LIKES
- Good infotainment
- Excellent base engine
- Compelling SQ5 edition
- Great IIHS scores
- Pretty Sportback shape
DISLIKES
- Interior lacks spark
- Plug-in hybrid’s range
- Expensive options
- Rivals offer free maintenance
BUYING TIP
The 2022 Audi Q5 crossover SUV goes long on everyday virtue—and on nimble road manners in the sporty SQ5 edition.
What kind of car is the 2022 Audi Q5? What does it compare to?
The Q5 is Audi’s mid-size, five-seat crossover SUV, flanked by the smaller Q3 and the bigger Q7/Q8 duo. With its hybrid and sporty editions, the Q5’s an all-around player that rivals vehicles like the BMW X3, Benz GLC, Volvo XC60, and Acura RDX.
Is the 2022 Audi Q5 a good car?
It is, and our TCC Rating of 6.7 could rise when the NHTSA reports its crash-test results.
What’s new for the 2022 Audi Q5?
The Q5 evokes a stronger sense of style as a Sportback than it does in its standard-issue SUV togs. It wears a strong crease down its sides and a low, heavily embossed grille that balance better with the Sportback’s sleek roofline. The cabin borders on somber, but big swaths of digital displays bring in the light, while a big sunroof brightens the beige, gray, or black interior (we’d take the suave Okapi brown hides, FWIW).
Audi fits the Q5 with a 261-hp turbo-4 and all-wheel drive in base versions, and it’s good for a 0-60 mph time of 5.7 seconds. The dual-clutch transmission could be smoother at urban speeds and its steering less light, but build up steam and the Q5 earns its reputation for attentive handling.
A plug-in hybrid model gains battery output this year, which might mean added weight that’ll negate any plug-in range gains. We’ll update our review once those specs are clearer.
Slip into the SQ5, and the turbo-4 makes way for a rorty 349-hp turbo-6 and an 8-speed automatic that can push it to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. The SQ5 also has advanced steering and rear-traction systems that give it unflappable grip, a taut ride, and meaty steering.
The Q5 seats four adults well and can do five medium-sized passengers easily, serving up plenty of head and leg room and small-item storage for all (heated and cooled cupholders, anyone?). Cargo space measures at least 27 cubic feet with the rear seats up, and the Q5 interior’s composed of fine materials like standard leather and wood or faux-carbon trim.
The IIHS gives the Q5 a Top Safety Pick+ award, and automatic emergency braking is standard, as are blind-spot monitors and parking sensors. Other models add on adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and a surround-view camera system.
How much does the 2022 Audi Q5 cost?
The base $45,195 Q5 gets leather upholstery and a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. We’d opt for the $50,195 Q5 Premium Plus and its adaptive cruise control and surround-view camera system, then spend for the available 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and Sportback body. The SQ5 Prestige spins the scale to $66,795.
Where is the 2022 Audi Q5 made?
In Mexico.
Styling
The Q5’s latest outfit has lots of crisply pressed details.
Is the Audi Q5 a good-looking car?
We’re more enthusiastic about the Sportback’s sloped roof than the stock body, but both have a handsome shape—one that could use fewer cutlines and pressed-in details. The cabin’s straightforward without reading as plain. We give the Q5 a 6 for styling.
More conservative than either the BMW X3 or the Mercedes GLC, the Q5 has a shape that sits in the middle of them, more softly rounded than the BMW, less evocative than the GLC. It’s best in Sportback form, where the drape of the roofline injects some drama into a shape that depends on a low grille and big LED headlights to give it a sense of occasion. The latest Q5 body wears creases and folds that would have been anathema to Audis of a decade ago, and we’re not sure it’s progress—especially when compared with the sleek E-Tron SUV. It speaks the same visual language as Audis past and present, but the dialect sounds less elegant.
Performance
Go turbo-6 for the best Q5 driving experience—if you must.
The Q5 doles out strong acceleration and all-wheel-drive traction in all forms, and the more casual versions have a competent ride. We give it a 7 for performance based on the base turbo-4, though the harder-charging SQ5 might earn another performance point.
Is the Audi Q5 4WD?
All versions of the Q5 come with all-wheel drive.
How fast is the Audi Q5?
It’s more than pleasantly quick. Base cars get a 2.0-liter turbo-4 (the “45” model) quoted at 261 hp, and coupled to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. Audi posts a 0-60 mph time of 5.7 seconds for this model, brisk for an entry-level crossover SUV. This version has the ride and handling we’ve come to expect from Audi crossovers: engaging if not athletic, firmly sprung but not harshly tuned, softly responsive to steering inputs.
The plug-in hybrid “Q5 55 TFSI e quattro” taxes even a full box of Alpha-Bits as it couples the turbo-4 to an electric motor and a 17.9-kwh lithium-ion battery, uprated from last year’s 14.1-kwh pack. Last year’s version checked in at 362 hp net, teamed with the same all-wheel-drive system and 7-speed as other models, and was EPA-rated at 19 miles of electric-only range. Audi set its acceleration times at 5.0 seconds to 60 mph. We’ll revisit this section when 2022 info has been confirmed, but our impressions of the ’21 model were that its buzzy implementation of the turbo-4 and added heft left us underwhelmed. On paper it’s nearly as quick as the SQ5; in practice, it’s less energetic. We’re curious how the bigger battery changes things.
That SQ5 returns with its 349-hp 3.0-liter turbo-6, 8-speed automatic, and standard all-wheel drive. Audi clocks a 4.7-second 0-60 mph time, and the SQ5 feels it, with a surge of torque at relatively low rpm. Sitting about an inch lower than other Q5s, it also sports an air suspension, with options for variable-ratio steering that’s overly light at low speeds but suitably taut at a faster clip, and a rear limited-slip differential. It earns high praise for its stability and its sure-footed grip, but the big wheels (21s are available) turn its ride too choppy even with the available air suspension. You’ll miss the base Q5’s fluidity in rush-hour commutes, but the SQ5 will have you looking for the next corner when traffic thins.
Comfort & Quality
Five people will find great comfort in the Q5.
With its roomy cargo hold and fine accommodations in the front and back seats, the Q5’s an 8 for comfort and utility.
Seats are like styling: No two looks or buckets will suit everyone the same. Still, we’ve found both the base heated front seats in the stock Q5 and the plushly padded sport seats in other models to fit our forms well. All versions wear leather, but the upgraded thrones have more adjustment and cooling. The Q5’s cabin is spacious enough for 6-foot-tall front passengers, and storage abounds in the door pockets and a console tray that’s perfect for keys; fancier versions add a rubberized pad to the tray that hides heated and cooled cupholders.
Three wide adults may be too much to ask of the rear bench, but medium builds will fit fine. They’ll enjoy 38 inches of leg room, enough for bigger bodies or longer legs or both, and well-shaped cushions that offer the support usually lacking in back seats.
Safety
Crash-test data tilts in the Q5’s favor.
How safe is the Audi Q5?
The Q5 doesn’t have updated crash-test scores from the NHTSA yet, but the IIHS calls it a Top Safety Pick+, with even its standard LED headlights earning an “Acceptable” rating (top versions have better, “Good” lights). That plus standard automatic emergency braking and a passel of active safety options earn the Q5 an 8 here.
All Q5s also come with blind-spot monitors and parking sensors, while Premium Plus Q5s add adaptive cruise control and active lane control. Audi’s driver-assistance features give the driver short breaks from the controls and keep the car in its lane, safely behind other vehicles.
Features
Minor tweaks for ‘22 don’t cut into the Q5’s great features.
Mostly carried over for 2022, the Q5 now comes with a standard S line body kit, and now can be had with a Black optic package with 20-inch wheels, while plug-in 55-model cars get standard sport seats. Hybrids get a bigger 17.9-kwh battery.
It’s still stuffed with lots of good standard features, options, and an improved infotainment system that debuted last year, which leads to an 8 here. It’s not a bad value, but tracks behind bigger and more opulent SUVs at the same price—and the 4-year/50,000-mile warranty would be better with maintenance included for at least a couple of years.
The base $45,195 Q5 comes with leather upholstery, 18-inch wheels, wood trim, power-adjustable front seats, and a 10.1-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Pay a little more—$50,195—for the Q5 Premium Plus. It gets adaptive cruise control, active lane control, a surround-view camera system, and can be optioned with Audi’s 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. It’s pretty, so we don’t mind if you spend $2,700 more for the Sportback edition—but keep in mind it’s not available with the plug-in hybrid, which can cost up to $8,800 more than the gas-only models.
Hybrids can be fitted with a Sport package with 20-inch wheels, summer tires, and adaptive air suspension, which deliver performance that rivals that of the SQ5.
How much is a fully loaded Audi Q5?
Fuel Economy
Plug-in Q5s are the most efficient, naturally.
Is the Audi Q5 good on gas?
Fuel economy in the Audi Q5 won’t turn off its intended buyers, but the attempt to green up with plug-in tech falls short.
The EPA rates the most prevalent Q5 at 23 mpg city, 28 highway, 25 combined. That’s a 4 on our score, very nearly a 5. Sportbacks are rated the same, but the stronger SQ5 is pegged at 18/24/20 mpg.
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