Audi's new Q5 is one of the most impressive launches we've ever seen. Not only have the Germans built a billion-euro factory in Mexico, but it was operational only a couple of days after the SUV's debut in Paris. What's more, no leaks of any kind occurred.
With Mexico number plates attached, a fleet of Q5s was sent to the beautiful beaches of Baja. We've watched quite a few reviews, and if you want to buy this Audi, we highly recommend the 50 minutes of footage Thomas from Autogefuhl has provided.
You can think of the Q5 as the A4 platform in a shell that vaguely resembles the Q7. None of the design changes are dramatic, but Audi paid attention to all the details its customers liked. That's why the shape of the boost is almost the same as before.
Something interesting we saw right away is that Audi has integrated the lower bumper, so the grille has depth, unlike that from Mercedes. But the exhaust is a fake piece of trim, just like the grille on a Tesla. The Germans are also killing us with the manual seat adjustment on luxury cars.
This long review also gives us access to the first pricing information. With the 2-liter TFSI making 252 PS, it starts at about €45,000, and that doesn't include the S line body kit or the Matrix LED headlights you see. The cheapest model of all will be a front-driven 2.0 TDI costing about €37,000. So it's not affordable, but we've come to expect that from Audi.
If you like clicking buttons, the interior of the new Q5 is a great place. Of course, the Mercedes GLC-Class has an air of luxury about it, but Audi mastered capacitive controls for the air conditioning that are both old-school and modern. But pretty much everything you see is identical to the cabin of the A4 sedan.
Even tech websites went to drive the Audi Q5, taking time away from reporting on the iPhone 7 and Google Pixel to see what a modern compact SUV is like.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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