A SMARTER CHOICE? (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 58

If you're looking for a more stylish mid-sized SUV from the 2020-2024 period, the original version of Audi's Q5 Sportback offers strong competition to more established trendy mid-sized premium badged coupe-style SUVs like BMW's X4 and the Mercedes GLC Coupe. As with those cars, there aren't too many practical compromises in creation of this model's more stylish look.

Modelsword count: 20

5dr SUV (2.0 TFSI petrol / 2.0 TFSIe petrol / 2.0 TDI / 3.0 TDI) [Sport, S line, Vorsprung, SQ5])

Historyword count: 261

By the end of this century's second decade, it was no longer good enough for a premium brand to offer a single classy mid-sized SUV. The aspiring middle management customers and retired people who form the largest market here by now expected the option of a sportier, more rakish offering with this kind of car and in 2020, Audi provided it with this model, the Q5 Sportback. The brand was rather late to this particular party. The model that pioneered this segment, the BMW X4, had been introduced as long ago as 2014. Mercedes joined in with the GLC Coupe in 2016 and the Range Rover Velar arrived in 2017. Not until 2020 did this Q5 Sportback appear in the showrooms, its arrival coinciding with the launch of a far-reaching facelift of the ordinary second generation 'TypFY' Q5 SUV that had originally been introduced in 2017. Like its standard counterpart, this Q5 Sportback was built at Audi's San Jose Chiapa plant in Mexico and of course it featured all the improvements that by 2020 had been visited upon facelifted versions of the ordinary second generation Q5 SUV. That meant a new 'twin dosing' 2.0 TDI diesel engine option, the brand's latest mild hybrid tech, a completely redesigned advanced cabin infotainment system and, for those that wanted it, Audi's TFSI e plug-in hybrid technology. Top variants also gained an achingly trendy OLED rear lighting system and there was a high performance SQ5 variant at the top of the range. This Q5 Sportback sold until an all-new generation model arrived in early 2025.

What You Getword count: 471

According to Audi, form often carries as much weight as function for its customers. Well the form here is certainly more expressive, the Q5 in this FY-era Sportback form aiming to offer what the brand hoped was a 'best-of-both-worlds' experience, coupe style and SUV practicality, all in one classy package. This coupe-SUV model is certainly sleeker than the standard SUV MK2 Q5 model - the drag factor drops to 0.30Cd - but it's also 20kg heavier, partly because it's 7mm longer. The obvious change of course is the earlier downward slope of the rear roof line, emphasised by silver-finished roof rails. More silver trimming along the lower sills adds a further touch of 'SUV-ness'. Getting into the front seat is predictably easy, thanks to the raised ride height you get in this kind of SUV, and the door thunks shut with vault-like quality, leaving you in a cabin which, as always in a Q5, is a masterclass in interior quality and ergonomics. In many ways, this remains the defining interior in its segment from this period, with the cool, classy feel that's distinctive to this Ingolstadt brand. As part of the changes made to the facelifted version of this second generation Q5, Audi introduced a much larger 10.1-inch REVO centre-dash infotainment screen, with more sophisticated graphics, acoustic touch functionality and 'natural language voice control'. Navigation and 'Apple CarPlay'/'Android Auto' smartphone-mirroring is of course standard, as is a full portfolio of 'Audi connect' media connectivity. You're positioned almost faultlessly on supportive heated leather seats in front of the best digital dash in the segment from this period, the 12.3-inch 'Audi Virtual Cockpit' screen, which was fitted as standard throughout the range. Wherever you look, touch or feel, there are treats. Buttons click nicely, column stalks feel good and the low-rent plastics you'd find further down in most premium rivals are noticeable by their absence. And the rear seat? Well there might be a few issues with headroom if you've gone for the ritziest 'Vorsprung' version with its panoramic glass roof, but otherwise, unless you're over six foot tall, you'll be fine for ceiling space. As with the standard SUV version of this model, the experience you can expect in the back depends quite a lot on whether you've got a version of this car fitted with the sliding 'rear bench seat plus' back seat. This lets you slide the base back and forth by 12cms to increase either legroom or luggage space and also alter the backrest angle through three stages for greater long distance comfort. Let's consider the boot, accessed via a standard powered tailgate, the rising height of which can be tailored to suit your garage ceiling. A 510-litre space is on offer with this Sportback body style - 40-litres less than you'd get with the ordinary SUV body shape.

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