First Drive Review
Audi may have been a little late to the small-luxo-SUV segment, what with the Acura RDX, BMW X3, and Lexus RX arriving before the Q5 landed for 2009. But as a five-ute comparison test from that year showed, the wait was worth it—the Audi won. For 2013, the Q5 gets a mid-cycle refresh that comprises a host of cosmetic and mechanical updates. Although the new bumpers and lights are welcome, it’s the powertrain changes that should most interest luxury-crossover buyers.
Motivationally Speaking
Where once there were just two engine options, the U.S.-spec Q5 will soon offer four. A turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder continues as the base engine; unlike the European models, which get an updated and slightly more powerful and efficient version of the 2.0T, U.S. versions carry on for now with the 211-hp version that has served in the Q5, as well as other models, such as the A4 and A5. We expect the updated engine to clear customs in a year or two.
Replacing the 3.2-liter V-6 in the Q5 is Audi’s prolific 3.0T; the “T” stands for supercharger, obviously. This 3.0-liter V-6 debuted in the S4 for 2010 and has since spread across the Audi lineup. In Q5 trim it makes 272 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. We drove a Q5 3.0T with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, although the U.S.-market 3.0T instead will deliver power to all four wheels (Quattro four-wheel drive is standard across the range) via a conventional eight-speed automatic.
Engine option number three is a 3.0-liter turbo-diesel, the first diesel to be offered in the U.S. Q5. It won’t go on sale here until the fall of next year as a 2014 model, but if you can stand to wait, we recommend doing so for two reasons: First, it is one of the smoothest diesels we’ve ever driven. Even with 245 hp and 428 lb-ft on tap, it’s quiet, and it will not be that much slower than the 3.0T. Second, as it stands, the hot-rod SQ5, which uses a version of this engine, will not be brought to the U.S. The first diesel to power an Audi S vehicle, it uses two sequential turbochargers to boost the intake pressure and produce an astonishing 313 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque. We say it’s plenty worthy of the S nameplate. If Audi sees a high demand for diesel Q5s in the U.S., there is a chance, albeit a small one, the SQ5 will come. Odds are that if we get an S version of the Q5 it will instead have a tuned-up version of the 3.0T gas V-6. Too bad. What can we say? We dream in Technicolor diesel.
