2020 Audi Q5 vs Volkswagen Tiguan

What's the difference?

The Audi Q5 is a rapid, comfortable, and space-efficient five-seat SUV. It has the safety and standard specification to match it with the big guns in this part of the market, delivered in a handsome, precisely executed package. Better fuel economy and a longer warranty would make a good thing even better.

The Tiguan Allspace is a slick, refined package that justifies its higher-than-rivals entry price with a great list of inclusions.

It’s a bit odd that its hero feature, the extra seating, is one of its least compelling attributes, but the extra internal space makes it one of the most practical mid-sizers you can get your hands on.

Audi has honed its design game to a fine point over the last decade, making its cars consistently handsome and instantly recognisable, although borderline uniformity in the treatment of key elements will be perplexing for some.

Angry, angular (in this case LED) headlights, sitting either side of the signature ‘single frame’ grille set the tone, with our test example’s ‘Mythos Black’ metallic finish largely absorbing many characteristic details.

These include long strakes on either side of a broad bonnet that closes over the top of (rather than inside) the front guards, and an arrow straight character line running from the rear of the car along the mid-section to the leading edge of the front doors.

The carefully shaped profiles around the front and side (car designers call it surfacing) create a clean, tightly wrapped look. And the Bavarian maker is currently playing a strong hand on wheel design, the optional ‘5-arm off-road’ rims added to the test car (20-inch, as per standard fit) complementing the Q5’s cool personality.

Current Audi SUV design hallmarks are also present and accounted for at the rear, including sharply tapered LED tail-lights, the hatch door covering virtually the full width of the body, and a substantial spoiler continuing the roofline across the top of the back window.

Inside, the cabin displays simplicity, confidence, and restraint worthy of a Bauhaus case study. The sweeping dashboard combines chiselled angles with neatly curved borders, the only hiccup being the 8.3-inch multimedia screen perched above the central air vents, looking uncomfortably like an afterthought.

The ‘Virtual Cockpit’ configurable instrument display places a 12.3-inch digital screen underneath an unassuming binnacle, and seat decoration matches the exterior with long, uncomplicated lines adding just enough visual interest.

The more I spent time with it, the more I appreciated the Tiguan's slick, understated styling. Volkswagen’s design is pleasingly consistent across its range right now, and the Tiguan just looks like a big Golf – in a really good way.

The blending of curves around the edges and strong angles down the sides and roofline is masterful, and the silver highlights delicately sprinkled across the exterior trim add just enough shine to stop it looking too simplistic.

Overall it will be less controversial than the majority of its competition, while also looking decidedly further upmarket.

Perhaps the Allspace's best trick is the way it hides its dimensions. It doesn’t look huge, and you have to look really closely to spot the difference between the Allspace and the regular length car.

Inside it’s mostly great, too. The indistinguishable-from-a-Golf theme continues, but that means decent plastics, leather-trimmed touch points and well-built switchgear.

It’s inoffensive, but also hardly flashy. The fake aluminium trim and odd mix of gloss plastics is nicely put together, but overall a bit plain. The further back you go (seat-wise) the more basic the trim gets. More on that in the practicality section.

A wheelbase just over 2.8m is in line with the Q5’s mid-size premium SUV competition, the Goldilocks zone for a broad target audience, offering generous room between the axles for decent accommodation with enough left over for useful utility.

The driver and front passenger inhabit a snug environment with a sporty cockpit feel thanks to the dashboard’s angular projection back into the cabin and a broad centre console between the seats. But there’s still more than enough breathing room, and storage is plentiful, including a medium-size lidded box/armrest (with a USB-A port and ‘aux-in’ jack inside), twin cupholders, a slim recess in the console for coins, pens, etc, and a ‘Qi’ wireless charging pad ahead of the gearshift for compatible mobile devices (with a second USB-A input beside it). The glove box is reasonably generous and provides access to a DVD/CD player, two SD (XC) card readers and 10GB flash memory for media storage, while door bins include a recessed section for large bottles.

In the second row, sitting behind the driver’s seat set to my 183cm position, I had plenty of headroom and heaps of legroom, but if you have smaller people in the rear, thanks to the ‘Comfort package’ fitted to our test car, the 40/20/40 split rear seat is able to slide forward (as a whole or in part) to increase boot capacity. Three large adults across the rear will be an uncomfortably tight fit, but two grown-ups with a child or smaller adult in-between will be fine.

There are storage nets on the back of the front seats, two cupholders in the fold-down centre armrest, door pockets (again able to accept large bottles), twin adjustable air vents with climate control, two charge-only USB ports and a 12-volt socket. So, no complaints from back-seaters needing to charge phones or games.

With rear seats upright, maximum cargo volume is 550 litres, which is on par with the BMW X3 and Merc GLC, and more than enough to swallow our three-piece hard suitcase set (35, 68 and 105 litres), or the jumbo size CarsGuide pram.

Fold the back seat flat (via levers in the load space or on the seats themselves) and available space increases to 1550 litres, which is plenty, but around 50 litres less than the BMW and Benz. If load capacity is a key priority you may want to think about the Land Rover Discovery Sport, which tips in with 1698 litres.

There are tie-down points in the cargo floor and a retaining net (with tensioning straps) is standard. Handy, netted storage areas sit behind each rear wheel tub and shopping bag hooks are a practical touch. The standard electric rear tailgate features gesture control (via a sweeping foot action) for hands-free operation.

Maximum towing capacity is 2.0 tonnes for a braked trailer (with 200kg towball weight) and the spare is a collapsible space saver.

The cabin might be overwhelmingly grey, but it’s a practical place to be. And while the Allspace has its letdowns, it almost makes up for them with some surprises.

Starting with the front seats, there’s plenty of room in the deep foot well as well for arms, and head clearance is excellent.

Storage comes in the form of massive bottle holders in the doors, some trick cupholders in the centre console (which can be folded away to make a big storage trench) and a bay under the climate controls which hosts USB, aux, and 12-volt ports.

Bonus storage comes in the form of big roof-mounted boxes, a decent centre console box and a big glove box, too. Ergonomics are great and there a dials for everything! Full marks in the front, then.

In the second-row things are great, too. Again, there are big pockets in the doors, pockets on the back of the seats, a drop-down armrest and in a rare addition, in-flight service trays on the back of the seats. I’m not sure what good they are for eating or typing on… but a cool addition nonetheless.

The second row seats are as comfortable as the first row, and they are also on rails, allowing you to max out legroom, or make fitting child seats easier. Or, if the third row is in use, you can minimize it to help third row dwellers out.

The second row also gets its own climate control zone with controls, adjustable vents, as well as a USB and 12-volt outlet. Great marks for the second row, too!

Sadly, things are less good over in the third row. Despite the clear efforts VW has gone to imake the Tiguan chassis accommodate an extra row, it just hasn’t panned out for passengers.

Thanks to the second row on rails, and the large door aperture, clambering in isn’t too hard, but once you’re there the space is not sufficient for an adult.

Even with the second row moved forward significantly, there seems to be nowhere for my feet to go, seat comfort is best described as ‘basic’ and headroom was not sufficient for my 182cm height.

Children under the age of 15 are perhaps best suited to this scenario. There are no air vents, and the trim around the edges is a bit hard.

The upswing of the Allspace’s extended cabin though, is the gratuitous amount of storage. Even with the third row up, you’ll get a hatchback-sized 230L.

The boot is a whopping 700L with the third row stowed, and rows three and two stowed you’ll get 1775L – or enough for an entire set of six dining chairs, as I discovered on my test.

We had the Tiguan Allspace in 110 TSI Comfortline trim, which is toward the entry-level. At $40,150 it competes with high-end offerings from Honda (CR-V VTi-L - $38,990) and Nissan (X-Trail ST-L $39,300). It will soon also face competition from Mercedes-Benz when its new GLB-Class lands in mid-2020.

Although not the highest-spec Allspace you can get, the Comfortline still punches above its mid-spec weight when it comes to equipment.

Things like an electric tailgate, LED headlights and tri-zone climate control are well and truly premium bits of kit.

Those match well with 18-inch alloy wheels, an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support as well as built-in nav, auto folding wing mirrors, keyless entry and push start, and a rechargeable torch in the luggage area.

You can even option the front-drive base car we had here with things like leather seats and a panoramic sunroof, although frustratingly, adaptive cruise control is part of a $1600 ‘Assistance Package.'

More on the safety inclusions later in this review.

Regardless, the Tiguan looks and feels like the semi-premium package it should be considering its price premium over rivals. Just be aware it gets expensive quickly when you start ticking option boxes or going after all-wheel drive, for example.

The Q5 45 TFSI is powered by the VW Group (EA888) 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine featuring an iron block and alloy head, direct-injection and variable cam/valve timing on the exhaust and intake sides.

Peak power is 180kW, available from 5000-6500rpm, and maximum torque is 370Nm arriving across a wide plateau from 1600-4300rpm.

Drive goes to all four wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch auto transmission and Audi’s ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive system using an electronically-controlled, multi-plate clutch centre differential, and the ‘quattro ultra’ rear diff that (in conjunction with the centre unit) decouples when AWD isn’t needed to reduce mechanical drag and improve fuel efficiency.

The entry-level Allspace 110TSI comes with a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

It produces 110kW/250Nm which probably sounds a little light-on for such a big SUV (driving section spoiler: it is) although, isn’t too bad considering Honda’s similarly sized CR-V gets by with a very similar powertrain.

This is the only Allspace with a six-speed dual-clutch auto. Higher-spec 2.0-litre all-wheel drive models get a seven-speed instead.

Claimed fuel economy for the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 7.3L/100km, the Q5 45 TFSI emitting 167g/km of CO2 in the process.

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

Over roughly 300km of city, suburban and freeway running we recorded an average of 11.4L/100km, which is a solid miss relative to the claim, but a more expected number for a close to 1.8-tonne five-seater.

The Allspace 110TSI drinks a minimum of 95RON petrol, with a claimed/combined ] of 6.6L/100km.

Our real-life test produced a much higher 9.1L/100km. I expected it to be higher than the claimed figure given the extra weight of the Allspace, but perhaps not that much higher.

The 110TSI also has a slightly smaller fuel tank than the 2.0L versions at 58L.

Audi claims the Q5 45 TFSI will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 6.3sec, which is decidedly snappy for a mid-size, five-seat SUV, and with maximum torque (370Nm) available from just 1600rpm up to 4500rpm mid-range performance is satisfyingly strong.

In ‘normal’ city driving, even in Sport mode, power delivery is close to linear, although a slightly delayed push in the back is the norm when squeezing the right pedal more aggressively.

The seven-speed dual-clutch auto is slick and fuss-free, the standard wheel-mounted paddles delivering rapid and precise manual changes on demand.

Suspension is by multi-links (five) front and rear, and ride comfort, despite standard 20-inch rims, is impressive. Standard rubber is 255/45 Michelin Latitude Sport 3, an SUV-oriented tyre with wet weather performance and low rolling resistance (to help fuel economy) as key priorities. They’re quiet, and in more spirited driving, surprisingly grippy.

Take the long way home and this family focused SUV feels well balanced and predictable. The quattro system shuffles drive between the axles seamlessly, and the ride/handling balance is excellent. Any shift from front- to all-wheel drive is imperceptible.

Steering is electromechanical and remains nicely weighted, with good road feel in the city and on the highway thanks to speed-dependent assistance.

Braking is by sizeable vented discs at the front and solid rotors at the rear. They’re powerful yet refined with an agreeably progressive pedal feel.

The multi-adjustable front seats are grippy, yet comfortable over the long haul, and in line with the current Audi norm, ergonomics are top-shelf.

The Allspace offers up a very VW drive experience – and it’s mostly good.

Many of the main characteristics are just like a Golf or Polo. Accurate steering which is pleasantly light for city-slicking, an overall comfort suspension tune which is great for soaking up potholes, and an impressively quiet cabin.\

What’s not so great is the dollops of turbo lag served up by this engine. It’s more annoying than the same engine in a Golf, because the simple physics of moving such a large object lends itself to a few precious milliseconds of delay.

I found myself pressing the pedal further out of frustration, only to have the front wheels spin when the torque finally arrived a full second later.

It’s no athlete then. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be, but if you want a drive experience without these characteristics you’ll need to shop even further up the price scale to the 2.0L versions.

The six-speed dual clutch is a slick shifter though, and unlike previous iterations of this ‘box it has almost no jerkiness at low speed.

Overall, the suspension tune was good, but there are moments where it feels extra-stiff around the rear.

I’m not entirely sure why I noticed this more over say, a regular Tiguan, but all I can report is the rear seat passengers might notice it on larger potholes.

As a city-slicker, it’s narrow but long body also betrays its size, making it feel hatch-like to navigate around tight streets. Admittedly, this did not quite extend to parking and three-point turns.

Otherwise it’s a quiet ride, and once you’re at freeway speeds one of the best places to be in the segment.

The base car scores active safety refinements which include auto emergency braking (AEB – works at freeway speeds with pedestrian detection), lane keep assist, and park assist.

The Tiguan has seven airbags, with curtain airbags which cover even the third row. The expected stability and brake controls are also present.

The safety offering can be upped by ticking the ‘Driver Assistance Package’ box ($1600 – worth it) which includes blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, as well as ‘traffic jam assist’ (allows the cruise control to stop and go at traffic), and ‘emergency assist’ (will try to alert a non-responsive driver then drive into a shoulder if no response is received).

It’s a good standard set of standard features, but truly impressive with the affordable assistance pack.

Audi covers the Q5 with a three year/unlimited km warranty, which is in line with BMW and Merc, but lags the mainstream market where five years/unlimited km is the norm, with Kia and SsangYong at seven years.

That said, body cover runs to three years for paint defects and 12 years for corrosion (perforation).

Recommended service interval is 12 months/15,000km, and ‘Audi Genuine Care Service Plans’ offer capped price servicing options over three years ($1710) and five years ($2720).

Volkswagen has updated its warranty to match mainstream automakers at five-years/unlimited kilometres, so it’s on-par with major Japanese rivals there.

Servicing can be packaged up (and bundled in on finance) at the time of purchase, with a three-year package costing $1350 and a five-year package costing $2500.

We’d absolutely recommend sticking to the five-year package if you intend to keep the vehicle for the warranty period. You do legitimately save money on what VW calls ‘servicing RRP.’