been long-since well proven in other Volkswagen Group cars. However, Audi hasn’t done so well of late in customer satisfaction and reliability surveys, and it seems to most often be the infotainment systems that are at the heart of complaints. The Q5 gets the same infotainment set up as in the Q6 e-tron and the new A5, so it remains to be seen how dependable and user-friendly that turns out to be in the long run.

The new Audi Q5 ought to be very safe, as it carries over the old Q5’s platform and adds more in the way of electronic supports for the driver. These can include the likes of the Adaptive Driving Assistant plus, which uses high-resolution map data and swarm data from other vehicles contributing to the cloud to assist with acceleration, maintaining speed and distance, as well as lane guidance, but as with many of the Q5’s safety systems, it’s on the options list, which seems pretty stingy.

Audi was once the champion of high-quality car cabins, but while it has recently been caught up with by the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Lexus there’s no doubt that this interior is one of Audi’s superior efforts. The big curving instrument and infotainment screens look exceptionally slick, and the seats are covered in a lovely, recycled material called Kaskade, which feels like the half-way point between wool and suede. Certainly, the whole cabin looks and feels more high-grade than that of the new BMW X3, although the (optional) extra touchscreen in front of the passenger’s seat seems a bit superfluous. Nonetheless, the big screens look really impressive, but the cabin would benefit from a few more proper physical buttons for ease of use on the move, while the off-square steering wheel should really just be round. Space in the back is only OK, rather than generous, but it’s adjustable with a sliding back bench seat. Up front, there’s useful storage under the armrest, but the door bins are rather small. At least those in the rear get handy seat-back net pockets, and the backs of the front seats are scooped out to provide a little extra kneeroom. The rear seats slide through 100mm to make more space for passengers or luggage, as required. The 520-litre boot is fine, and competitive with other cars in this class (you get five litres less in the Q5 Sportback), and Audi has made space under the boot floor for you to be able to stash the retracting luggage cover when you don’t need it. Folding down the back seats opens up 1,437 litres of space, although the seatbacks don’t fold entirely flat.

Standard equipment for the Q5 Sport grade (that’s the most affordable one) includes 19-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, heated front sports seats, selectable driving modes, active LED headlights with high-beam assist, electric rear hatch, three-zone climate control, the huge twinned curved screens, ten-speaker sound system, 360-degree parking camera system and keyless ignition. Upgrading to the S line adds 20-inch alloys, sports suspension and a sportier three-spoke steering wheel. Top-spec Edition 1 models get 21-inch alloys, Matrix LED lights, red brake calipers and a ‘top-view’ parking camera system.

Inevitably, the 2.0-litre TDI diesel, 2.0-litre TFSI petrol and even the 369-horsepower SQ5 can’t measure up to instant-on performance of modern electric cars, but they’re all engines with at least decent oomph, and in the case of the SQ5 and its 4.5-second 0-62mph time, genuinely thrilling performance. The diesel is probably the best middle ground for now, with decent punch — aided, as are all the engines, by a 48-volt mild-hybrid system with an electric motor — and it’s faster to get to 62mph than the 2.0 petrol. The SQ5’s V6 engine, though, is kind of addictive, with a sharp metallic bark from the exhausts every time you use the gearshift paddles for the seven-speed automatic gearbox, and sufficient thrust to keep things interesting on a twisty mountain road.