Audi Q5 55 TFSIe quattro S tronic test drive: is a plug-in hybrid worth it?

You hear more and more about the advantages of PHEV plug-in hybrids, but you are still not sure whether they are worth it. Each case is clearly unique, but to give a firm answer to this question several factors must be considered.

Among them: the model in question and its price compared with the other versions in the range, your current needs or those you may have in the future, whether you want to enjoy the benefits of the DGT ZERO emissions label, the type of use the vehicle will get, the availability of a plug for charging…

We spent a week living with an Audi Q5 TFSIe quattro Stronic, and we are going to tell you about the experience. But for a first analysis you do not even need to have driven the car.

A plug-in hybrid that makes sense… even if you don’t have a plug!

Careful, because if you are thinking of an SUV like the Audi Q5 and you are looking at the most powerful and best-equipped versions, the TFSIe plug-in hybrid makes sense… even if you have nowhere to plug it in at home. The explanation is very simple: because it is exempt from the registration tax thanks to its low homologated emissions under the WLTP cycle, the price of the Audi Q5 TFSIe quattro S tronic is even lower than that of the versions we can consider equivalent. Let’s look at it.

The Q5 TFSIe costs even less than the 45 TFSI, which is not a hybrid and carries an ECO label instead of ZERO

Audi offers two power versions of the Q5 PHEV: the 50 TFSIe with 299 CV, and the 55 TFSIe with 367 CV. Both use a hybrid system with the excellent 2.0 TFSI petrol engine producing 252 CV as the combustion unit. They are supported by an electric motor of 143 CV and a 14.1 kWh battery. The difference in system power is determined by how the hybrid system is managed; furthermore, Audi differentiates the two versions by pairing the less powerful one with the Advanced trim, and the more powerful one with the S line, which has a sportier focus.

And now for the good part. The Audi Q5 50 TFSIe quattro S tronic Advanced has a price of 59,910 euros, while the Audi Q5 45 TFSI quattro S tronic with the same trim costs… 62,170 euros. Yes, you read that right: the plug-in hybrid, which has far more technology, is 2,260 euros cheaper. Even if you cannot recharge the battery every day at a plug, it pays off.

In that case you will not be able to use it daily for short trips in electric mode – you could do so at public charging points – but the Q5 TFSIe will work as a self-charging hybrid. You also get more power available than the 45 TFSI (with which it shares the combustion engine) and, most importantly, a ZERO label instead of the ECO label of the 45 TFSI, which features Mild-Hybrid technology.

Think of the importance of the ZERO label not only as a present investment, with all the advantages it brings, but also as a future one. For example, when it comes to selling the car later, a “ZERO” will fetch a higher price than an ECO. And restrictions in large cities are only going to increase.

If we move to the Q5 55 TFSIe S line, it is more or less the same story. It costs 66,200 euros. The closest in power would be a 50 TDI quattro with 286 CV, which with S line trim rises to 72,730 euros. The 45 TFSI S line costs only 1,300 euros less than the powerful TFSIe with 367 CV.

What do you lose by choosing the TFSIe? About 150 litres of boot capacity, since the plug-in hybrid system’s battery is integrated under the floor.

Like an electric car in the city, a sporty SUV on the road

So much for theory. But… what does practice tell us? That plug-in hybrids have a present… and a great deal of future. Especially as long as the current regulations do not change and the way environmental labels are awarded does not end up affecting them.

We have tested the most powerful Q5 plug-in hybrid, the 367 CV 55 TFSIe version. And we loved it.

It must be said upfront that the 50 TFSIe is also a magnificent option. You will only notice a difference when demanding the maximum from the propulsion system, where the more powerful one brings out its full output and allows you to stop the clock at 5.3 seconds for 0-100 km/h, compared with the 6.1 seconds of the 50 TFSIe. But for everyday use it will be hard to tell which of the two you are driving. There is also no difference in electric-mode range, and they quote practically the same consumption. Both reach a top speed of 239 km/h.

Audi quotes a WLTP range of 45 kilometres using only electric power if you leave home or work “with the batteries charged”. We did so every day. Plugging the car in overnight at a domestic socket gives more than enough time to recover the full battery charge; in fact, it takes about six hours. You would therefore not need to install a Wallbox, which is practically essential for a fully electric car. Although it is always advisable.

In my case, my usual route to the office is 40 km, without ever entering the city centre. Always by motorway or ring roads. Under these conditions, to complete the outbound trip in fully electric mode you have to drive very efficiently; but it is entirely achievable. In our case, the best approach is to let the hybrid mode do its work, and to force electric mode both when leaving the town at the start of the journey and when arriving at the destination.

Operation in electric mode is… like that of an electric car, with the top speed limited to around 135 km/h, and with the caveat that if you press the accelerator beyond a certain point, the hybrid mode kicks in. But in most driving situations it lets you keep up with traffic without problems, while enjoying great smoothness and remarkable regenerative capacity.

When it comes to entering the city or in congested traffic situations is where the Q5 TFSIe puts the biggest smile on your face, provided you have taken the precaution of conserving battery charge. That is what the “Battery Hold” mode is for, although you do not necessarily need to use it if you simply run in hybrid mode and do not overuse EV mode where it is least efficient: on the motorway or fast roads.

Audi Q5 TFSIe: comfortable, practical, efficient and quick

There is no need to feel “intimidated” by all the technology on board the Q5 TFSIe: in practical terms it drives like an automatic Q5. In most gentle braking, it is not the pads that “bite” the brake discs; the deceleration comes through the regenerative braking system. But the pedal feel is very good, and the transition is barely perceptible when the hydraulic brakes take over.

There is also no need to obsess over the energy management system graphics, which you can check both on the multimedia screen and on the magnificent Audi virtual cockpit instrumentation. The best approach is to let the car do its thing and leave all the electronic management to it. At most, it is worth intervening to select EV mode if you want to force travel on the electric motor alone. Or to choose whichever Audi drive select programme suits you at any given moment: more comfortable, more dynamic, more efficiency-oriented… just as in any other Audi, even one that is not a hybrid.

One notable feature is the predictive efficiency assistant. It uses route data from the navigation system and information gathered by the radar sensor and the video camera to anticipate how the hybrid system should be managed. It even sends signals to the driver through the instrumentation or the accelerator pedal, for example to prompt you to lift off and avoid accelerating more than necessary if you are going to have to brake and can make use of coasting.

What is more, if you have “auto” or “efficiency” selected in Audi drive select, it can even switch the engine off completely for a few seconds to coast without using energy, beyond the electricity needed for the on-board systems.

Having got this far, I can confirm that the Audi Q5 55 TFSIe goes very fast and uses very little fuel. But do not expect it to deliver the sporting sensations of a car with nearly 370 CV… nor believe the 2.3 l/100 km average consumption it is homologated for.

As I have mentioned, it is possible to cover almost 40 km in electric mode… and make the return trip with no electric energy left to run in EV mode alone. On those 40 km back you will not drop below 8.5 l/100 km on the trip computer. If you do the sum, you end up driving every day at an average fuel consumption of around 5 l/100 km, which is not the homologated figure… but is not bad at all for a car with 367 CV and the size and weight – over 2,000 kg – of the Q5.

To that figure you must add, of course, the electricity you recharged to cover the 40 km, which is certainly not free. But the sums work out. And even more so if your daily route does not exceed those 40-45 km between outward and return journeys… or if you can plug it in both at home and at work.

And if I don’t have a plug?

Then think of a car that works like a non-plug-in hybrid with an average consumption of around 9 l/100 km… provided you do not decide to unleash all the horsepower. If you do, you will find that the Q5 55 TFSIe goes very fast and very well. And that the extra weight of the hybrid system is not a handicap. To be clear, it is not a sports car, but in “dynamic” mode, and if you drive without worrying about consumption, you will be surprised both by its performance and by how easily the suspension and quattro traction manage the transmission of power to the road.

You can also keep going if you decide to explore off the road. For this you have the hill descent control, an “off-road” driving mode and the option to raise the body height if you have fitted the optional adaptive suspension. But here you do notice that this Q5 is not like the others. Not because it is not capable, but simply because its weight calls for more caution and lower speeds over very broken ground, so that annoying jolts are avoided when the suspension is overworked.

Beyond that, the Audi Q5 TFSIe stands out for its superb build quality. And also for ergonomics that make it enormously easy to use. I would even go so far as to say that the “old” MMI system with the rotary knob on the centre console, which this generation of the Q5 still retains (it is one of the few Audis yet to be “digitised”), seems to me easier, safer and more intuitive to use than the multi-screen MMI touch, which removes more and more buttons and hands everything over to touchscreens, and which Audi is progressively introducing across its range since launching it on the Audi A8.

In practical terms, you will find few differences in comfort, ease of use or interior space compared with a non-plug-in Q5, beyond the aforementioned reduction in boot capacity, to which must be added the space taken up by the bag for storing the charging cable.

Audi Q5 55 TFSIe quattro S tronic image gallery