Audi Q5 review – engine, gearbox and technical highlights
The powertrain range has been widened, with the four-cylinder petrol and diesels joined by two new plug-ins
Despite the world turning against diesel (about time), Audi still offers its Q5 with such an engine – a 2-litre four-cylinder producing 200bhp and 295lb ft of torque. This 40TDI model now opens the range, with the only other diesel option now the SQ5, utilising the mild-hybrid V6 diesel familiar from the S4.
The petrol range starts with the standard 259bhp 45TFSI, peak power of which is served between 5000 and 6000rpm. It also rates a healthy 272lb ft of torque delivered at 1600rpm before tailing off from 4500rpm. Given it’s the same EA888 unit as in the Golf GTI, it’s a keen motor, happy to rev and with no sense of being stretched beyond what it’s comfortably capable of. Combined with a mid-range that has a tidy punch to it the need for a diesel fades further still.
There’s only one gearbox offered with both engines – the seven-speed double-clutch unit – and drive is managed with Audi’s 'Ultra' quattro four-wheel-drive system, which cuts drive to the rear wheels when it’s not required.
There are then two new plug-in hybrid additions to the range, in both 50 and 55TFSIe guise, which utilise the same EA888 unit but add supplementary electric motors of different ratings, plus a 7.3kWh battery pack. Peak power is rated at 297bhp and 362bhp respectively, but then both have a weight figure of over two tons, which is a lot for SUVs of this size.
