Photo: RM Design
You might think that the Audi Q5 doesn’t look like a brand new SUV. Some might even go as far as to say that it doesn’t stand a chance against the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class. But the luxury car market is always surprising when it comes to buyer demands.
We’ve heard plenty of people criticizing the GLC for the fact that it’s too big or that it looks like a jacked-up version of the C-Class sedan. As for the interior, not everybody likes the floating tablet and the cascading wood trim typical of most Mercedes-Benz models.
That’s where the 2017 Audi Q5 comes in, with its “I’m an interior designer who only likes zinc surfaces” look. It’s sober, clean and could even be described as ugly or boring. But none of that can hurt its chances of success.
Scheduled to come out in 2016, the second-generation SUV will be underpinned by the same platform as the A4 and Q7. The technology package will also be the same, right down to the engines and transmissions. That means you will be able to buy the mid-size model with Matrix LED headlights and the Virtual Cockpit digital dash setup.
The latest four-cylinder turbo engines could be matched to an FWD setup and a 7-speed twin-clutch gearbox to give the Q5 ridiculously low fuel consumption. An e-tron plug-in hybrid is also very likely to be offered, though no test prototypes have yet been spotted.
Those will undoubtedly be big selling points. However, we’re more curious to see how the Q5’s handling changes when equipped with the optional quattro limited slip differential. We’ve played with that feature on the A6 before, and it adds a pleasant tail-happy layer.
The latest spy images have shown the Q5 in an almost completely undisguised appearance. That’s why we can say that these renderings created by RM.design are quite accurate. The only major unknowns are the headlights, which have so far only been seen as basic xenon systems in an effort to disguise their styling. But the Q5 doesn’t look half bad with the eyes of the A4. Hey, maybe we can cut the GLC some slack and forgive it for being so similar to the C-Class.
That’s where the 2017 Audi Q5 comes in, with its “I’m an interior designer who only likes zinc surfaces” look. It’s sober, clean and could even be described as ugly or boring. But none of that can hurt its chances of success.
Scheduled to come out in 2016, the second-generation SUV will be underpinned by the same platform as the A4 and Q7. The technology package will also be the same, right down to the engines and transmissions. That means you will be able to buy the mid-size model with Matrix LED headlights and the Virtual Cockpit digital dash setup.
The latest four-cylinder turbo engines could be matched to an FWD setup and a 7-speed twin-clutch gearbox to give the Q5 ridiculously low fuel consumption. An e-tron plug-in hybrid is also very likely to be offered, though no test prototypes have yet been spotted.
Those will undoubtedly be big selling points. However, we’re more curious to see how the Q5’s handling changes when equipped with the optional quattro limited slip differential. We’ve played with that feature on the A6 before, and it adds a pleasant tail-happy layer.
The latest spy images have shown the Q5 in an almost completely undisguised appearance. That’s why we can say that these renderings created by RM.design are quite accurate. The only major unknowns are the headlights, which have so far only been seen as basic xenon systems in an effort to disguise their styling. But the Q5 doesn’t look half bad with the eyes of the A4. Hey, maybe we can cut the GLC some slack and forgive it for being so similar to the C-Class.
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