Audi Q5 2.0 TDI quattro 2010 Review

Audi Q5 2.0 TDI

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $59,900
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): 18-inch alloy wheels $2065; Audi music interface (AMI) $532; Audi hill-hold assist $110; Multifunction sport steering wheel with paddle gearshift  $585; Body coloured lower sills $760; Milano leather upholstery and sport seats $4326; tri-zone air-conditioning $1260
Crash rating: 5-star NCAP
Fuel: diesel?
Claimed fuel economy, combined drive-cycle (L/100km): 6.8
CO2 emissions (g/km):179
Also consider: Audi Q5 2.0 TFSI, BMW X3, Freelander 2, Volvo XC60

Overall rating: 4.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 4.0/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 4.0/5.0
Safety: 4.5/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.0/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

About our ratings

Almost without exception, large SUVs have lost grip and gone backwards due to recent dour economic conditions and wavering buyer preferences.  In contrast, most upmarket midsize models are faring comparatively better in the heavy going, by maintaining or even improving their popularity and sales.

Nowhere is the point better made than with the Audi Q5. Upon reaching Australia in February '09, the Q5 hit the ground running and set about making inroads on its rivals' territory. By July, the Audi had caught and passed class leader BMW X3 to seize the sales high ground. And on current indications, the Q5 is further gapping its peers as the clear front runner in the midsizer segment.

There's good reason for that situation. Basically, the Q5 hits the sweet spot as a good looking, well stacked all-rounder that flaunts build quality second to none in the class. Those credentials are clinched by the generally ample and assured athleticism with which it drives.

Still, while the sum of the Q5's parts add up to more than class rivals deliver, it isn't entirely without a niggle here and there. For example, in the face of city-slicker features such as an electric parking brake and a space-saver temporary spare wheel (while lacking allocation for a punctured full-sizer), one could question how far the Audi's softroad aspirations can be taken? Not very, prudence says.

While the Q5's on-road drivability may well evoke references to 'car-like' handling and cornering, the piper's paid with distinctly curt ride characteristics. Indeed, because I'd just switched from a comparatively supple SUV (albeit, not a direct Q5 competitor), the 2.0 TDI's knobbly ride on mildly rippled suburban surfaces impacted like a morning-after's wake-up buzzer.

The lumpiness was noticeable enough to warrant checking for over-inflated tyres; not unknown among press-fleet vehicles. However, the Q5's 235/60R18 boots' pressures were spot-on. That left seemingly uncharitably stiff suspension as the culprit.

Funny thing is, although the Q5 suspension's absorbency naturally didn't improve with time, my tolerance did.

As the kays accumulated over the following week, I came to properly appreciate the mightily arresting yet progressively modulated brakes, the relatively mute yet co-operatively responsive steering and handling dynamics that are as userfriendly as they are road-huggingly proficient.

The bonus is that the Q5's quattro permanent all-wheel-drive system lends tangible sense of grip and traction, wet and dry alike.

While those and other aspects of the Q5 were revealing themselves, the ride that initially seemed officious became less intrusive as a (mostly) acceptable trade-off for the Audi's primary driving qualities. Perhaps it helps to regard the ride as having a tied-down, securely planted 'sports'-style feeling.

Good roads are a breeze for the Q5 of course, and the crisp ride leaves cabin comfort undisturbed. Even averagely irregular surfaces don't strain the relationship, particularly when the Q5 changes direction with exacting authority and carves through corners with discernible poise and confidence. However, big potholes, sharp bumps and other nasties are different matters that may test your pliability as much as the Q5's.

So, no, the Q5 doesn't come close to magic-carpet ride quality overall. However, the driver in you will come to appreciate that the bumpy stuff's inflections run a clear second to the highly disciplined body control and the handling's palpable integrity.

Similarly, while the automated S Tronic dual-clutch transmission takes the (constant gear-changing) work out of dieseling, it isn't beyond reproach. Having ratios for every occasion, the 'box sorts through its seven speeds at eye-blinking speed with great dexterity, as seamlessly as a casino card dealer. Just occasionally, though, the gearshifts are uncharacteristically clunky enough to hear and feel.

Nor need you be acutely observant to register when the tranny indolently delays light-throttle downshifts until after the engine coarsens and begins to labour. The antidote is to give the pedal a tickle as soon as the revs sink much below about 2000.

As contemporary turbodiesels go, Audi's 2.0 TDI goes impressively well. Lightly chattery at idle, the TDI reveals its (very) strong and (virtually) silent sides once on the move. Very highly specified with all mod cons, including maintenance-free particulate filter, the 2.0 TDI delivers a husky 350Nm maximum torque from 1750-2500rpm, and supports that with 125kW max power at 4200rpm.

No wonder then, that despite weighing a beefy 1770-odd kg (about 40kg more than its same-price petrol TFSI stablemate), the Q5 2.0 TDI's thrust can pin your ears back. For example, given a good squirt, the Audi puts 0 to 100km/h behind it in under 10 seconds; very impressive for its size and kind.

In concert with the automated transmission, the punchy diesel ensures you never want for immediately effective pedal response. And for brisk yet economical cruising, the TDI lopes along in top gear, doing 110km/h at just 1700rpm or so.

Versatility of that calibre accounts for the Q5 2.0TDI managing an excellent if perhaps optimistic 6.8L/100km as officially gauged. Even the 8.5L/100km average achieved during our tenure was a very credible result. Either way, the 75-litre tank promises thankfully long driving range between grungy refills.

The unavoidable reek of fuel on your hands and/or soles is still unquestionably the least attractive aspect of diesel life for each and every such model.

Because the Q5 is an Audi, the classiness of the cabin is a given. The driving position is amply adjustable, and the front seats are supportively comfortable for hours at a spell. The rear accommodation is no hardship either for the inviting bench affords even the long-legged clear footspace and generous kneeroom.

The driver's outlook is compromised only by the Q5's supersize external mirrors. Big-screen rear viewing is to their credit, but by the same token they seriously inhibit your three-quarter foresight.

In true Audi style, the relatively simple instrumentation looks classy and works well, as does the digital info display between the main meters. Besides picking your way through various trip-computer readings, a digital speedo can be summoned to complement the standard dial when, for example, an exacting second opinion may save your bacon in zero-tolerance speed zones.

The cruise control gets a Brownie point for remaining pretty well glued to the set speed on climbs and descents alike. Unlike many.

The Q5 also endorses the fact that while Audi's MMI multi-function selection system, like others of its ilk, habitually requires two or three inputs for each single outcome, it's the easy to learn and manipulate.

Not least among the Q5's points-scoring features is the usefully large boot. Extra stowage utility is provided in the first instance by a large, central 'ski' port. If that's insufficient, levers in the boot release one or both sides of the split backrest for flat-floor conversion.

Simply, the Q5 2.0 TDI comes across as a step up from your average good thing. It just goes to show (its peers particularly) that cream does indeed rise to the top.

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