The Audi Q5 has been around for more than 15 years, so Audi hasn’t messed too much with what people already recognise. The proportions are familiar, there’s still a conventional SUV and a sleeker Sportback, and the SQ5 remains the performance option. Underneath all of that, though, quite a lot has changed.
The third-generation Audi Q5 has now arrived in South Africa alongside the second-generation Q5 Sportback, while the SQ5 SUV and SQ5 Sportback sit at the top of the range. Prices start at R1,275,000 and run all the way to R1,635,000 for the SQ5 Sportback Black.
That puts the Q5 firmly into premium-SUV territory at a time when the gap between mainstream and luxury SUV pricing has become increasingly interesting in South Africa. The recently updated Ford Everest, for example, now stretches from R825,000 to R1.34 million, meaning the top end of that range already overlaps with the cheapest new Q5.
A familiar Q5 with quite a lot underneath it changed
The new Q5 is built on Audi’s Premium Platform Combustion, or PPC, which underpins the company’s latest generation of combustion-powered models.
Visually, Audi hasn’t tried to make the Q5 unrecognisable. The Singleframe grille is larger and sits higher, the headlights have been reshaped and the bodywork is more sculpted, while a three-dimensional light strip runs across the rear.
The Q5 Sportback takes the same basic design and gives it a more steeply sloping roofline. That doesn’t make an enormous difference to luggage capacity. The SUV offers up to 520 litres of boot space compared with 515 litres in the Sportback, while both use a 2,820 mm wheelbase.
Every Q5 sold in South Africa comes in S line specification as standard, including 20-inch alloy wheels. S line Black adds Audi’s Black Styling Package Plus, black exterior detailing and roof rails, privacy glass, a panoramic sunroof and different Audi Sport wheels.
There are ten exterior colours, including new Sakhir Gold Metallic, Grenadine Red Metallic and Tambora Metallic finishes. An optional Carbon Style package adds carbon exterior mirror housings and door trim strips, along with a carbon roof spoiler on the SUV.
There are a lot more screens inside
The bigger departure from the old Q5 becomes obvious when you get inside.
Audi calls the new dashboard layout its Digital Stage. An 11.9-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus sits alongside a 14.5-inch curved MMI touchscreen, creating the panoramic display that now dominates the dashboard.
There’s an optional third screen too. A 10.9-inch MMI passenger display lets whoever is sitting up front access entertainment and selected navigation functions independently. Audi uses a privacy mode to prevent the driver from seeing distracting content on that display while driving.
Standard equipment includes electrically adjustable front sport seats, three-zone automatic climate control, wireless smartphone charging, Audi connect services, adaptive cruise control, Park Assist Plus and surround-view cameras.
Audi has split some of the more advanced equipment into two optional technology packages. Tech Plus adds Matrix LED headlights and Adaptive Cruise Assist Plus with assisted lane changing. Tech Pro goes further with Digital OLED rear lights, additional emergency braking assistance, a 3D surround-view camera and Remote Park Assist.
That last feature allows the Q5 to be moved into and out of a parking space using the myAudi app rather than requiring the driver to be sitting behind the wheel.
Petrol and diesel Q5s, plus a 270 kW SQ5
There are three engines across the South African range.
The 2.0-litre TFSI petrol produces 200 kW and is paired with a seven-speed S tronic transmission and quattro ultra all-wheel drive. Audi says it’ll get from 0-100 km/h in 5.7 seconds, which is already fairly brisk for the regular version of a midsize family SUV.
The 2.0-litre TDI diesel produces 150 kW and 400 Nm. Curiously, Audi’s local pricing currently lists the diesel only in Sportback form. It also creates the slightly unusual situation where the cheapest car in the entire Q5 range isn’t the conventional SUV. The Q5 Sportback 2.0 TDI S line costs R1,275,000, R20,000 less than the entry-level petrol Q5 SUV.
Then there’s the SQ5.
Its 3.0-litre V6 TFSI produces 270 kW and 550 Nm, cutting the 0-100 km/h time to 4.5 seconds. Quattro all-wheel drive and S sport suspension are standard, while adaptive S air suspension is available as an option.
The SQ5 Sportback uses the same engine with the same 270 kW and 550 Nm outputs, and Audi claims the same 4.5-second 0-100 km/h time.
The SQ5 models also get Matrix LED headlights, red brake calipers with S branding, S sport seats and 20-inch Audi Sport wheels. SQ5 Black models move up to 21-inch wheels and add the darker exterior treatment.
Adaptive air suspension is optional on the regular Q5 as well, allowing the driver to alter ride height and damping through Audi drive select.
Audi Q5 pricing in South Africa
The full range is priced as follows:
| Model | SUV | Sportback |
|---|---|---|
| Q5 2.0 TFSI S line | R1,295,000 | R1,365,000 |
| Q5 2.0 TFSI S line Black | R1,350,000 | R1,420,000 |
| SQ5 V6 TFSI | R1,510,000 | R1,580,000 |
| SQ5 V6 TFSI Black | R1,565,000 | R1,635,000 |
| Q5 2.0 TDI S line | — | R1,275,000 |
| Q5 2.0 TDI S line Black | — | R1,330,000 |
Pricing includes VAT and CO₂ emissions tax, while every model comes standard with Audi South Africa’s five-year/100,000 km Freeway Plan.
At R1.275 million, the Q5 range no longer exists in a part of the South African market occupied only by the traditional German luxury brands. Mainstream SUVs have moved upwards, newer Chinese brands are adding increasingly expensive and well-equipped models, and buyers spending this sort of money have more to compare than they did when the previous Q5 arrived.
Audi’s answer is a Q5 that doesn’t look radically different from the car it replaces but is substantially newer underneath and inside. The screens are bigger, the assistance systems are more capable and even the regular 200 kW petrol model is quick enough that the SQ5’s 270 kW V6 feels more like an indulgence than something the range actually needs.
The new Q5 SUV, Q5 Sportback, SQ5 SUV and SQ5 Sportback are available from Audi dealerships across South Africa now. The full range can also be explored through Audi South Africa’s Q5 configurator.