Road Test: Audi Q5

Snow, storms, torrential rain ... even a bit of elusive sunshine. The best kind of a week to have an Audi Q5 out for review, writes Brian Byrne.

It wasn't that driving in any of the above was particularly difficult. But if it was going to go that way, hogging along in a mid-size and very capable SUV was going to make it so much easier.

The timing wasn't good when Audi produced this one back in 2008. It had done very well with its Q7 large SUV through the roaring Noughties, especially in rampaging Celtic Tiger Ireland. When all that began unravelling, big SUVs stopped travelling out of the showrooms. In fact, thanks to a very misinforming campaign against 'gas-guzzlers' by people who didn't know what they were talking about, all SUVs stopped rolling here.

Which has led to a strange situation today. A shortage of used Q5s means that when one is slipped back into a showroom it is snapped up in very short order. At very good residual prices.

Anyway, it did, and does, look smart without being ostentatious, has an upperclass interior, and drives well and quite frugally.

Although the car market in Ireland is still struggling, Audi is doing well overall as the premium brand of choice. Also, both across Europe and in ireland, the SUV format is one of the growth segments.

Audi has gently refreshed the vehicle for 2013. Externals are revised front and rear lights designs, and inside there are trim changes around the instruments and controls, a tidier systems control interface, and improved fabrics.

It goes without saying, almost, that the Q5 is a high-tech car. In the SE spec version under review, there's Bluetooth, cruise control, electric parking brake, and electronic differential lock, hill descent assist to manage steep terrain in offroad conditions, and of course automatic lights and wipers. But it also has Audi's quattro 4WD system, rally-developed and proven for secure onroad control in bad conditions as well as being quite able on rough terrain.

Although I will still grumble about systems interfaces that require reaching for a knob and simultaneously trying to interpret stuff on a centrally mounted screen, most of it works well enough in the Q5. Still too much distracting complexity for this old warhorse, though.

In comfort terms, and also in pleasant ambience, none of the competition can beat the Q5. Audi has worked hard to reach the norms of a prestige brand, and then push out the quality a little more. Fit, finish, and interesting design and colour combinations are quite perfect.

Comfort too, with the leather seats in the review car right on the button for making the kind of long-distance journeys in which this kind of car excels. At the enhanced price point of this one, the electric operation of the tailgate is nice too.

This is a 5-seat car, but with the kind of room that five fullsized adults will appreciate. And the cargo space opened by that tailgate is generous. There's a spare wheel, but a space-saver. I'd ask the salesman if he'd swap it for a full-size one.

Power in the review car was a 2.0 diesel, with 170hp on tap. The drive fed by a 7-speed automatic dual-clutch which Audi calls S-tronic but which we know more readily by the VW DSG acronym. It all works seamlessly, which isn't any surprise. The powertrains range is generous, with 2.0 and 3.0 petrols and diesels, 6-speed and automatic transmissions.

And the whole package is quite one of the more pleasant cars that I have driven in the last twelve months.

Prices start at around €42,000. The review car in SE trim was around €51,000. Some €4,500 worth of extras on top included €1,300 for the rather gorgeous blue metallic paint. You can go all the way up to about €64,000 if you want.

Whichever price level you go, you'll have a car that will take you all the way.