Audi Q5 45 TFSI quattro Sport 2021 Review

The 2021 Audi Q5 45 TFSI quattro Sport on test came to us with just one option: ‘Manhattan Grey’ metallic paint. This added $1990 to the manufacturer’s retail list price of $76,600, taking the total price to $78,590 before on-road costs are added.

In spite of Audi Australia’s reticence when it came time to tick every option box for this test vehicle, the Q5 is pretty well equipped for the money – which is what the importer now aims to do.

As standard, the Q5 tested comes with 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, keyless entry/start, powered tailgate with gesture control, panoramic glass sunroof, heated power fold-in exterior mirrors and heated front sport seats with four-way electric adjustment and position memory for the driver’s seat.

In addition, there’s three-zone climate control, leather upholstery, a multifunction steering wheel, advanced smartphone integration (Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), inductive smartphone charging, a 10-speaker audio system, Virtual Cockpit Plus and satellite navigation.

The Q5 is covered by a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and service intervals are 12 months or 15,000km.

This update for the 2021 Audi Q5 45 TFSI quattro Sport has largely bypassed safety considerations, with the exception of new LED lighting technology for the headlights and the OLED tail-light.

Curiously, the new-fangled headlights didn’t leave much of an impression on low beam, being a little dim on unlit country roads. But the Q5 does feature auto high beam assist, which acquitted itself well, responding immediately to both oncoming cars and cars on side roads.

The system is so effective that drivers will just leave it activated permanently.

There’s no shortage of driver assist technology for the Q5. As standard, this variant of Q5 comes with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) featuring pedestrian detection, forward and reverse collision warning, active lane assist, lane departure warning, rear cross traffic alert, collision avoidance assist, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, traffic jam assist, 360-degree monitoring, auto on/off headlights and rain-sensing wipers.

ANCAP rates the Audi Q5 five stars for safety, based on the 2017 testing protocol and extrapolated from data compiled by Euro NCAP. The result for the Audi doesn’t take into account the updated model’s lane keep assist system, and also deducts safety assist points for the Q5’s ‘junction assist’ and reverse AEB facility.

In terms of crash safety, the Q5 rates 93 per cent for adult occupant protection, 86 per cent for child safety and 73 per cent for pedestrians.

In his review of the updated 2021 Audi Q5 from its local launch, colleague Sam Charlwood made reference to the Audi being “understated”. That, in fact, is a very good word to describe the car, and its 2.0-litre turbo-petrol powertrain in particular.

It’s a very mild-mannered engine under the bonnet, especially in terms of suppressing noise and vibration. The turbocharged engine goes hard enough, without a doubt, but it’s a little bit like Clark Kent in its nature – it won’t stun or excite. It just goes about its business; quite capably, but in that understated way.

At 1700rpm, where the engine revs at 100km/h, there’s not a peep out of it, and it’s altogether a very quiet and refined unit at practically any speed, even revving cleanly to the 6500rpm redline.

The engine does pull harder from speeds above 4000rpm, but even at lower revs there’s prodigious torque available. It’s sufficiently flexible for most owners, and the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission keeps the engine in the zone with the foot flat to the floor.

Even in manual mode, the transmission will shift up a gear at the redline, and it will kick down a gear if you tramp the accelerator. It’s a system that keeps all the ducks in a row, even in dynamic mode with the driver using all the available torque.

There’s next to no shift shock present during gear changes, and it will shift down promptly when the driver demands that using the shift paddles. In other words, this is a dual-clutch transmission that does what it should, with none of the quirks and vices that are occasionally experienced in this type of transmission.

Over the course of a 70km test drive the Q5 posted a fuel economy figure of 9.4L/100km. That’s well above the official combined-cycle figure of 8.0L/100km. In this sort of driving the Audi’s mild-hybrid technology appeared to make very little difference. Even the manufacturer doesn’t expect a reduction of more than 0.3L/100km.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that just a few years back a test figure like 9.4L/100km in the real world would be the preserve of a mid-size luxury SUV with a diesel engine.

Throwing a scare into its rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz, the 2021 Audi Q5 45 TFSI quattro Sport encourages the driver to push on through a corner rather than back off, such is the grip, the tactility and the feedback from the chassis and the Michelin 255/45R20 tyres.

While the steering is lightly weighted, it also provides reasonable feel, and the ride feels busy on wavy country road surfaces, but it’s certainly composed most of the time; there’s no undue firmness.

In short, the Q5 feels like Audi engineers have found a reasonable approximation of balance for cornering prowess and comfort.

From behind the wheel, the driver’s seat is supportive to a fault, and it will hold the driver securely in place when flinging the Q5 around through the corners or under brakes. The cushioning is not especially soft, but I certainly didn’t feel uncomfortable or out of sorts after an hour’s drive.

If there’s anything I would change about the driving position, I would bring up the foot rest on the left a little higher.

Audi offers voice recognition and freehand writing recognition on a touchpad to enter instructions, such as setting up the satellite navigation with a destination address. I’ve never been a great fan of touchpads, which are typically positioned where right-hand-dominant drivers in a right-hand drive car will have to use a finger on their left hand to write letters and numbers.

It’s not ideal, but I did adapt to writing freehand with my left hand. It’s still slower than just punching touch-sensitive ‘key’ icons, although the tracing will accept whole words if you can write them fast enough (and in small characters) using your left hand.

I even figured out that a swoosh of the finger to the right is recognised by the system as a space, and swipe to the left is a back-space.

Behind the driver and front passenger, legroom is fairly generous but headroom is going to be marginal for adults up to 180cm tall due to the full-length panoramic sunroof fitted.

The rear seats have their own zone for the climate control, plus adjustable vents to keep occupants cool or warm, as the occasion demands. There are two USB charge ports plus a 12V outlet in the rear of the centre console and cup holders in the fold-down centre arm rest.

Finger pulls each side of the luggage compartment lower the triple-split folding rear seat for extra load space, although the boot is quite roomy anyway. The seats fold almost flat, leaving a flush edge with the boot floor for easier loading – sliding heavier objects forward into the cabin if you do need that extra capacity.

Lastly, there’s a luggage net to hold things in place and an inflatable compact space-saver spare under the boot floor.

What commends the 2021 Audi Q5 45 TFSI quattro Sport is its value for money, combined with safe and pleasing dynamics, flexible powertrain performance and polished refinement.

If you like plenty of equipment, the Q5 has the answer, and if the driving experience is everything, the Audi is still a hard act to follow.

It all adds up to a comfortable and capable package that’s almost beyond reproach.

How much does the 2021 Audi Q5 45 TFSI quattro Sport cost?
Price: $76,600 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 183kW/370Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 8.0L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 182g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2017)

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