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- Audi Q5 TFSI e: Audi's plug-in hybrid SUV offers a smooth, comfortable and quiet ride
The Audi Q5 is a premium mid-range SUV with plenty of space for five people and their luggage. With the TFSI e, it also tries to be a little more respectful of the planet thanks to its rechargeable hybrid motor. This means you can drive the Audi Q5 as an all-electric vehicle (EV) for short trips, reducing fuel consumption (and cost) and harmful emissions. For longer journeys, and when you need more power, the gasoline engine can step in to pack a powerful punch. The Audi Q5 55 TFSI e starts at €52,900 / €49,735, but we drove the quattro S Line Competition model, with a host of extras (including comfort and sound, the parking aid package and tour package), which raised the price. total to €61,805 (about €80,000). So it's not cheap, as the price is out of range for many families, but for families and business people who can afford the Audi Q5, you're going to love what you find.
Design and operation of the Audi Q5 TFSI e
We drive
(Image credit: TechRadar) Audi Q5 55 TFSI e quattro S line Competition
Engine: 2.0 TFSI four cylinder
Power: 370 ch
0-62 mph: 5.3 seconds
Top speed: 148 mph
Energy efficiency: 108.6 mpg
EV range: 26 miles
Price: €61,805 The Audi Q5 is a beautiful car. It follows the design of Audi's premium sedans, with a streamlined hood and large grille giving it a powerful stance. Open the door and slide in, and you'll appreciate the Q5's ride height. It's not too high to be difficult to get in and out of, but high enough to give great views of the road. In fact, visibility is good all around, with large windows and plenty of cameras to guide you to areas you can't see, but more on those later. Let the door close and the soundproofing is immediately recognizable. The cabin is spacious, comfortable and quiet. Even when driving at high speed, the Audi Q5 attenuates outside noise and road noise, providing a more relaxing driving experience. The seats provide enough support and, in addition to being heated, they also include a massage function. A small circular sphere on the side of the two front seats (sorry, rear passengers, no heating or massage functions for you) lets you control the location, type, and intensity of the massage. At first, we found the commands a bit complicated, and had to go through the manual to fully understand what was required of us. There are three different types to choose from; stirring, stretching and kneading, each with three intensity levels to select from. It's a fancy feature, but it works well and was welcome on our long drives.
There are three seat massage options available in the Q5 TFSI (Image credit: TechRadar) Hit the road and the Audi Q5 sits comfortably around town and moves effortlessly on the motorways. The start/stop engine and automatic electronic parking brake that come on when stopped save you gas and ensure you won't drive forward if you lift your brake foot. Press the accelerator and the engine will come to life and release the brake parking brake, allowing you to drive away without a problem. The seven-speed automatic transmission works well, with smooth shifts and very little lag between hitting the pedal and power delivered to all wheels. If you want to manually control gear changes, you can choose to use the gear shift paddles mounted just behind the steering wheel. They don't interfere with driving, but are just as easy to reach when needed. Really put your foot down, and while the Audi Q5 is a midsize SUV, it starts off at a healthy pace, with a 0-62 mph time of just 5.3 seconds. It's impressive and means you can upgrade quickly and easily without feeling out of control. This is made possible by the combination of gasoline and electric power in the hybrid engine, but you don't always have to burn fossil fuels to get around in the Audi Q5. Image 1 of 6
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Audi Q5 TFSI e charging and EV mode
As we mentioned at the beginning, the Audi Q5 has the ability to drive like a fully electric vehicle. There's a button on the center console, cleverly labeled "EV," that you can press to access this all-electric mode. However, there are some limitations. Firstly, you'll need to plug the Q5 into a charging station to recharge the battery - the car can't recharge the battery (located in the back of the car under the boot floor). Plug it into a standard three-pin UK residential plug and we were looking at around 11 hours for a full charge. It's barely fast, but if you find a public charging station, Audi also provides a fast-charging cable to charge them, allowing you to cut that time from a few hours to a few minutes.
Press the EV button to switch to all electric (Image credit: TechRadar) You can still fit a faster charger at home too, though you may want to keep charging overnight from a standard outlet. This is because the Audi Q5 battery only has a range of about 42 km (depending on your driving style and road conditions). This is not surprising, as most plugins generally offer this type of all-electric range. It provides enough distance to get to the stores, run to school, or if you're lucky, get to work and back without using fuel. Finally, in EV mode, top speed is limited to 84mph, while acceleration also takes a hit, the 0-62mph time dropping to 14.3 seconds. Given its short range, this isn't really a problem as it's designed for city driving.
The virtual cockpit shows you how many gas and electric miles you have left (Image credit: LaComparacion)
Audi Q5 TFSI e specifications and technology
The Audi Q5 TFSI e we've got our hands on is fully loaded with more standard fare technologies like climate control, automatic wipers and headlights, and adaptive cruise control for Smart Lane Assist, wireless phone charging, multiple cameras. around the car and a couple of big screens. The main screen, located on top of the center stack, was bright, clear, and colorful, but it's not a touchscreen. Instead, you have to use the circular dial, sitting just in front of the gear stick, to navigate the screen. Its rotating bezel lets you browse menus and lists, click to select, and you can move it in four directions (up, down, left, right) to open additional menus or go back. There's a touchpad in front of that, too, with basic buttons like menu and back, for those who find the click wheel too much. After a bit of practice, we took the controls and were able to enter navigation directions, select radio stations, and easily adjust various parameters of the car. Image 1 of 2
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(Image credit: TechRadar) The second screen is behind the steering wheel and takes up the entire space of the instrument cluster. This isn't the first time we've come across a 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit display, and we're still huge fans. The default display is two large instrument gauges to the left and right, with a map in the middle. However, click the "View" button on the steering wheel and the gauges will taper to the corners of the screen, giving you a full-width map view. Use the arrow keys on the steering wheel and you can switch between map navigation, audio selection, your phone's call list (if connected via Bluetooth), and various in-vehicle information screens It's intuitive, rich Acting and fun to watch. Image 1 of 4
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(Image credit: TechRadar) Back to the main screen, there's DAB digital radio and the ability to play audio from your smartphone via Bluetooth, but you can get deeper integration than that. Plug your phone into the visible (and illuminated) USB port and you'll be able to use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the Audi Q5. This gives you access to the maps and navigation app on your phone (like Apple Maps and Google Maps), as well as other apps, like Spotify, iMessage, and WhatsApp. That said, the stock navigation built into the Q5 is very good. It uses Google Maps, gives you three route options to choose from for most routes, and comes with live traffic updates to give you accurate arrival times. If you're lucky enough to have a modern smartphone that supports wireless charging, you can pop it into the charger that slides under the center armrest for wireless charging (there's a second USB port and an AUX port under the armrest, too). A nice touch on the Q5 is when you park and open the driver's door, a voice reminds you to remove your phone from the charger so you don't leave it in the vehicle. When you're stopped (or stuck in traffic), you can dive into the menu of the MMI Audio infotainment system and get live news and weather reports – a convenient way to pass the time in the meantime. Audio, whether it's navigation instructions, a podcast or music, sounds fantastic thanks to the Audi Q5's Bang and Olufsen audio system, which includes a powerful subwoofer for deep bass. Image 1 of 3
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The Audi Q5 TFSI has a 360-degree camera view (Image credit: TechRadar) Another tech inclusion we found useful was the multiple cameras around the Q5. Put the car in reverse and you'll see two camera views: one seen from behind the bar and another aerial view from above, which uses all the cameras to give you a 360 degree view around the car. It ensures you won't miss any low obstacles and allows you to verify that you are within the limits of your parking space. There's also a front camera and a range of parking sensors to give you all the visual and audible warnings needed to prevent the Q5 from breaking down. If you can afford it (and it's a demand for most), the Audi Q5 TFSI e offers a great premium experience. It's comfortable, quiet, roomy, powerful and loaded with technology to keep you safe, easy to drive and just plain entertaining. The addition of the plug-in hybrid drive makes it a bit easier on the wallet when it comes to running costs, not to mention surroundings, and the EV mode is great for short trips.
- John McCann takes the wheel to give you a fresh look at the wealth of automobiles, and the technology within, available today. From ultra-fast sports cars to hatchbacks, it will guide you through a range of makes, models, horsepower, and price tags in your regular TR Drives column.