Having flip-flopped between petrol and diesel over the past decade and a bit, now would have seemed like the time for Audi’s SQ5 to make the switch to plug-in power. Full electric is covered-off by the SQ6, though it would be easy to understand the logic behind a PHEV. Audi hasn’t done that, however; this new SQ5, on the same Premium Platform Combustion architecture as the new S5 saloon and Avant, keeps a 3.0-litre turbo V6 with only mild hybrid assistance.
The powertrain is rated at 367hp and 404lb ft, with the battery at 1.7kWh for powering ancillaries and some low-speed silent shuffling; a little behind the 398hp and 427lb ft of the BMW X3 M50, though likely enough for five seconds or so to 62mph (full performance data is coming with price soon). Power reaches all four wheels via a seven-speed DSG. Plug-in hybrids will follow, though for now the Q5 range launches with the V6 range-topper and a pair of 204hp four-cylinders - petrol or diesel.
The benefits of the new platform are similar for this car as for the recently revealed saloon and wagon: Audi promising more space, better connectivity, and sharper dynamics. The SQ5 gets progressive steering and ‘dynamically tuned steel suspension’ as standard, with an air option on the SQ5 that promises a greater spread between comfort and sport settings (even if 21-inch wheels are fitted). Maximum boot capacity is now 1,473 litres, and there’s said to be ‘excellent head and legroom’.
It’s the in-car tech that will likely be the biggest draw for this new SQ5, with a similar ‘human-centric’ approach to the screens that means everybody has something to look at on the Digital Stage. The driver has a configurable head-up display, the central MMI screen (powered by Android) is almost 15 inches, and the still-fairly-new MMI Passenger Display is 10.9 inches. A ‘Material Driven Design’ aims to offset the screen onslaught slightly with softer, warmer fabrics, and more individualisation than was previously possible. Expect the dynamic interaction light that stretches the entire width of the cabin to be a popular option.
As for the outside, it would probably be fair to say that this is still recognisably an SQ5, while also incorporating some of the newer Audi design details. Obviously it’s ‘even sportier’ than ever, with a high, wide singleframe grille, a fairly pronounced shoulder line and four exhausts as part of the rear diffuser. It wouldn’t be a new Audi without a fancy lightbar, either, here with the second generation of organic LEDs that can generate a new image several times a second. Apparently this will make the new SQ5 ‘livelier and more intelligent than ever before’. It’s probably the single biggest feature that marks this new car out. Indeed César Muntada, Audi’s Head of Lighting Design, added: “In the Audi Q5, we design not only the shape of the light in a series-production vehicle, but its entire movement. We have given the light signature its own personality and the digital world its own aesthetics at the same time.”
The new SQ5 will be made alongside the rest of the range at Audi’s San José Chiapa plant in Mexico, which is useful for the North American market where this car is so popular. Exact UK specs are coming soon, though there is an Edition 1 already mentioned; expect that car to be jam-packed with driver assistance features, the 685-watt Bang & Olufsen, the big wheels and black accents if it’s offered here. Alongside the Navarra Blue of this car, there’ll be another 10 paint options, only three of which are grey or silver. Audi CEO Gernot Dollner suggested this SQ5 was a “further development of proven characteristics”, adding that the new car “as a sporty all-rounder with a dynamic SUV design, will continue the success story.” Feels a hard one to argue against; on PH at the time of writing, there are 125 SQ5s of one type or another for sale, plus another thousand Q5s. We can’t get enough of a fast Audi SUV, seemingly - expect it on sale early in October.
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