2018 Audi SQ5 Road Test and Review

2018 Audi SQ5 front quarter hero ・ Photo by Audi

Driving a high-performance SUV like the 2018 Audi SQ5 around Los Angeles isn’t really fair to the guys in Porsche 911s and BMW M3s. They don’t see you coming. You dust them at the red lights and pass them on the off ramps. And the poor souls in their Mustangs and Camaros can’t understand how they just got smoked by a mom on her way to soccer practice.

For 2018, Audi has completely redesigned its popular Q5, which is one of our favorites in the extremely competitive compact luxury SUV segment. But the German automaker did not stop there. It has also turned up the volume on the high-performance version of the SUV, adding style, luxury, and performance. The result is the most desirable SQ5 ever. Now in its second-generation, the new SQ5 competes head-to-head with the Porsche Macan S and the Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43.

Less Expensive Than the Competition

The 2018 Audi SQ5 is available in two trim levels, Premium Plus and Prestige. Each is powered by a smooth 354-horsepower turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine and an excellent eight-speed automatic transmission. Audi’s legendary Quattro all-wheel-drive system is standard. The SQ5 Premium Plus starts at $55,275 including a $975 destination charge. That’s about $2,000 less than the 340-hp Porsche Macan S and the Mercedes AMG GLC 43, which is slightly more powerful than the Audi. Its twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 is rated 362 hp, and Mercedes says it can power the SUV to 60 mph in 4.8 seconds. That’s three-tenths of a second quicker than the SQ5.   

The base price of an SQ5 Prestige like our test vehicle is $59,475. But a long list of options and packages including Nappa leather upholstery, heated rear seats, an adjustable air suspension, red brake calipers, 21-inch wheels and adaptive cruise control drove the price up to $68,675.

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Lighter, Longer, and Stronger

With more aluminum in its new body and structure, as well as an all-new lighter engine, the 2018 Audi SQ5 weighs 77 pounds less than its predecessor. That’s quite a feat for Audi’s engineers when you consider the new SQ5 is nearly an inch longer than before and its wheelbase has been stretched more than half an inch.

Audi’s team of wizards has also replaced the V6 engine’s supercharger with a turbocharger. The 3.0-liter’s rating of 354 horsepower hasn’t changed, but its torque number has jumped from 347 lb-ft at 4,000 rpm to 369 lb-ft at a much lower 1,370 rpm. This improves part-throttle acceleration around town, and it keeps you from having to work the engine as hard, thus improving fuel economy. Last year's SQ5 was rated 17 mpg in the city and 24 mpg highway, but it's increased to 19 mpg city and 24 mpg highway for 2018. I averaged 22 mpg during a week of mixed driving.

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Perfect Sport/Luxury Balance

From behind its leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel, it’s easy to forget the 2018 SQ5 is an SUV. It drives like a world-class sports sedan, striking the perfect balance between luxury and sport. It’s fast, responsive and engaging, but also comfortable with a refined ride and quiet interior. Audi’s legendary Quattro all-wheel drive system provides awesome handling, especially when combined with our test cars optional 21-inch tires. The SUV’s steering is quick and light and provides plenty of feel. Its brakes are powerful but a little grabby in the city, which takes a little getting used to.

Audi also uses the turbocharged 3.0-liter in its S4 sports sedan. The engine is incredibly smooth, even up at its 6,500 rpm redline and its automatic transmission is tuned perfectly. The eight-speed unit provides slick gearchanges, very quick response and rev matching on manual downshifts when you use the standard paddle shifters. Plus there’s a Sport mode that makes the transmission even more responsive.

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Adjustable Steering and Suspension

Also standard is Audi Drive Select, which allows you to tune the SUV’s driving characteristics to your liking by choosing among Comfort, Auto, and Dynamic settings. There’s also an Individual mode — which allows you to customize your favorite settings for the steering, powertrain and engine sound — and an Allroad mode, which uses the air suspension to raise the SUV's body for additional ground clearance.

In Comfort mode, the ride quality is impressively plush, although the ride quality in the Dynamic setting is also remarkably refined. After playing with the choices, my favorite setup proved to be the Auto setting with the transmission in Sport mode. It provided a wonderful mix of refinement, sophistication, comfort, and response. The system should also get points for remaining in the settings you’ve chosen instead of resetting to a default selection every time the key is cycled, as similar systems do in other vehicles.

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Family-Friendly SUV

The 2018 SQ5 seats five, but the big hump in the floor severely compromises the comfort of the middle passenger in the backseat. Otherwise, there’s plenty of rear seat legroom and I was able to fit three preteens comfortably, while Audi’s onboard Wi-Fi kept them happily distracted.

The SQ5 also has 26.8 cubic feet of cargo space, which is significantly more than the Mercedes AMG GLC 43 and Porsche Macan S. Manually fold down its rear seats, which are split 40/20/40, and that space expands to 60.4 cubic feet — which is again more than its rivals. Meanwhile, the SQ5 earned a Top Safety Pick designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Cool Red Leather Interior

Our white test vehicle showed up with optional red Nappa leather upholstery with diamond pattern granite gray stitching, and it impressed everyone. You couldn’t open the door without being struck by the color and intricacy of the pattern. Most would exclaim “ooh, fancy” before climbing in. Overall, the interior materials are high quality and the fit and finish are near perfect. Standard features include a three-zone automatic climate control system, Bluetooth, leather upholstery, heated front seats with memory and aluminum trim, although our test car’s carbon fiber trim cost an extra $500.

Sport seats are standard on the SQ5, and the driver’s seat is very comfortable with just enough bolstering to hold you in place during hard driving. Forward visibility is excellent, even the A-pillars have been carefully shaped to maximize your sight lines, and the side mirrors are large to minimize your blind spots.

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Packed with Technology

In its base trim, the 2018 SQ5 is equipped with a 7-inch infotainment screen that looks like an iPad, but it’s not a touchscreen. Its functions are controlled by voice commands or well-placed buttons and a large knob on the console just ahead of the shifter, which doubles as support for your wrist. It’s all very intuitive to use.

The Prestige model is packed with even more features, including navigation, a larger 8.3-inch screen and handwriting recognition technology so you can input addresses by drawing each character on a touchpad also on the console. It’s quick and easy. Also standard on the Prestige is Audi’s virtual cockpit digital instrumentation, which offers two display options on the 12.3-inch instrument cluster. The Classic setting gives the driver a large center-mounted tachometer, while the Infotainment setting minimizes the gauges in favor of a large navigation map or other information. It’s easy to click between the two using a button on the steering wheel.

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Many Advanced Safety Systems

Advanced technology is also found in the new SQ5’s many active safety systems. Audi's "pre-sense basic" is standard on every SQ5. If the system detects an impending collision, it prepares the car for impact by closing the windows and sunroof to better protect the occupants. It also cinches the front seatbelts and prepares the brake system for quicker response.

Audi’s "pre-sense city" system is also standard. It detects obstacles ahead, including pedestrians, at speeds up to 52 mph. When it detects a potential collision, it can initiate full braking. And pre-sense rear, which is also standard, monitors the traffic following the vehicle and takes similar actions as pre-sense basic if a rear-end collision is impending. The SQ5 also includes a rear cross-traffic alert, which informs you of a car approaching from the side as you back up.

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Sophisticated Style

An inch longer and lower than last year’s model, the 2018 SQ5 is also more curvaceous and more intricately detailed. Every panel, including Audi’s hood, fenders and C pillar, is tickled by character lines both subtle and severe that pick up the light and give the surfaces life.

Audi’s designers have a well-deserved reputation for trend-setting style and timeless lines, and the SQ5 looks sophisticated, elegant and racy all at the same time. There’s a youthful energy to its design. Its large grille and unique modernistic headlamps infuse attitude and there’s an abundance of subdued aluminum trim. No chrome. However, although they look good, don’t be fooled by the SUV’s four large dual exhaust pipes below the rear bumper — they’re fakes.

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One of the Best

The second-generation Audi SQ5 is one of our favorites in the very competitive small luxury-performance SUV category. Just as Audi’s performance sedans check all the boxes, the 2018 SQ5 packs an impressive combination of style, comfort, and technology. It’s also extremely fun to drive, which makes it really something special. 

But tack on all the options and the SQ5 gets expensive. Once it climbs up into $70,000 range like our test vehicle, it now butting heads with the more powerful Porsche Macan GTS and the much more powerful Macan Turbo. And I’m not so sure that’s a fight the Audi can win.

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