2017 Audi Q5 vs 2019

What's the difference?

Like just about every SUV in the Australian market, Audi’s Q5 is up against some hot competition, including Range Rover’s new sleek and slick Velar. But it’s popular for a reason, with heaps of standard equipment for the money, a punchy drivetrain, and excellent dynamics. A full-house suite of safety equipment is the icing on the cake.

The Q5 50 TDI is good value, it’s practical and the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 makes it the choice for those that need to tow, or who just want a tough, quick-accelerating, medium-sized luxury SUV. Small families will find the Q5 50 TDI a willing and helpful weapon in the suburban warfare that is daily life.

Emerging from Audi’s corporate garage a decade ago, the Q5 was the second SUV in the Bavarian maker’s line-up, following the larger Q7, which kicked things off in 2005.

It received a relatively mild facelift refresh in 2012, and this new, second-generation version still doesn’t stray a million miles away from Audi senior designer David Caffrey’s original vision.

Angular (standard) matrix LED headlights, sitting either side of a blacked-out version of the brand’s distinctive ‘Singleframe’ grille, give the car a mildly annoyed expression. It feels like it’s staring you down, and large gill-like vent apertures, also housing the front fog lights, enhance the imposing look.

The edges of the broad, subtly straked alloy bonnet close neatly over the top of the front fenders, with shutlines so even and accurate they’d make a Swiss watchmaker proud. This is partly down to the fact Audi uses laser sensors to measure how the sheet behaves during forming, and to make fine pressure adjustments if necessary. 

A clear, undulating character line confidently defines the side of the car, and continues around to the rear, which conforms strictly to Audi’s corporate design philosophy. There’s a spoiler at the top of the hatch door, inward-tapering (LED) tail-lights, and dual exhaust pipes neatly integrated in a single graphic piece under the bumper.

As the name implies, this limited edition features a ‘Titanium black’ styling package, including the black highlights around the grille, black trim strips on the side windows, roof rails and mirror caps, plus heavily tinted privacy glass, as well as 20-inch Audi Sport alloy rims finished in ‘Anthracite Black’. Our test example’s non-metallic ‘Quantum Grey’ paint looked uber cool.

Overall, it’s an evolutionary take on a proven design theme, but adventurous competitors like the Range Rover Velar will appeal to those looking for a more contemporary approach.

The cabin, while not exactly black, is definitely dark, with many square metres of top-shelf nappa hide used to trim the seats, complete with impressive diamond pattern quilting on the centre panels, and beautifully detailed contrast stitching.

There’s also Alcantara in the door inserts, and patches of the same tough material on the inner front seat bolsters to handle wear from buckling and unbuckling the seat belt. A thoughtful touch.

The interior treatment is classy but relatively conservative (again, next to the Velar, or the flashy Lexus RX) with the broad centre console a familiar Audi element. 

The dash is borderline plain, with a compact binnacle surrounding the ‘Virtual Cockpit’ digital instrument display, and the 8.3-inch high-res colour display up high in the centre, although brushed ‘Aluminium rhombus’ and carbon fibre highlights add a premium, high-tech look and feel

The Q5 is arguably the best looking of the all Qs – not too big or too small, it appears to be the most perfectly proportioned of Audi’s SUVs. More of a dimensions type? The Q5 measures 4663mm end to end, 1893mm across and 1659mm tall.

Picking a 50 TDI from lower grades is tricky because the 40 TDI and 45 TFSI come with almost identical exterior features, and also the grey and matt aluminium silver grille.

The Q5 50 TDI isn’t as blingy as the Benz GLC or as sporty-styled as the BMW X3, but it has a solid, confident look and I adore the so-called Tornado Line, which twists itself over the wheel arches and traces an edge right around the car, through the tailgate and bonnet.

The cockpit is typically Audi: stylish and modern, but also restrained. While I admire the simplicity and quality of the build, with its outstanding fit and finish, I think Audi needs to make its cabins dazzle more. This isn’t just a Q5 thing, it’s across the board. 

It may sit in the middle of Audi’s SUV line-up, but the Q5 delivers full-size accommodation for five, and practicality is well taken care of.

Up front there's a pair of cupholders in the centre console, and door bins with bottle holders. The glove box is a decent size, a useful lidded box sits between the front seats, and there are smaller oddments trays in the centre console.

Connectivity and power are covered by a pair of USB ports, an ‘auxiliary in’ socket and a 12V outlet.

In the rear, head and legroom are generous. Sitting behind the driver’s seat, set for my 183cm position, I enjoyed a surprisingly large gap to my knees and adequate fresh air above the bonce. Three adults across the rear would be tight, but do-able for shorter trips.

Backseaters are provided with adjustable ventilation control (including a digital read-out) as well as two cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest, door bins big enough for bottles, net pockets on the front seatbacks, and a 12V outlet.

Cargo space is bang on for the Q5’s competitive set, offering 550 litres (VDA), with the split-fold (40/20/40) rear seat upright. Thanks to the ‘Black’s’ sliding rear seat (see Equipment) that can grow to 610L.

For reference, BMW’s X3 and the Mercedes-Benz GLC offer 550L, the Range Rover Velar offers a fair bit more (673L) and the Jaguar F-Pace a bit less (508L).

Despite those differences, it’s able to swallow the CarsGuide pram with ease, or our three-piece hard suitcase set (35, 68 and 105 litres) with room to spare.

Use the neatly positioned release handles in the boot to fold the rear seat down, and that volume grows to 1550 litres, which is the same or slightly less than its competitors, although the Velar ups the ante again, with more than 10 per cent extra space (1731L).

There are netted pockets back there, a pair of bag hooks, two lights, as well as four tie-down anchors and a cargo net, plus welcome additions like a high-vis emergency vest and first-aid kit.

The power tailgate features foot-gesture control (always a winner, just kick your foot and up comes the door), and its opening height can be customised to match your garage. The spare is a space-saver.

The previous Audi I reviewed was an Audi A3 35 TFSI Sedan and while I loved the look of that little four-door saloon, I deemed the car too small for somebody my size, or anyone with the demands of a young family.

Yep, at CarsGuide we test the cars in the real world with our families, which means one week you’re in a small A3 35 TFSI Sedan and the next it’s a Q5 50 TDI. Moving from one to the other immediately highlights what’s been missing.

Just installing a child seat can tell you a lot about practicality. In the A3 Sedan I had to kneel on the side of the road to install the child seat, but I hardly had to bend at all to put it into the 50 TDI. The tall back door openings, the seating height, the top-tether hook, which is accessed from the kick-open tailgate, all made life easy.

And yes, the kick-open tailgate is brilliant, and it can even be opened without having to unlock the rest of the car. The standard proximity key is also a Godsend. Then then there’s the load-height-lowering function, which comes with the optional air suspension and can make the Q5 50 TDI effectively kneel down for you, to make getting bags into the boot easier.

The cargo capacity of our 50 TDI was 550-610 litres – the reason for that range is because of the optional sliding second row.

There are only two rows of seating in a Q5 – this is a five-seater car only. If you need a third row you’ll have to step up to the Q7 to get seven seats.

Second-row room is excellent. Even at 191cm tall I can sit behind my driving position with about 50mm between my knees and the seatback, while headroom is great, too. Back passengers have air vents and climate control, two cupholders and big door pockets, while up front there’s a decent sized bin under the centre armrest and a deep storage area by the driver’s right leg – I could fit my shoe in it. Don’t ask.

Along with Qi wireless phone charger, you’ll find two USB ports and a 12V outlet up front, and two charging USB ports and 12V outlet in the second row.

The Audi Q5 50 TDI Quattro Sport is the king of the Q5 range and has a list price of $84,700. Coming standard are leather upholstery with heated and power adjustable front seats, three-zone climate control, proximity key, kick-open auto tailgate, that 8.3-inch screen (it’s not a touch screen), there’s also sat nav and a media system with a control pad that can recognise your handwriting.

The 12.3-inch virtual instrument cluster is stunning, the wireless phone charger is easy to use and you also score the life-changing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Also standard are a DVD player, a CD player and digital radio. A power-adjustable steering column is standard, too, which seems a small thing, but some brands will make you pay a fortune for that as an option.

As for the exterior, the 20-inch wheels are standard, so are the LED headlights and DRLs, plus the roof rails.

Our 50 TDI had a 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo and a head-up display – they’re part of the optional Tecknik package, which costs $5600. The standard sound system is good anyway, though – so unless that sort of thing matters a lot to you, you don’t really need to spend the extra.

Our car also had the optional air suspension, which is $4000. Also fitted were the $1300 seats comfort package, which adds a massage function, along with a sliding and reclining rear bench seat. 

The Navarra Blue paint was also an option and costs around $2000. There are two no-cost colours: Brilliant Black and Ibis White.

As a model comparison, the Q5 50 TDI is up against the likes of BMW’s X3 xDrive 30d, which is $84,900, and Mercedes-Benz’s GLC 250d, which just so happens to be $84,700. Sheesh, do these guys all sit down at a table and agree on a price, or what?

The only thing better than a Q5 50 TDI is the SQ5, which is a more hardcore sporty version, and really almost a stand-alone model. Does that make the 50 TDI more the prime minister of the range, then, than the king?

The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol ‘TFSI’ engine features dual-injection, with a multi-point set-up supplementing the main direct-injection system at partial load, for optimal throttle response.

Add Audi ‘valvelift” (variable valve timing on the exhaust side), and of course a turbo (with electric wastegate) and you arrive at 185kW from 5000-6000rpm, and 300Nm from 1600-4500rpm.

Drive goes to a seven-speed dual clutch, and on to all four wheels via the latest gen version of Audi’s ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive, featuring ‘ultra technology’.

What that means to you and I is that the system operates predictively, acquiring and evaluating dynamic data (steering angle, transverse and longitudinal acceleration, and engine torque) in 10-millisecond cycles, to distribute drive to the wheel that can make best use of it, including (amazingly) a seamless shift from all-wheel drive to front-wheel drive (and back).

The 50 TDI may look just like the lower grades in the Q5 range, but its 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel is what really sets it apart. Its 210kW of power from 3750rpm and 620Nm of torque from 1500rpm not only make it the Q5 with the most grunt, but also the quickest accelerating, with a 0-100km/h time of 5.8s.

That low-end torque makes the 50 TDI the natural choice for those who tow, too. The braked towing capacity is 2000kg.

Shifting gears almost seamlessly is an eight-speed automatic, rather than the seven-speed dual clutch that does the honours in the lower grades.   

As with all Q5s, the 50 TDI is all-wheel drive.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 7.3l/100km, the petrol engine emitting 167g/km of CO2 in the process.

The Q5 features stop-start, and a fuel-saving coast mode, where the drive system allows freewheeling between 55 and 160km/h if the driver releases the accelerator.

Over roughly 300km of city, suburban and freeway running we recorded a (dash-indicated) figure of 10.8L/100km. Still not shabby for a 1.7-tonne SUV.

Fuel requirement is 95RON premium unleaded, and you’ll need 70 litres of it to fill the tank.

Audi says that if you’re driving a combination of urban and open roads the 50 TDI will use 6.3L/100km. Our test car wasn’t too far off that claim, with an average of 7.6L/100km, measured from the trip computer.

The day that we shot the video above saw me driving continuously around the same hilly suburb for a couple of hours, and the mileage, according to the trip computer, afterwards was 14.2L/100km.

Two things stand out when the Q5’s wheels start moving; the smooth, civilised, and surprisingly urgent nature of the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, as well as the feelsome response of the variable ratio, electro-mechanical steering.

Maximum power of 185kW is a pretty handy number, and Audi claims 0-100km/h in only 6.3sec. But that peak arrives at a lofty 5000-6000rpm (the rev ceiling is around 6750rpm). It’s more the 370Nm of torque (available all the way from 1600-4500rpm) that gets the job done.

The drive select system allows tuning of the throttle, transmission, and steering. In ‘Dynamic’ mode, mid-range thrust is strong, and delivered in fuss-free, linear fashion, with the seven-speed dual-clutch keeping things in the sweet spot.

The Q5 is so agile it’s easy to forget you’re driving it, rather than it’s more compact Q3 sibling. Suspension is a five-link set-up front and rear, and despite 20-inch rubber and the ‘S sport’ suspension fitted to the Black edition (firmer springs and dampers), the balance between ride comfort and dynamic response is spot on.

Audi says it’s paid particular attention to ‘aero acoustics’ and cruising noise levels are pleasantly low (the car’s claimed drag co-efficient is 0.30). 

The sports front seats are grippy and proved comfortable on longer runs, the brakes are reassuringly powerful and consistent, and the ergonomics are top-notch. 

For those determined to head off the highway, ground clearance is 208mm, approach angle is 25 degrees, departure is 27 degrees, and ramp angle is 17 degrees.

If you want to hitch something up to the back, maximum towing capacity for a braked trailer is 2400kg, and 750kg without stoppers.

The 50 TDI is one of those SUVs that feels like an Iron Man suit, in that it goes, turns and stops like you’re wearing it rather than driving it. Truly, it responds that well to whatever you ask of it.

Our test car had the optional adaptive air suspension and I recommend it if the roads you’ll be driving it on are as bad as the potholed streets of Sydney.

While the 50 TDI isn’t an SQ5, the handling is still excellent, with minimal body roll, and the steering is precise and well-weighted.

That 3.0-litre diesel V6 is a gem, providing great acceleration, and is well suited to towing, but if you’re not in the Dynamic drive mode, you’ll find that turbo lag rears its head occasionally. That issue can be solved almost instantly by shifting down a gear, using the steering-wheel paddles.

The V6 diesel is also quite loud from the outside, but you’ll be happy to know the excellent cabin insulation keeps most of the clatter out.

The Q5 was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2017 and when the 50 TDI grade arrived in 2018 (it was called the 3.0 TDI, back then) it came equipped with an impressive armoury of standard safety tech. There’s forward AEB, which can also detect pedestrians, and reverse AEB with rear cross traffic alert, blind-spot warning, lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control.

The 50 TDI also comes standard with auto parking for both parallel and perpendicular spots, and a 360-degree camera.

Airbags? There are eight of them.

And for child car seats you’ll find two ISOFIX mounts and three top-tether anchor points across the rear row.

The Q5 50 TDI is made in Mexico. Olé.

Audi provides a three year/unlimited warranty, with three years paint cover, and a 12-year rust perforation guarantee. ‘AudiCare’ 24-hour roadside assistance is complimentary for three years.

The recommended service interval is 15,000km/12 months, and the ‘Audi Genuine Care Service Plan’ is available to cover scheduled servicing for three years/45,000km (whichever comes first). And for the Q5, the indicative price is $1870 (for petrol and diesel variants).

The Q5 50 TDI is covered by Audi’s three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended every 12 months/15,000km.

Audi has two servicing plans for the 50 TDI: three-year coverage for $2040 and five-years for $3070.