2017 Audi Q5 vs Honda CR-V

What's the difference?

Okay, this whole SUV thing is getting out of hand, and Audi is on the front line of a new car market assault that’s rapidly knocking conventional sedans and hatches into the weeds.

In March this year, at the Geneva motor show, Audi’s chairman, Rupert Stadler, was asked by our very own Matt Campbell, whether there were any more gaps to be filled in the brand’s SUV line-up.

There’s already a Q2, Q3, Q5, and Q7, with the Q8 shown in concept form and on track for production next year.

In response, Stadler simply said, “Definitely. Believe me, we will fill the gaps.” And it looks like he means business, with 2019 likely to see the arrival of a coupe-style Q4, and all-electric ‘e-tron’ Q6.

But with all this furious niche-plugging going on, the Q5 quietly remains the backbone of Audi’s determined push into the wonderful world of SUVs.

And this particular Q5 is an ‘S line Black’ limited edition. A total of 70 are scheduled to come to Australia, and a week behind the wheel gave us a chance to reacquaint ourselves with this evergreen premium mid-sizer.

Honda’s once-ground breaking medium sized SUV enters its fifth generation, and will be a pivotal car for the venerable but vulnerable carmaker that’s slowly but surely lagging behind its key Japanese and Korean rivals - and the Chinese are coming, as well.

The fifth generation CR-V has come along way since its humble origins back in 1997. It does, however, have to line-up against a vastly wider arrange of contenders in an incredibly competitive space that not only includes its old arch rival, the Toyota RAV4, but category leaders like Mazda's CX-5, and new players like the Peugeot 5008 and the Haval H7.

Amidst its line-up of five-seaters is the sole seven-seat offering, known as the VTi-L, which sits just one place shy of the top spot in the CR-V pecking order. Does the updated CR-V in seven-seat mode tick all the boxes? Let's find out.