2021 Audi Q5 review: The popular kid

The Audi Q5 is common, like actually common. Audi moved far more than fifty,000 of them in the US previous yr, more than enough to make the Q5 the brand’s best-advertising item. In actuality, Audi sent virtually two times as lots of Q5s as it did Q3s, its next most-common model. You can blame modern SUV-obsessed motorists for this lopsided showroom effectiveness, but which is only part of the tale, because from refinement and capabilities to luxury and effectiveness you will find a lot to like about the 2021 Audi Q5.

This crossover’s appears to be like have been refined for 2021, while the alterations are delicate. The well known Singleframe grille is a bit broader than in advance of and its outer trim is slimmer. Flanking that conspicuous opening are normal LED headlamps. The Q5’s sills have been reworked and it has a new rear diffuser insert and accent strip on the hatch. Enhanced as it could possibly be, it really is still debatable whether the Q5 is far more attractive than the BMW X3, Lincoln Corsair or Volvo XC60, a few of its most important rivals.

Tug on a person of the Q5’s exterior doorway handles and you’re greeted with a very nice inside. The dashboard’s format is attractive and practical, angled a bit towards the driver so virtually every thing is within easy attain. Aside from its leather-based seating surfaces, which neither seem very good nor sense nice, the Q5’s substance high quality is usually fantastic, with a lot of attractively grained soft plastics. Still, in this case in point, a minor contrast would be nice. Dark-brown, open up-pore wooden accents on the black dashboard and doorway panels seem a minor dour. Like in other Audis, the Q5’s a variety of switches and knobs sense wonderful, with all the buttons producing the identical pronounced clicking sound when pressed.

Front and heart on the dashboard is a new 10.1-inch monitor, home to Audi’s MIB 3 infotainment program. Exceptionally responsive and easy to use, this is a person of the improved multimedia arrays on the marketplace now. For included usefulness, Apple CarPlay and Android Vehicle are normal, with the previous smartphone-mirroring program in a position to connect wirelessly to the Q5. If you’re rocking a Google-driven cellphone make guaranteed to deliver a cable. One particular nifty accessible function is Audi Virtual Cockpit Furthermore, which puts a lively twelve.3-inch electronic instrument cluster correct in entrance of the driver. This set up delivers a great deal of features still is still exceedingly easy to use.

Improving the Q5’s safety, this SUV comes normal with blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, parking sensors at equally finishes and even rear cross-targeted visitors warn, which can be a godsend in crowded parking loads. My tester is also fitted with a crisp 360-diploma camera program and adaptive cruise handle, equally of which perform nicely. Other goodies involved in the $4,800 Quality Furthermore package are a panoramic sunroof, vehicle-dimming mirrors and lane-maintaining support that previous function is mostly helpful, while from time to time it does get puzzled when a person lane splits into two. Audiophiles are guaranteed to appreciate the accessible 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound program, which provides wonderful audio high quality for just $950. 

The Q5’s entrance seats are wide and agency, and much far more snug than they seem. Sadly, the again bench’s 38 inches of legroom is simply Ok, remaining a bit of a squeeze for six-footers. The X3 and Corsair both have a slight advantage in this spot. But no matter your height, the Q5’s relatively slim rear doorways can make ingress and egress a bit of problem.

In the cargo keep, Q5s fitted with a sunroof offer you 25.six cubic feet of storage house. Fold the backrests down and that determine grows to fifty three.5 cubes. Once again, equally the X3 and Corsair have an edge, while you will find still a lot of luggage house in this Audi.

Q5 45 TFSI styles are driven by a 2.-liter turbo-4. Smoother than buttercream frosting and quieter than a boy or girl which is up to no very good, this refined engine provides a potent 261 horsepower (an increase of thirteen for 2021) together with 273 pound-feet of torque. The engine also gains a twelve-volt moderate-hybrid program, which is utilized to easy out start off-prevent activities, and certainly they’re virtually imperceptible. That hybrid hardware does not, even so, do just about anything to boost effectiveness. Rounding out this utility vehicle’s beneath-hood bits is a 7-pace twin-clutch automated transmission and Quattro all-wheel generate with Ultra know-how, which engages the rear axle when additional traction is desired and leaves it disconnected in typical problems for enhanced gas overall economy.

Talking of performance, the normal Q5 stickers at 23 miles per gallon all around town and 28 mpg on the highway when burning top quality gas, which is what is advised. Merged, it really is rated at 25 mpg, a lifeless-precise estimate in combined use I managed to common 25.5 mpg according to the journey computer.

Financial system be damned, if you bury the accelerator this Audi’s drivetrain is saucy more than enough to get you to sixty mph in 5.seven seconds. Acceleration is powerful many thanks to considerable midrange torque, the twin-clutch gearbox shifting instantly and easily. If only it had been far more responsive at low speeds. Off the line, this transmission is annoyingly lethargic, behaving virtually like it really is not reacting to throttle inputs. This sluggishness makes the Q5 sense slow and unresponsive until it really is shifting at double-digit speeds, at which point it really is really pleasant. Switching to Dynamic method increases items a bit, but regretably, does not completely rectify the issue. If you want even higher effectiveness than this edition delivers, the plug-in hybrid Q5 and SQ5 styles are also accessible.

Regardless of rolling on optional 20-inch, 5-spoke wheels, this Q5’s journey is shockingly supple. Only the major impacts transmit any harshness to the passenger compartment. Even while its journey is easy, the vehicle’s entire body remains nicely managed while cornering, not that it really is a canyon-carver. Standard for an Audi, the Q5’s steering is featherlight at parking-great deal speeds, which makes it a snap to maneuver all around pedestrians or searching buggies pedestrians had been far too lazy to stow in a cart corral. The wheel’s weight will increase properly at larger velocities for enhanced balance.

Underway, the Q5’s cabin remains extremely refined, with virtually no discernible wind or street sound breaching its NVH defenses. The way it carries alone at pace is equally remarkable. It feels like you’re doing about fifty five mph when the speedometer needle is pointing at 80 mph. On far more than a several events I’ve experienced to dial items again because I was inadvertently driving considerably quicker than the posted limit.

Another factor which is substantial is the Q5’s price tag — considerably significantly less than you could possibly anticipate, that is. This automobile kicks off at an exceedingly realistic $forty four,395, a determine that consists of requisite place charges, which arrive to $1,095. The Quality Furthermore model demonstrated listed here with optional navigation, the upgraded sound program, 20-inch wheels and a couple other extras buzzes the money sign-up for $fifty three,040, an fully reasonable price tag.

Aside from some iffy leather-based inside of and the transmission’s regrettable low-pace effectiveness, the 2021 Audi Q5 is a worthwhile luxury SUV, a person you need to think about if you’re searching for a automobile in this section. Soon after my time in this a person, it really is easy to see why the Q5 is the 4-ring brand’s bestselling model.