AUDI Q5 (2012-2016)

MODELS COVERED:

5dr 4x4 (2.0 TFSI petrol 2.0 TDI, 3.0 TDI diesel [base, SE, S line])

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

Audi’s understated Q5 continued in its subtle conquest of the premium compact SUV sector in the facelifted post-2012 guise we look at here. This improved first generation model got a range of more efficient engines and even more car-like driving dynamics that made this model great on tarmac and even pretty effective for light off road use. There’s loads of advanced technology and a beautifully practical interior crafted in Audi’s own inimitable style. In short, if you can afford it, you’d like one.

The History

In many ways, Audi owns the premium part of the compact SUV segment. Has done ever since this car, the Q5, was introduced in 2008. Back then, it didn’t have much to beat, with only BMW’s aging first generation X3, Volvo’s quirky XC60 and Land Rover’s more utilitarian Freelander offering alternatives to buyers wanting the class and road manners of a compact executive estate but the high-set driving position of a proper SUV.

In the years following the Q5’s original launch though, the opposition caught up, BMW announcing a second generation X3 and Land Rover introducing its avant garde Range Rover Evoque. Hence the need for the Q5 to up its game in 2012 with a far-reaching package of enhancements. These included tweaked styling but the really important change came with a redesigned engine range offering extra power and lower running costs. There was also extra high-tech equipment and, for those who could afford it, a frantically fast SQ5 flagship model. Audi, you see, doesn’t do things by halves.

As a result, the Q5 was refettled sufficiently to last all the way to late 2016, when an all-new second generation model was launched. Let’s checked the facelifted MK1 version out as a used car buy.

What To Look For

Most Q5 owners we surveyed were very happy with their cars but inevitably, there were a few issues reported. One owner reported premature brake wear, another talked of excessive oil consumption and another had had a complete transmission failure. One owner had a problem with shuddering and bucking on inclines, something which was eventually traced to the need for a new fuel injector. As for minor issues reported that you might want to look out, well one owner had a problem with rattles in three areas of the car – in the driver’s side door, in the driver’s seatbelt mount and around the area of the cargo cover.

It’s unlikely that too many Q5s will have been used off-road in anger but just in case, give a thorough check to the under body of the car and make sure those wheels are in decent shape. Wheel damage is more likely to have come from urban kerb stones than Rubicon trail boulders and so are the parking knocks that the Q5 may have collected. Audi’s quattro 4x4 system should prove reliable and the engines have all been used extensively in other Audi models so there should be little cause for concern there.

On The Road

At launch, this Q5 set a new benchmark for sporty handling in compact SUVs, feeling much like the conventional Audi A4 saloon and estate models upon which it was based.

With this facelifted first generation model, suspension tweaks softened the ride and a new electro-mechanical steering system offered more feel around the bends. Buyers of this improved version also found an almost completely new engine range beneath the bonnet, all the units employing turbocharging, direct injection and a stop-start system for frugal emissions. The result of all this was that every unit managed the clever trick of offering more power with lower running costs. And no engine demonstrates that better than the one quite a few customers chose, the petrol 2.0TFSI. Don’t confuse this unit with the old 180PS engine of the same name that was in the original version of this Q5: this one’s very different.

Whichever Q5 you choose, it’ll come as standard with quattro permanent all-wheel drive – which is worth pointing out, 4x4 mechanicals no longer being a given on small SUVs these days. As you’d expect from a performance-minded car of this kind, this set-up is very much tarmac-orientated, with a centre differential pushing 60% of the grunt on offer to the rear wheels but able to rapidly re-distribute power when necessary. As might be required, for example, during sharp cornering that’s aided by torque vectoring brakes for tighter turn-in.

Overall

Whether your destination is Sainsburys or the annual family skiing trip, you’ll feel better about doing it in an Audi Q5. In between, in contrast to larger, plusher and thirstier 4x4s, you won’t get that nagging feeling when it comes to meeting your real motoring needs. Nor, when you’re alone on a twisty B road, should you need to wish you’d bought something sportier.

Of course, this car faces tough competition, but the well considered package of changes made to this smarter, better equipped and higher-tech improved MK1 version did much to keep it ahead of the chasing pack. Certainly it’s not cheap – but then neither is anything else in this segment and at least you’ll get a decent part of your money back at resale time.

True, it doesn’t have the showiness of a Range Rover Evoque or the ultimate handling feedback of a BMW X3, but many will still find this Audi a perfect balance between these two extremes. Resolutely hi-tech and resolutely real world, the Q5 remains resolutely right.