Audi confirms next SQ5 SUV will drift

Audi has declared its all-new replacement for the current diesel-powered SQ5 SUV will be sportier, significantly more engaging to drive and even capable of drifting, thanks to its rear-wheel drive-biased handling.

Based on the second-generation Q5, which debuted at the Paris motor show last month and which we drove in prototype from last week, the Porsche Macan-rivalling SQ5 will come with either a 3.0-litre V6 petrol or diesel engine, depending on the market.

Europe and Australasia are expected to get the 3.0-litre V6 diesel that will come with around 250kW. Other markets, like the US, will import SQ5 fitted with the same 260kW/500Nm turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol that powers the current S4.

Both SQ5s engines will be combined with an eight-speed automatic transmission without the option of a manual.

The SQ5 will also come with at least two suspension options: an air suspension that gets adaptive dampers; or a more traditional steel sprung version that comes with passive dampers. A variable ratio 'dynamic' steering will also be an option.

Speaking to British magazine, Autocar, one senior engineer said the new SQ5 would even be able to oversteer, offering a "much livelier drive" than the regular new Q5.

The added agility and engagement, Audi says, comes from a sportier suspension set-up and a rear sports differential that’s part of the German car-maker’s quattro all-wheel drive. This, say engineers, helps the SQ5 oversteer, or drift, when provoked thanks to its torque-vectoring capability.

Originally, it was believed the SQ5 diesel engine would come with two conventional turbos and one electric turbo. Similar tech, along with an advanced 48V electric system, is used to great effect in the recently launched SQ7 that also gains active anti-roll bars and rear-wheel steering.

Unfortunately, according to Autocar, the 48V and e-boost technology has already been ruled out for the SQ5 mainly due to the prohibitive costs involved with adapting the tech to the smaller, cheaper SQ5.

The trick 48V electrics might be saved for the RS Q5, that was confirmed earlier this year, although following recent cuts to Audi's budget, it's now not known if that car will still see the light of day.

And while the new SQ5 should hit Europe next year, given the regular new Q5 doesn't arrive in Australia until late next year, it's possible we won't see the SQ5 until 2018.