Audi has shown off the sleeker, sportier version of the new Q5 SUV, as before called the Q5 Sportback.
What’s the difference between this and the Q5?
Mechanically, both the Q5 Sportback and the regular Q5 are identical - they both use the same ‘PPC’ - Premium Platform Combustion - which is used by the recently introduced Audi A5.
The Q5 Sportback looks different - as did the previous model - thanks to a rear end that’s more dramatically sloped and tapered, compared to the taller, blockier SUV body of the standard Q5.
“The Q5 Sportback means a lot to me” said the man in charge of the car’s design, Juan Carlos Huerta Martinez, at the official unveiling. “It is really important, of course to respect the character of the Q5, and in this sense I think we took the best of it, and we improved it in certain areas. We made the focus on refining the concept.
“So, we lifted the rear lights, and we made the shoulder of the car much more dominant. So, it has all the power of an SUV, but with a really dynamic rear, that flows towards the back, and it brings this extra dynamism to the car. We wanted clarity, we wanted to reduce every element to the maximum degree, emphasising the width of the car.”
Martinez and his team have given the Q5 Sportback - as with the new Q5 - many of the slim and sharp-edged highlights of the new A5, but also some extra touches of character, such as the asymmetric aluminium trim on the grille for sportier versions.
What about the interior?
The new Q5 Sportback’s interior carries over - unsurprisingly - all of the main elements from the new Q5, and also therefore from the A5. There’s a conjoined set of two big digital displays - an 11.9-inch driver’s instrument panel, and a 14.5-inch infotainment touchscreen. Audi calls this the car’s ‘Digital Stage,’ and the system includes an Audi Store through which you can download third-party apps such as Spotify and YouTube. For audiophiles there’s an optional upgrade to a Bang + Olufsen stereo with 16 loudspeakers and 685 watts of power.
In terms of practicality, the Q5 Sportback doesn’t suffer too badly in comparison to the new Q5, with a 515-litre boot up to the luggage cover (470 litres if you’re getting the higher-powered SQ5) expanding to 1,415 litres if you fold down the back seats. Both of those figures are not much worse than you get in the chunkier Q5. The Q5 Sportback can also tow up to 2,400kg of braked trailer.
What engines does the Q5 Sportback come with?
The new Q5 Sportback has three engines at launch - a 204hp 2.0-litre TFSI petrol unit, which comes with front-wheel drive as standard and an optional four-wheel-drive quattro model; a 204hp 2.0-litre TDI diesel, which comes with quattro four-wheel drive as standard; and a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 TFSI engine producing up to 367hp in the sporty SQ5 range-topper. That last one is a quattro model, of course.
All engines drive through a seven-speed, dual-clutch S tronic gearbox as standard, and all are mild-hybrids too, using the latest hybrid tech introduced on the A5. This is based around a powertrain generator (PTG) motor, which develops up to 230Nm of torque and 18kW of power (that’s 24hp). The 48-volt electrical system is powered by a 1.7kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery, and it enables all the Q5 Sportback variants to keep their air conditioning and heating running when the engine is switched off, as well as allowing ‘sailing’ with the engine off for short bursts at higher speeds. The hybrid system can even allow some low-speed manoeuvres, such as parking, to be done under battery power alone.
The hybrid battery is kept topped up both by the engine and by a powerful brake energy recovery system, which Audi says can generate bursts of up to 25kW of power.
If that’s not quite enough battery time for you, then there are two plug-in hybrid versions of the Q5 Sportback on the way, with a choice of 299hp or 367hp, quattro four-wheel drive and a potential range of up to 80km on one full charge of the hybrid battery.
When does the Audi Q5 Sportback arrive in Ireland?
The new Q5 and SQ5 Sportback models will be available for order in December, and the first deliveries will take place by mid-2025. Audi Ireland hasn’t yet set prices nor specifications for this new model.