Audi Q5 40 TDI quattro test drive: diesel still has a lot to say

In the current Audi Q5 range, with petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid engines, the Q5 40 TDI quattro version is one of the most interesting and one of the best SUVs in the premium segment.

Since the first generation, the Audi Q5 has always seemed to me one of the most complete and recommendable models from the brand of the four rings. Audi knew how to get the most out of the SUV formula, offering the perfect combination of elegance, versatility, sportiness and style. This is what its Avant models have always been, up until the arrival of the SUV era, taking advantage of the benefits this body style offers in terms of interior space.

And its qualities are highly appreciated by the public: the second generation of the Q5, presented in 2017, underwent a thorough restyling in 2021, a year in which it once again finished as the best-selling model of the brand of the four rings worldwide, surpassing the Audi Q3 and the Audi A6.

The version we are testing today, the Q5 40 TDI quattro, is not the first one we have tried since the restyling. Here you can read, for example, the test of the Q5 55 TFSIe plug-in hybrid. We have also analysed the range following the addition of the Audi Q5 Sportback, the variant with a coupé-style body. And the Audi SQ5 TDI quattro once again showed us how valid a powerful and refined turbodiesel engine can still be, even for a model from Audi’s “S” range, known for its sportiness.

However, I dare to call the Audi Q5 40 TDI quattro the most balanced of the range, which can always be debated depending on where each person puts the focus. To understand why it is my favourite, let us start with a quick overview of the Audi Q5 range.

The Audi Q5 range: petrol, diesel and PHEV

Audi configures its Q5 range by combining five engines and two body styles with three trim levels, if we consider the Audi SQ5 as a separate model, which is the most sensible approach, given its already mentioned sporty positioning and its position as the top model in the range, its price exceeding 83,000 euros.

The two turbodiesel versions provide access to the range:

• Q5 35 TDI with 163 CV, with front-wheel drive and a price from 55,400 euros
• Q5 40 TDI quattro-ultra with 204 CV, with all-wheel drive and a price from 60,030 euros

As the petrol engine version, there is the 45 TFSI quattro with 265 CV, a candidate with arguments to be chosen as the best Q5 thanks to the fantastic performance of its engine. But the almost 7,500 euros more it costs compared to the turbodiesel weigh heavily. And if you had to choose a petrol version, the 50 TFSIe plug-in hybrid costs less, has 299 CV and a DGT ZERO label. Certainly, the 45 TFSI has a tough time once you start playing with the figures.

Furthermore, in terms of the relationship between performance and consumption, the 40 TDI is almost unbeatable. In this respect, the plug-in hybrid versions could compete with the turbodiesel, but only under very specific conditions of use. The aforementioned 50 TFSIe quattro has a starting price of 66,670 euros, while the 55 TFSIe quattro, available only from the S line trim onwards, already goes above 73,000 euros.

As for the Q5 Sportback, with the same engine range as the SUV, here it is somewhat a matter of taste. The Q5 with coupé styling costs 3,000 euros more; if it catches your attention, you can decide without thinking twice. Apart from the fact that you have to tilt your head a little more when getting in or out of the rear seats, and that these seats have a few centimetres less usable height, otherwise you practically do not lose versatility compared to the SUV, keeping a boot that hardly diminishes its capacity.

Turbodiesel and ECO label

The combination of engine and transmission is what makes this Q5 40 TDI quattro S tronic shine at a high level when it comes to assessing its dynamic character, and it is worth starting here. It is an engine that, from the outside, clearly sounds like what it is, a diesel. But from the inside things change, and you have to tune your ear to notice the noise, because the characteristic vibrations of these engines do not come through. True, it is not as “refined” as the 2.0 TFSI petrol, but that would already be a miracle.

This is an engine, the 2.0 TDI, very well known and widely used within the Volkswagen Group, which in this evolution has improved greatly not only in smoothness but also in performance. And undoubtedly, much of the credit goes to the MHEV mild hybrid system from Audi, which is also offered on the 45 TFSI and, more recently, on the Q5 35 TDI, so the entire Q5 range carries the DGT ECO label, or the ZERO label in the case of the plug-in hybrids.

Basically this micro-hybridisation allows three things: coasting by disconnecting the engine when lifting off the accelerator in certain situations (the driver hardly notices, unless they watch how the tachometer needle falls), supporting the combustion engine with an extra boost when accelerating or recovering, and activating the start-stop system even before the car comes to a complete stop.

To do this, a small electric motor connected to the combustion engine itself by a belt, which acts as both starter motor and generator, recovers energy during deceleration and braking, which is stored in a lithium-ion battery.

Quattro ultra traction

All of this translates, on the one hand, into a pleasant sense of thrust at any rev range, to which the good work of the seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch gearbox also contributes. But above all, into exceptional fuel economy for a car of the size and weight of the Q5 (almost 1.9 tonnes), fitted on our test unit with spectacular 21-inch alloy wheels and 255 mm wide tyres and, let us not forget, with all-wheel drive.

By the way, this is the quattro ultra traction, which works as if the car were front-wheel drive until a loss of grip is detected -it even anticipates this situation- and then transmits torque to the rear axle wheels. I always say that tyres are more decisive than having four-wheel drive. For example, when occasionally driving on a snow-covered road, give me front-wheel drive with good all-season tyres over a 4×4 with summer tyres. But quattro traction adds an extra margin of safety that is never a bad thing if it does not penalise consumption, as is the case here, and you can always combine it with the right tyres for the use you intend to make of the car.

In figures, over about 1,500 km of driving, the cumulative average consumption we measured was 7.9 l/100 km, with 70% motorway driving at a good pace, and the rest city and suburban driving, resorting to “efficiency” mode only on some occasions. If you select this mode, at a steady, sustained speed on the motorway, you can travel with averages of 6.5 l/100 km.

As for performance, the Q5 40 TDI quattro is not an SQ5… but its 222 km/h top speed and a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in 7.6 seconds, together with its powerful recovery capacity, set it far enough apart from the Q5 35 TDI for it to be worth paying the 5,000 euros difference for the 40 extra CV… and the all-wheel drive, don’t forget that!

That said, although we are talking about an SUV, with four-wheel drive, driving programmes specifically designed for driving off tarmac roads, a ground clearance of more than 20 cm -23 with air suspension- and even hill descent control, the Q5 is not a car for venturing beyond tracks or paths that are not very rough.

A very comfortable SUV for long-distance journeys

An optional piece of equipment that largely determines the dynamic behaviour of the Audi Q5 is the adaptive air suspension, which costs around 2,200 euros. This system features damper stiffness regulation depending on the driving mode selected in Audi drive select, as well as the ability to change the body height. With this option the driving profiles increase to seven: the auto, comfort, dynamic, efficiency and individual modes are joined by an allroad mode for driving on tracks or dirt roads, and the lift/allroad mode to raise the body to its maximum height.

The best part is that with this suspension, the Q5 can offer total smoothness when swallowing potholes… or the firm suspension you might want on the day you feel like taking corners and activating the manual-sequential mode on the gear selector. The sense of stability, safety and comfort is total, with agile and precise response when changing direction. If you do not choose the air suspension, Audi offers a suspension with conventional springs and dampers, another with a firmer sporty setup and lowered body height (standard on the S line), and an option with normal springs but adjustable-stiffness dampers (a little under 900 euros).

Other optional elements that contribute to ride comfort and to kilometres passing without fatigue are the acoustically insulating double-glazed windows (just over 200 euros), the impressive Matrix LED headlights, which work so well in making night driving almost like driving by day, as well as being expensive (1,760 euros), and how well the driver assistance systems work, especially the active adaptive cruise control ACC with stop and go function. Of course, to have these assistants you also have to pay: the Tour assistant pack costs around 1,600 euros and includes the ACC, the traffic jam assistant, automatic high beam, turn and lane-change assistants, the lane keeping system, Audi pre sense front -collision avoidance- and predictive efficiency assistant.

The interior of the Audi Q5: quality and versatility

One of the first things I would highlight about the Audi Q5 is the exquisite quality of the finishes and materials, with an impeccable interior presentation. The second, which could well be the first, is the space the interior offers and the boot capacity, especially if you take the precaution of ordering the rear bench plus (if you don’t, you will regret it). It costs around 400 euros, very well invested, because it allows the rear seats to slide longitudinally to gain more legroom… or more luggage volume, which under normal conditions is 520 litres, a very good figure. In addition, passengers in these seats can travel more comfortably, as they can even recline the backrest slightly.

The driving position is magnificent, with the excellent digital instrumentation with high-resolution graphics and different display modes -to me it still seems one of the best of its kind-, a multifunction steering wheel with a very good feel and a floating multimedia screen above the ventilation outlets that relies on touch commands for operation, although separate controls are kept for the climate control system and some functions, such as the driving mode selector or hill descent control.

The sports seats of the S line trim hold the body very well, but they seemed somewhat firm to me for long journeys, where the ergonomics and good visibility are appreciated, as well as the large and practical compartments for storing various items.

As for equipment, from the Advanced version onwards the Audi Q5 comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, three-zone climate control, Audi virtual cockpit digital instrumentation, LED headlights or cruise control, among other features. The list of options and personalisation is so extensive it is dizzying, but my recommendation would be to focus on the S line trim, which for about 2,500 euros more adds finishing details that give the Q5 a much more “powerful” image, with 19-inch alloy wheels and 235/55 tyres, Matrix LED headlights with dynamic indicators, sports suspension, sports seats and a black-finished interior roof lining.

Audi Q5 40 TDI quattro – Image gallery

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverAudi Q528 versions · from 63,000 €