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Mid-sized SUV packs a rare powertrain: diesel hybrid. Does it stack up?

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It can seem like cars are getting homogenised, with a new skateboard-platform EV being launched every other week. But a few intrepid engineers are still toying with concepts that their colleagues have long since abandoned. Mazda has brought back the rotary engine, Suzuki has revived the automated manual gearbox and Audi is betting on the diesel hybrid with cars like the Audi Q5.

Following the related Audi A5 saloon and estate replacing the old A4, the Q5 enters a third generation. Going up against the BMW X3, Mercedes GLC and Range Rover Velar, it’s an incredibly important car for Audi, because while EV quotas make the Q6 E-tron the one that Audi needs to push, the combustion-engined mid-size premium SUV is still the car that customers want.

To make the piston-powered Q5 a bit more palatable to the regulators, every version is a hybrid with the capacity to drive with a dormant engine. Plug-in hybrids will follow later this year, but the Q5 arrives with a four-cylinder petrol, a four-pot diesel and, in the Audi SQ5, a V6 petrol. Here, we’re testing the diesel.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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02 Audi Q5 2025 Autocar road test review front driving

An electrified diesel engine feels like an odd mix of past and future technology, like a trebuchet with a touchscreen, but we found Audi’s MHEV Plus system to work quite well on the V6 petrol S5, so there is definitely an appeal in applying the same to a diesel engine to create something that’s potentially extremely economical.

MHEV, or mild hybrid, is a misnomer, because the system employs both a normal mild-hybrid-style starter-generator and a 24bhp, 170lb ft motor mounted to the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox to provide torque fill and drive the car independently under low accelerator inputs.

You can tell which Q5 you’re looking at by the exhaust tips. The diesel has these double square ones; the petrol has twin trapezoid tips; and the SQ5 has quad oval exhausts.

Like the A5 and A6 saloons and estates, the Q5 sits on the Volkswagen Group’s Premium Platform Combustion. PPC allows for Audi’s typical drivetrain layout of a longitudinal engine that sits relatively far forwards so that it can drive the front wheels only in lower-end versions. In the UK, every version of the Q5 gets what Audi calls Quattro Ultra: four-wheel drive using a wet multi-plate clutch.

Audi engineers say that having the engine further forwards than in a BMW X3, Mercedes GLC or Mazda CX-60 creates more interior room and is important for keeping weight over the front wheels of front-wheel-drive variants.

As with the A5, the Q5 comes as standard on steel coil springs with passive dampers in two flavours: softer on Sport trim and firmer on S Line and Edition 1 trims. However, on the Q5, it’s possible to replace the standard set-up with adaptive air suspension for £1725, albeit only on S Line and Edition 1 trims.

As before, the Q5 is available as a standard SUV or as a Sportback with a sloping roof for £2500 more.

INTERIOR

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09 Audi Q5 2025 Autocar road test review dashboard

If you’ve read our recent road tests of the Q6 E-tron, S5 or S6 E-tron, you’ll know that Audi appears intent on sharing as many interior parts as possible across its latest models. While it might argue this ensures coherence across models, it whiffs slightly of penny-pinching.

Certainly, the new Q5’s interior design takes a 90deg left turn from its predecessor. Gone are the brushed aluminium surfaces and tactile buttons, to be replaced with a pair of screens and rather too much scratch- and fingerprint-prone gloss black plastic. It feels like a step up from the A5 thanks to a few more appealing materials, but a step down in quality from the old Q5.

It’s strange for a car with so few physical buttons to have blank switches by the doorhandles. On North American versions, these are for the door lock/unlock.

Rivals like the X3, GLC and Velar have had similar downgrades in recent years, so the Q5 doesn’t fall short of the current class standard. Even so, more traditional buyers who feel left behind by this generation of premium SUVs will feel more at home in the Mazda CX-60, which blows the ‘premium’ brands out of the water for tactility and material appeal. The Lexus NX is a good alternative too.

Compared with the X3 and the Velar, the Q5 also scores with its ease of use. Most controls may be via the touchscreen, but you can adjust the temperature, switch on the heated seats or change the drive mode with just one press.

Audi’s latest, Android-based MMI infotainment system is slick and easy to use. The home screen contains tiles for the navigation, the media and a bank of shortcuts. The interface is generally logical and quick to respond.

The passenger screen, which features on Edition 1 cars, can control the navigation and media, as well as third-party apps like YouTube. Q5s without it get a big slab of gloss black plastic instead.

The seats can give you a relatively saloon-like driving position or a taller one, as you wish, and are widely adjustable and supportive, making the Q5 a very agreeable long-distance companion.

In the rear, meanwhile, leg room is on the stingier end of the class. An adult can sit behind another but can’t stretch out particularly. The rear bench slides and reclines in a 60/40 split, and there are two USB ports, climate vents and – on some trims – heated seats.

At 520 litres, the boot is bigger than the CX-60’s but smaller than in the X3 and GLC. There is a decent-size compartment under the floor that will swallow the luggage cover if needed. If you’ve specced the air suspension, there’s also a button that lets the car sit down on its springs for easier loading.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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16 Audi Q5 2025 Autocar road test review engine

Diesel engines may have become unfashionable, but it’s easy to see why they used to be ubiquitous in larger, heavier cars. A modern diesel engine that’s smooth and quiet gives a car like the Q5 an effortless turn of pace.

Sure, it’s possible to detect a bit of diesel clatter at some revs, particularly when the oil isn’t yet up to operating temperature, but most of the time the 2.0 TDI fades into the background. That’s never truer than in town, when the engine can very often shut down and leave the electric motor to handle propulsion.

Like other Audis on the PPC platform, the Q5 retains a longitudinal engine ahead of the front axle. The 24bhp electric motor is mounted on the dual-clutch gearbox.

Despite a power-to-weight ratio no higher than rivals’, the new Q5 is faster to 60mph than the 197bhp CX-60 diesel and the hybrid NX 350h. It’s only a few tenths shy of the more powerful petrol GLC 300 but, more significantly, it’s a whole second quicker from 30-70mph in fourth gear than the GLC. The low-rpm boost from the electric motor must play a big role here.

While we detected some lapses in refinement when we tested the S5 with this hybrid system, the handover between electric and piston power was never less than perfectly smooth in the diesel Q5.

We tried the 2.0-litre petrol briefly on the international launch, and found that it has to rev a fair bit to get going and the gearbox feels the need to shuffle numbers a bit too much for a truly relaxed ride, whereas the diesel just seems to glide on by.

The hybrid system also has a considerable influence on the Q5’s braking. Because there is 25kW of regeneration available, Audi chose to use a brake-by-wire set-up that removes any transition between regen and friction brakes. The pedal feels perhaps a little dead but is firm and consistent. Braking performance is good, with no notable fade in the dry and a stopping distance in the wet that isn’t much longer, despite the fitment of relatively wide, performance-oriented Michelin Pilot Sport 4 SUV tyres.

RIDE & HANDLING

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17 Audi Q5 2025 Autocar road test review front cornering

Audi has gained a dynamic streak with its recent cars and the Q5 is no different. Of course, it isn’t focused on being a driver’s car like the meaner, lower S5 is, but on the optional air suspension at least, the Q5 offers quite a pleasing balance of ride, handling and refinement.

On first acquaintance, the variable-ratio steering is perhaps a little too quick around the dead-ahead, but this is something you get used to within a few miles. Thereafter, it’s nicely measured, subtly weighted and with a bit of feedback coming through when you load up the chassis.

Despite the nose-heavy weight distribution, it turns in keenly and powers out of corners with perfect traction on anything other than icy roads. Without the SQ5’s rear sport differential and more aggressive four-wheel drive, the standard Q5 doesn’t have a particular sense of rear bias: it’s simply very poised.

We’ve yet to try a Q5 on coil springs, since Audi’s initial production run has been of high-spec cars only. Audi’s philosophy towards tuning air suspension is rather different from that of Mercedes or Range Rover, favouring a more connected feel over magic-carpet-style waftiness. It always lets you know what’s going on underneath the wheels but whispers rather than shouts it at you. That said, there is very little difference between the Comfort and Balanced settings, which feels like a missed opportunity not to offer that wafty feeling for those drivers who want it.

On the 20in wheels of our test car, short imperfections are dealt with very adeptly too. It feels well damped, with little of the brittleness of some air suspension set-ups. Acoustic refinement is impressive too, with the Q5 proving quieter at 70mph than all the rivals we’ve tested.

As with most recent VW Group products, the ADAS functions are quite well resolved, with smooth adaptive cruise control and lane following, well-calibrated AEB and driver monitoring, and a relatively easy route to switching off the lane keep assist and overspeed warning, both of which are far from infallible.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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01 Audi Q5 2025 Autocar road test review front driving

The price-setters for the premium brands always have an eagle eye on the competition, so prices for the Q5 are very similar to those for like-for-like versions of the X3, GLC and NX. A CX-60 is quite a bit cheaper, while a Velar is significantly dearer. This is true if you’re looking at outright purchase or monthly prices.

Where the Q5 disappoints is with its fuel consumption. For all its clever hybrid technology, the Q5 couldn’t match the touring or average economy we recorded in any of its diesel or hybrid rivals. Because it was able to shut down its engine a lot on our everyday economy test, it achieved an impressive 61mpg, so drivers who cover a lot of urban miles might find the Q5 very economical, but then they’re probably unlikely to choose a diesel anyway.

VERDICT

19 Audi Q5 2025 Autocar road test review front static

In some ways, the new Q5 isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. If the purpose of the hybrid system was to make a diesel attractive again with unbeatable fuel economy, it seems a failure, doing more for performance than economy. The Q5 also loses the beautifully made interior of its predecessor.

Then again, it combines strong performance, a good balance of ride and handling, and intuitive tech features. Relative to the class standard, the Q5 remains quite recommendable, though we can’t help concluding that the class standard has slipped somewhat.

Murray Scullion

Murray Scullion
Title: Digital editor

Murray has been a journalist for more than a decade. During that time he’s written for magazines, newspapers and websites, but he now finds himself as Autocar’s digital editor.

He leads the output of the website and contributes to all other digital aspects, including the social media channels, podcasts and videos. During his time he has reviewed cars ranging from £50 - £500,000, including Austin Allegros and Ferrari 812 Superfasts. He has also interviewed F1 megastars, knows his PCPs from his HPs and has written, researched and experimented with behavioural surplus and driverless technology.

Murray graduated from the University of Derby with a BA in Journalism in 2014 and has previously written for Classic Car Weekly, Modern Classics Magazine, buyacar.co.uk, parkers.co.uk and CAR Magazine, as well as carmagazine.co.uk.

Illya Verpraet

Illya Verpraet Road Tester Autocar
Title: Road Tester

As a road tester, Illya drives everything from superminis to supercars, and writes reviews and comparison tests, while also managing the magazine’s Drives section. Much of his time is spent wrangling the data logger and wielding the tape measure to gather the data for Autocar’s in-depth instrumented road tests.

He loves cars that are fun and usable on the road – whether piston-powered or electric – or just cars that are very fit for purpose. When not in test cars, he drives an R53-generation Mini Cooper S.