Q-rious, but great!

For the Drive Magazine road test, click here.

When Audi first announced it’s “baby” SUV, the Q5, there was a lot of speculation that it might be taking on the territory just recently occupied by its VAG family member the Tiguan, just with the typically upmarket Audi ambience and build solidity. Turned out that wasn’t quite the target however, the Audi product aimed squarely instead at BMWs X3 rather than head downmarket.

So we can see the obvious differences, now. The VeeDub lineup is centred around that 1.4-litre twincharged engine, the beefiest engine option available the 2.0 TSI from the Mk 5 GTI. In the Audi that same basic motor is just the starting point, here in fact in Golf 6 configuration for a full 155kW punch. There’s also a pair of torquey oil-burners, of 2.0- and 3.0-litres in capacity – both widely respected engines. And this one, the 3.2 quattro S-tronic.

Audi’s 3.2-litre V6 has been kept very modern throughout its evolution with regular, high-tech updates, and today produces a pretty healthy 199kW, along with 330Nm of torque. Less than turbo engines admittedly, but nat-asp sixes prefer singing, soaring power to low-end grunt and it’s an addictive taste.

Unfortunately you don’t exactly get treated to that six symphony in this application. The engine is really impressively muted. With your window down and using walls as soundboards, accelerating through first into second will likely have you thinking you’ve broken something, so distinctly odd is the brief cacophany of the S-Tronic gearbox swapping the cogs for you. It isn’t a problem, and you’ll only ever notice it when you’re really listening hard, but it’s there.

Despite not being very vocal though the V6 pulls cleanly right through its rev range, the weight of the tall Q5 body never really overcoming it and the full complement of power clearly present and accounted for as you close in on the 6800rpm redline. No character, no, but definitely strong power.

But that S-Tronic gearbox is just, well, a bit moronic a lot of the time. It’s a double-clutch arrangement but seems to have the software of an older generation of shifters. With the Audi Drive Select in its default position, it’s far too quick to shift up and then takes too long to reverse that and get back down again, frustrating for instance when executing a safe, measured overpass. Yes you can take control of the box direcly via wheel-mounted paddles, but it just isn’t the sort of transmission, particularly lacking in any meaningful contribution from the engine bay, to sink your teeth into.

It is better in Dynamic mode as well, holding downshifts longer even when you’re not flat on the gas, but very nearly ruins the experience of what is actually a superb car. It handles just impeccably, and while the ride is a bit harsh (especially for off-road work) even in Comfort mode, but on road it provides the precise, controlled balance you need for confident driving with Drive Select clicked back over to the Dynamic setting especially.

Amazingly, despite those huge wheels (19”, 20s are also available!), the Q5 even adds a rich level of feedback through the steering and chassis as well, clearly telegraphing what’s happening and is about to happen at all four wheels, which for the main part remain resolutely faithful to the chosen line with the aid of the famous quattro drivetrain. It is an excellent steer in fact, the body remaining flat and unruffled over fast roads, motor always ready with a rich swell of grunt (provided the ‘box is playing ball). It’s a car which weighs over 1700kgs and has a centre of gravity higher than normal, but it never really feels it.

In truth this big Audi’s composure is nothing less than astonishing. The huge grip, the alacrity with which it changes tack, the detailed two-way communication at work. It shouldn’t flow this well, or corner this hard and fast, but it does. Seemingly with ease. In Dynamic mode the wheel carries detailed information to your fingertips although it’s actually “digitised” and not entirely organic feedback you’d never notice it, the weighting just right for letting you know you’re trying a bit without ever becoming cumbersome. You even start to warm to the very natural swell of V6 power as the revs climb, despite the noise still sounding rather far off.

The nose will break away into understeer when pushed pretty severely, but it’s actually quite willing to entertain exploiting the quattro system, and a big lift of the throttle takes weight off the rears and to the fronts immediately changing the grip parameters and causing the tail to start gracefully, slowly, and controllably arcing wide. No you can’t hold smoky powerslides through hairpins, there’s just too much grip versus grunt for that, but you are engaged when you want to be.

But the S-tronic is still pretty appalling even in these unexpected moment of heightened excitement and dynamic exuberance. With the throttle flat, it bangs unncessarily brutally and jerkily up through the first three gears, regardless of which software map you’re using. And it isn’t very quick to come to the party on pull off either, making the car feel much slower than it’s claimed 6.9-sec 0-100km/h sprint capabilities suggest.

Conversely the interior is typically brilliant, perhaps more so in the Q5 even. Our test car came practically fully-loaded. SatNav, huge panoramic sunroof, electric front seats, enhanced B&O sound system, those chunky 19” rims, PDC, rear parking camera, Drive Select… A long and frightening list when you look at the options pricelist. From a base price of R519 780 for this model, add all of this kit and you’ll quickly be approaching R650K.

It all makes for a great driving experience however. The B&O audio is superb. Crisp, powerful, easily rendering the outside world irrelevant in terms of audio at least when you’re trickling through gridlock. The GPS is an example of why integrated systems are so much more expensive than aftermarket units – all right perhaps it doesn’t quite explain the vast value chasm but it does go some way towards justifying it. Everything, your entertainment, SatNav, Bluetooth phone integration, is controlled via one MMI controller and displayed both in the large centre screen and (important info at least) on the digital displays in the dash, so it’s all just effortless to use.

I do like some exposure to the elements now and then as well, and the gigantic panoramic sunroof is a pleasure to have. But at R16K, I’m not sure it’s an option I’d tick if I was paying. Perhaps I’m just a cheapskate though.

The Q5 is also, to my eye at least, the leading player in the segment in terms of looks. In fact, not just my eye, as a visit to a major Japanese manufacturer’s HQ (which does make directly-competing products) in the Q5 saw me emerge from my meeting to several younger technicians poring over every inch of the Audi. One even said it himself as I walked up; “This is much better than ours isn’t it?”

It’s impossibly low and sleek for a mid-level SUV, while the pleasing integration of the distinctive, gaping Audi “mouth” into the elevated proportions of the Q5 is a design secret they really should share with Porsche. Speaking of this “other” German marque, the last time I drove a vehicle which married SUV charms with such tactility and driver involvement was a Cayenne in fact, the entry-level V6 model at that.

Those big rims fill the arches convincingly and the Q5 has a very purposeful stance, nicely accentuated by flowing character lines along the flank and the downward-curving glass roof. The rear features an interesting LED taillight arrangement and the two pipes exiting from each side of the high rump.

But having said all this, it is a helluva lot of money to spend, especially with the list of options we got and which we’re sure enhanced our enjoyment of the car quite a bit, such as the Drive Select system which can only be fitted to a car with the MagneticRide adaptive dampers as well as Servotronic dynamic steering options, and already the upgrades are starting to add up.

On top of which, the Q5 3.2 drinks ULP like a ‘varsity student “sips” beer. In huge, voluminous gulps. Audi’s stats claim a combined average in the region of 9 – 10 l/100km – we never saw it go below 12.8 as an average. Usually it was higher, and it drank through its 72-litre tank in under 500kms in its first few days with us.

If you want the most gorgeous medium-sized SUV on the market, or the most dynamically poised for that matter, and you’ve got deep pockets for speccing that perfect example, the Q5 is exactly what you need, provided you remember to keep the gearbox out of the default setting.

There are however SUVs which ride more serenely, even with smaller pricetags attached, and if you hate excessive fuel consumption perhaps look into one of the diesel models, which further hammer your wallet for the range-topping 3.0-litre especially.

Russell

Liked

Surprising handling

Brilliant interior

Sleek looks

Disliked

Prodigious thirst

Horrid S-Tronic transmission

Drive Vitals: Audi Q5 3.2 V6

Engine: V6, petrol

Capacity (cc) 3197

Power (kW) 199@6500rpm

Torque (Nm) 330@3000-5000rpm

Kerb weight (kg) 1795

Driven wheels Quattro

Wheel/tyre dimensions 235/60 R18 (standard)

0-100km/h 6.9

Price R519 780 (basic)

For more information, visit Audi SA here.

[View with PicLens]

Incoming search terms for the article:

• audi q5
• audi 3 2 q5 test
• audi A 3 3 2 V6 quattro test
• audi q5 3 0 drive
• langzeitverbrauch audi q5 3 2
• problemer med at starte audi v6 benz
• q5 3 2 v6
• q5 drive test
• the price of audi q5 in philippine