Just last month, Audi introduced us to its third crossover coupe, the Q5 Sportback. Joining the alternative high-riding line alongside the smaller Q3 Sportback and the fully electric e-tron Sportback, the new model is now getting a sportier SQ5 Sportback derivative. But we have a question – what's with the TDI hidden under the hood?!
We have BMW to thank for the coupe-SUV craze of late. They identified a niche and seized it – and the competition, of course, followed suit. But we’re utterly thunderstruck as to why the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer is willingly complicating its own fortunes by placing its faith in the tarnished TDI technology when trying to sell an expensive and not that practical crossover.
Just this summer, things seemed to have been straightened out at the headquarters – remember how the SQ7 and SQ8 switched from TDI to U.S.-spec TFSI gasoline power on the Old Continent? Well, that might have been a moment’s whim, if we’re to judge by their latest move.
And it’s not like they’re asking peanuts for the SQ5 Sportback either. They want European customers (the Q5 Sportback isn’t priced yet in the United States) to pay at least 71,110.93 euros for an example (German order books are now open), with first deliveries scheduled for the first part of next year from their Mexican factory in San José Chiapa.
By the way, that translates to around $84,668 at the current exchange rates, and paying over €71k includes a pricing hike when compared to the recently announced (and Mexico-made) SQ5 regular SUV sibling. And it’s not like the Sportback is bringing more power to the table.
Instead, both SUVs make use of the same 3.0 TDI engine capable of churning out 251 kW (341 ps / 337 hp) and 700 Nm (516.3 lb. ft.) of twist. Naturally, everything from the 48V mild hybrid system, two SCR catalytic converters and the performance credentials are exactly the same.
That means a sprint to 62 mph (100 kph) in 5.1 seconds along with an electronically-governed 155 mph (250 kph) top speed. Why pay more, then?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News