Audi Q5 vs Audi S5

What's the difference?

The third-generation Audi Q5 in TDI quattro form is a competent if unremarkable all-rounder that would tick most boxes for private or commercial use. Whether it’s the best buy of the 21 brands and 34 models that compete in Australia’s congested ‘Medium SUVs over $60K’ segment, only a customer can decide after weighing up its many alternatives.

The Audi A5 remains a convincing option in the premium mid-size sedan category, even with the near-$10K price increase over its equivalent grade A4 predecessor.

Even in its base spec, it’s a lovely thing to drive and adds enough new kit to be a reasonable option when it comes to value. In terms of tech usability, it stands out from rivals. Practicality is still king for Audi.

But for the heart-over-head types, the S5 is fast and fun while remaining a comfortable cruiser and the price is decent. On a personal note, a six-cylinder wagon? That's a big yes from me.

For the time it’s available, it’s hard to go past the value on offer in the S5 Edition One. Getting an AWD V6 with that kind of capability for under $100K is something that's sure to tempt buyers. If it doesn’t, we need to take a good look at ourselves.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

The Q5 TDI quattro rides on a 2823mm wheelbase and is 4717mm long, 1900mm wide and 1662mm tall with an 11.9-metre turning circle, so it’s a comfortable fit for metropolitan car parks. It has sophisticated five-link suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and electric power-assisted steering.

The third-generation Q5 features fresh styling with its prominent grille treatment the most noticeable feature. Overall, the standard S line exterior has an athletic look, which is optimised by our example’s larger 20-inch wheel option which nicely fills the wheel arches.

The interior has an open and airy feel, enhanced by the contrasting dark grey/pearl beige upholstery and panoramic sunroof options.

There are lots of soft-touch surfaces, exposed stitching and satin chrome highlights, plus (unfortunately) piano black surfaces on the dash and console which shine like mirrors when clean but can quickly turn opaque with unsightly fingerprints during everyday use.

Good design can be seen in the prominent ledge created by the dash inlay at the base of the central touchscreen, as you can comfortably rest the base of your palm on it to steady your index finger when using the touchscreen while driving, which is much easier and less distracting than trying to do this without such support.

The A5 incorporates Audi’s new design language in a way that makes the 2026 model stand out from Audi’s older offerings, but we won’t know how well it works in the family until more new-gen Audi cars arrive.

For now, the A5 is a generally handsome car. It very much looks like an Audi from the front, even a recent A4 if you only very quickly glanced.

The aforementioned S line styling does plenty in making even the base Audi A5 look like a properly luxe thing. There were a few double-checks at the launch to make sure drivers were getting into the right cars.

Fortunately the new car’s designers refrained from busying up the car with trim, the only big features being the side vents at the front.

But even in Avant form the S5 looks athletic, quad-exhausts in the lower bar and the angular rear bodywork moving away from the previously softer, more rounded look Audi had gone with before.

Inside, the changes are arguably more obvious. The A5 is now much more ‘screeny’ than before, especially if optioned with the passenger-side touchscreen.

It’s still decidedly Audi in its layout and design, with geometric shapes on the steering wheel, screen housing, door cards and even on the gear shifter, which is no longer the more traditional handle-type.

The Q5 TDI quattro weighs almost two tonnes (1955kg kerb weight) which when deducted from its 2595kg GVM rating leaves 640kg of load capacity, which for either work or play is ample for up to five adults plus luggage of which up to 75kg can be carried on the roof.

It’s also rated to tow up to 2000kg of braked trailer but Audi does not publish a maximum legal weight for the car and trailer combined (not unusual in this vehicle segment), so we can’t confirm if it can carry its full in-car load capacity when towing its maximum trailer weight.

The expansive ‘Digital Stage’ multimedia screen spans about two-thirds of the dashboard’s width, above a decent sized glove box and another compartment to the right of the driver’s knee for small items.

Driver and front passenger also have access to a bottle-holder and bin in each door plus there’s a 12V socket, two USB-C ports and a wireless phone-charging pad in the centre console, which also provides two cupholders and a storage box with padded lid that doubles as a comfortable elbow rest.

The rear bench seat offers adequate space for tall adults, given I’m 186cm and when seated behind the driver’s seat set in my position I have about 40mm of knee clearance and about the same dimension in head clearance, even with the optional sunroof.

It’s less comfortable in the centre seat obviously, with feet either side of the transmission tunnel and knees together between the front seat backrests. Shoulder room is tight for three adults, which is tolerable for short trips but a maximum of two would be ideal for longer treks.

Rear passengers get a bottle-holder in each door plus elastic net pockets on both front seat backrests. The rear centre seat backrest also folds forward to reveal two cupholders and the rear of the centre console has adjustable air vents and a pair of USB-C ports, plus third-zone climate control adjustment.

The fully carpeted rear luggage area is equipped with another 12V socket plus tidy bag, first-aid kit and four load-anchorage points. The rear section of the load floor is hinged, which when opened reveals a large underfloor storage compartment.

With the rear seat upright, this luggage area offers more than half a cubic metre of load volume. And with the seat folded flat this expands to almost 1.5 cubic metres, with a large flat floor suitable for carrying everything from a mountain bike to flat-pack furniture.

…and that gear selector is a bit indicative of the new A5’s interior. It’s now more of a switch that requires a little more attention than the traditional shifter, just like the way the more screen-focused interior requires a little more of your eyeball time than physical buttons.

Don’t get me wrong, as far as screens in modern cars go, Audi seems to have made it as easy as possible to use the new-gen software in the A5. The menus are clear, there are good shortcuts and there’s no lag… but buttons are always better when your focus needs to be on the road.

Fortunately the driver display is nice and clear, it’s a good update on Audi’s ‘Virtual Cockpit’ and you can set it to display important information without looking too busy.

Ergonomically, the way the central screen is angled towards the driver, the centre console layout and the small control panel on the door for lights, mirrors and the like all seem to be well considered and mean you don’t have to awkwardly reach for anything.

There are a few quirks specific to the A5 and S5, one being that if you opt for the panoramic sunroof, it comes with a transparency switch rather than a physical cover, so it doesn’t do much to keep the light out.

It’s also good to note that the passenger screen - again, if optioned - turns to privacy mode when playing media so as to not distract the driver. Pretty handy!

Behind the front row, a regular-sized adult should have enough room to sit comfortably for a decent amount of time without feeling cramped. The light through the sunroof comes in handy here.

Behind that is a 445L boot in Sedan form, or 1299L with the rear seats folded down. As an Avant, the space increases to 448L and 1396L respectively.

The new Audi A5 range starts from $79,900 before on-road costs for the standard A5 Sedan, though the rest of the models available at launch are all S5 variants. A more powerful A5 with 200kW and quattro all-wheel drive will come later, as well as a 270kW plug-in hybrid A5 quattro variant.

For now, the sole A5 in the line-up is well equipped for the price, coming with standard 19-inch alloy wheels, matrix LED headlights with adjustable lighting signatures, keyless entry and digital key via Audi’s app, electric bootlid (or tailgate, given its liftback style) and S line styling as standard.

Interior features include sports seats in real and synthetic leather, heated and electrically adjustable up front, leather steering wheel, tri-zone climate control, a 14.5-inch OLED multimedia touchscreen and 11.9-inch driver display, wireless phone charging as well as wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The A5 can be optioned with a Style pack for $3000 which adds 20-inch wheels, tinted glass and black exterior trim. There’s also a Premium pack for $3769 which adds a head-up display, high-power USB ports, a Bang & Olufsen sound system, ambient lighting and front door acoustic window glazing.

The other key variants in the line-up from launch are the S5 Sedan and S5 Avant, coming in at $114,900 and $117,900 respectively. Aside from the more advanced drivetrains, the S5s also gain plenty more features over the A5 including 20-inch Audi Sport alloy wheels, selectable OLED rear lights, tinted windows and more paint colour options.

Inside, Nappa leather-upholstered seats gain cooling and massage functions up front, the steering wheel is heated, and there’s ambient lighting with a ‘dynamic interaction light strip’ that changes colour based on vehicle functions like indicating or changing temperatures.

There’s also a head-up display, high-power USB outlets, a Bang & Olufsen sound system and, perhaps most notably, a 10.9-inch touchscreen for the front passenger as standard. It’s a $1500 option in the A5.

Audi also has a launch variant of the S5, the Edition One, which comes at a lower price and a trim spec closer to the A5, but with the S5’s performance. It has non-adjustable sport suspension, for example, and to score much of the main S5’s kit requires cost-options or option packs.

But the prices are tempting, just $99,900 for the S5 Edition One Sedan or $102,900 for the Avant, $15,000 less than their same-power siblings. For an extra $6000, you can add a head-up display, high-power USB ports and the Bang & Olufsen sound system to the Edition One.

Comparing the entry A5 to the recent entry-level A4, the new A5 wears a price increase of $8000 (the ageing A4 is $71,900), but has more power and a much more modern interior. On price alone it seems a steep jump, but the value is still there compared to rivals. A Mercedes C200 currently starts from $89,900, while a BMW 330i is $92,900.

The turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine meets tough Euro 6 emission standards using AdBlue and produces 150kW of power between 3800-4200rpm, with 400Nm of torque on tap between 1750-3250rpm.

It’s paired with Audi’s latest hybrid diesel-electric technology which can add up to 18kW of power and 230Nm of torque to these figures, while also allowing short periods of pure electric driving for low-speed manoeuvring and parking.

The seven-speed torque converter automatic offers the choice of sequential manual gear-changing using the steering wheel paddle-shifters, along with selectable drive modes to optimise Audi’s iconic ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive technology.

The Audi A5 is powered by a four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine which powers the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. It makes 150kW of power and 340Nm of torque, and should, Audi says, propel the A5 to 100km/h in 7.8 seconds before (eventually) reaching a top speed of 248km/h.

The S5, in all its variants, is powered by a 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 which is assisted by a mild hybrid system. It produces 270kW and 550Nm, sending that to all four wheels via a similar seven-speed dual-clutch.

The S5 is much quicker as a result - 100km/h comes along in just 4.5 seconds according to Audi, before reaching a 250km/h top speed.

Audi claims official combined average consumption of 5.9-6.8L/100km and the dash display was claiming 6.5 at the completion of our 364km test, which comprised our usual mix of suburban, city and highway driving with up to five adult occupants and light luggage.

Our own figure, calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings, was 9.1L/100km which is still within the usual 2.3L/100km discrepancy between official and real-world figures. So, based on our test figure, you could expect a realistic driving range of around 700km from its 65-litre diesel tank.

Audi claims the A5 uses 6.9 litres of fuel per 100km, which should theoretically deplete the 56-litre fuel tank after 811km of driving. We couldn’t test this on the launch, but reaching claimed fuel efficiency figures remains an elusive challenge.

The S5, according to Audi, comes with an impressive 7.1L/100km figure in Sedan form, or 7.2L/100km as an Avant. That’s 788km and 777km of theoretical driving range if you’re up for a challenge.

There’s a comfortable and spacious driving position as you’d expect, with ample seat and steering wheel adjustments combined with a large left footrest to enhance support.

It exhibits solid build quality and good driving dynamics, from its nicely weighted steering to its supple ride quality that optimises the Q5’s sprung weight to flatten the bumps.

Acceleration from the turbo-diesel engine comes in a smooth surge that benefits from the extra input of the electric hybrid system, which combined can deliver more than 600Nm of torque. However, at times we detected a slight delay in response when accelerating hard from standing starts or low speeds.

The automatic transmission shifts sweetly between its seven ratios and the all-wheel drive transmission delivers reassuring traction.

We also trialled the different drive modes, with ‘Dynamic’ providing the most energetic response, particularly when using the paddles in manual-shift mode. However, we spent most of our test in the ‘Balanced’ default setting, as it provides the best compromise between ride comfort and performance for everyday use.

One of the first press cars I ever drove as an even younger lad than I am now was the circa-2017 Audi S4.

Without the perspective of all the many, many cars I've since driven, that S4 blew my mind a little bit with its combination of capability and refinement.

Now, with the context of most of the cars available to the Australian buyer in mind, it’s reassuring to get into this new generation and find that the mid-size Audi torch has been gracefully passed on.

Audi says the new generation, sitting on its new platform, has more focus on balanced driving dynamics, steering precision and steering feel. Without sacrificing comfort, Audi wants the A5 to be a sharper driver’s car.

It might not gel with the Euro tradition of a rear-drive executive sedan given the base A5 is front-wheel drive - the brand of course focusing on its quattro all-wheel drive system - but the A5 is decidedly agile for its size. 

Compared to the S5 especially, as the A5’S 1770kg plays the S5’s 2025kg in Sedan form (2040kg as an Avant). It’s a noticeable weight difference, and it makes the A5 more playful without getting properly ragged.

It also rides on smaller 19-inch wheels and would overall probably make for the better daily driver. Even without the all-wheel-drive traction and extra power the S5 offers, the A5 makes a good case for properly plush commuting. Its 150kW isn’t lacking by any means, and that 340Nm does plenty to help when overtaking.

Its suspension feels well damped, keeping the road’s imperfections out of the cabin without numbing the ride and leaving you without feedback. The steering is similarly direct without being too heavy, making the A5 feel athletic for its size.

But for all the A5’s strengths, there is something undeniable about a six-cylinder European sedan (or wagon). The S5 is heavier, sure, and therefore not as naturally nimble, but it makes up for it. And it’s not just the extra power and mild-hybrid assistance.

It’s a great highway cruiser for a start, but it also adds the confidence of all-wheel drive to a trip, which proved extremely useful on the very rainy winter day we tested it. It holds up well on rough surfaces despite the bigger wheels and extra heft, plus it doesn’t feel out of hand when cornering fast, rolling into a predictable understeer rather than quickly losing traction.

But if you’re in any way conscious of your budget, consider the Edition One. It doesn’t lack any of the key things that make the S5 great, and you get to pocket enough money to buy a second used car.

The A5 and its S5 variants share the same safety features, with the full suite of Audi’s more-than 30 safety and driver assistance systems standard across the line-up.

Physically, the A5 has nine airbags and has been crash-tested by Euro NCAP, the firm awarding it five stars. There's no local ANCAP score as yet.

Some of the key safety features in the A5 and S5 models include a driver attention alert, seatbelt reminders, tyre pressure indicator, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings and lane assist, front braking assist, front and rear cross-traffic alert, speed limit sign recognition, surround view cameras and park assist with front and rear parking sensors.

There are also ISOFIX points for fitting child seats to the rear outboard seats.

The standard warranty is five years/unlimited km, which is shorter than rivals like Kia's EV5 with seven years. Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. Audi offers an upfront five-year service plan that covers the first five scheduled services up to five years/75,000km for $3520, or an average of $704 per service. This plan includes five years of roadside assistance.

Audi’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is starting to fall behind the industry standard, though is about normal for a premium brand. On top of this, customers can opt to purchase extra years of warranty up to a maximum nine years which costs $3590.

Audi does also offer 12 years of bodywork manufacturing warranty against corrosion or perforation. There’s also five years of Audi roadside assistance.

Servicing intervals for the A5 come in at every 15,000km or 12 months, with customers able to purchase fixed-price servicing plans at a discount compared to paying per service.

A five-year servicing pack for the A5 Sedan is $3360, and for the S5 it’s priced at $3540.