The speed at which the popularity of SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) has exploded in this country is staggering. Hardly a week goes by without another model appearing. It's confusing.
Thankfully, you can short-circuit all of this by going along to your local Audi dealer
. Newcastle Audi, Tyneside Audi, Wearside Audi in Sunderland or Teesside Audi. The sales guys will quickly point you in the right direction to find the best Audi SUV to suit your needs.
The compact Audi Q2 is the smallest of the Audi crossover cars. If you need some additional elbow room and carrying capacity, head for the Audi Q3.
The daddy of them all is the Audi Q7 which has massive presence on the road and terrific ability on both tarmac and the rough stuff.
In the middle is the Audi Q5. Unlike the Q2 and Q3, the Q5 also has a seriously sporty version called the SQ5. (There’s also an SQ7). More about that shortly.
The Q5 is one of the UK’s favourite premium SUVs. It oozes quality and style. It’s comfortable and is a thoroughly entertaining driving experience. It has a purposeful stance. The pronounced wheel arches look great. The Audi Q5 also comes fully equipped meaning the starting price of £39,075 for the SE model will not be added to by many buyers.
If you want extra luxury, go for the Sport trim; if you want added styling, go for the S line.
Every Q5 comes with Xenon headlights, LED running lights, leather seats (the front ones are heated), climate control, Bluetooth, DAB radio, multi-function steering wheel, powered tailgate, a brilliant audio system and a class-leading safety kit. Move up to the Sport trim and you’ll get Sat Nav, LED interior lighting and sports seats while if you go for S line you’ll end up with a Q5 that really stands out thanks to the side skirts, deep front and rear bumpers, and darkened privacy glass. It looks fabulous.
As for options, one we’d recommend is the adaptive air suspension. It smooths-out an already impressive ride but also tightens the handling if you decide to have some fun. Every Q5 comes with quattro all-wheel drive and an automatic gearbox. All three trims are available with 2.0 litre TFSI petrol or 2.0 TDi diesel engines. The S line model can also be bought with a 3.0 litre TDi power unit. The TSFi petrol Q5 reaches 60mph in 6.3 seconds. Top speed is 147mph. You should achieve around 40mpg. The diesel engines offer far superior economy and they sound good too. The 2.0 litre TDi (0-60 in 7.9 seconds) manages 56mpg, while the powerful 3.0 TDi, which reaches 60 in a quick 5.8 seconds, will still return 48mpg.
The king of the Q5 models however, is the SQ5 (from £51,955). This comes with a thumping 3.0 litre V6 350bhp petrol unit which produces a rapid 0-60 time of 5.4 seconds and a top speed of 155mph. These are impressive figures for what is a sizeable vehicle. It is exhilarating to drive and sounds glorious. It comes fully loaded with adaptive sport suspension, 20 inch alloys, sat nav, electrically adjustable front seats and an 8.3inch colour information display. If you need to carry a lot of gear or a family over long distances, there can be few better ways in which to do it than in a SQ5. You’ll arrive in style.
SUVs come no better than the Q5 and SQ5. Go and try one at your local Audi dealer. See what the fuss is all about.
Newcastle Audi 0191 2264557 Wearside Audi 0191 5637257 Teeside Audi 01642 632656
