The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Intuitive infotainment
- Sharp displays
- SQ5 performance
- Historically great safety record
- Well-equipped as standard
Dislikes
- What the U.S. doesn’t get
- Why no hybrid or plug-in?
- Haptic door panel
- Waiting on pricing and trim walk
Buying tip
features & specs
This could be the freshest Audi Q5 without any electrification for the rest of its lifetime.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Audi Q5? What does it compare to?
This compact crossover SUV competes against the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class, BMW X3, as well as the Volvo XC60 and Genesis GV70.
Is the 2025 Audi Q5 a good SUV?
Historically, Audi’s bestselling vehicle in the U.S. performs well against other luxury crossover SUVs with intuitive technology and a good balance of sport and comfort, even if it’s on the smaller side for the class. Once we drive it early in 2025, we’ll update last year’s TCC Rating of 6.7 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Audi Q5?
The third-generation Q5 is Audi’s first crossover SUV to utilize the brand’s new Premium Platform Combustion that will underpin everything from the related 2025 Audi A5 sedan to eight more Audi vehicles in the next few years. The platform will serve as a long bridge to Audi’s pledge to go fully electric sometime in the 2030s.
With a software defined architecture, cleaner engines with some form of planned electrification, and fancy lighting, the 2025 Audi Q5 cuts a more distinct shape at the vanguard of the brand’s SUV lineup. Audi ditches the faux front skid plate for a wider lower grille turned up at the sides in a smile of functional air intakes. It’s all about breathing in the air, with only some camera and sensor panels blocking the flow below. Underbody panels and air deflectors reduce turbulence and the coefficient of drag, but Audi didn’t have specific numbers at press time. A new honeycomb grille design holds a 3D Audi ring logo that can illuminate on some models as Audi leans into the light show prevalent not just in the luxury class, but also across electric models.
The thin daytime running lights curve around the corners in narrow slits, and they can be customized in up to eight different light signatures programmable while in Park from the touchscreen. The vertical face rises into a flexed hood with character lines that form a beltline down the side. A character line rises up from the front fender toward the rear, as if capturing motion.
The light show resumes in back, with a full-width taillight and 3D illumination in eight different patterns. In other markets, those taillights can flash a hazard triangle to better warn drivers, and sequential turn lights can also be equipped. In North America, the integrated rear spoiler holds a third brake light across the span of the spoiler. It reflects into the glass, and can spell out “Quattro” for some free marketing of Audi’s all-wheel-drive system. The driver can’t see it in the rearview mirror. A new rear bumper takes on an oval track pattern, similar to the rear lighting of Dodge vehicles, and it houses rectangular chrome finishers or quad pipes on S Line and SQ models.
The interior features long rectangular dash panels bedazzled with light and a curved wall of screens aimed at the driver with one for the passenger. Audi's new software-defined electrical architecture runs five computers meant to keep the vehicle and its offerings as updatable as a smartphone. Quilted nappa leather with contrast stitching and a flat-top and -bottom steering wheel add some distinction, but Audi reserves its biggest flourishes for the crisp and interactive data displays. Soft-touch materials meet the fingers and arms, but a touchpad surface on the doors that controls the mirrors, windows, and locks doesn’t match the Q5’s luxury bona fides.
What powers the 2025 Audi Q5?
The 2025 Q5 will use the same 268-hp 2.0-liter turbo-4 as the A5 sedan and the same 362-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 as the S5 sport sedan. Audi says the engines are more efficient than their predecessors, but a plug-in hybrid model won’t return to the North American market for now, nor will the mild-hybrid system and its 48-volt lithium-ion-phosphate battery available in other markets. American customers don't want the engine shutting off while coasting, and the EPA gains would be negligible with the 18-kw mild-hybrid system, according to Audi U.S. reps.
Both the Q5 and SQ5 come with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and standard all-wheel drive. Hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains could follow in the flexible PPC structure. Stiffer steering and suspension mounts on the front axle should help button down the steel-spring suspension, and adaptive dampers will be available. A four-corner air suspension with adaptive dampers will be standard on the SQ5.
How big is the 2025 Audi Q5?
Full specs for the North American market weren’t ready at press time, but the Q5 retains the same general footprint and wheelbase as its predecessor. It seats five passengers, and the rear seats can be reclined or slid forward to optimize either passenger or cargo volume. In a brief sit down in the 2025 Q5, rear headroom was ample, though the glass roof could eat into head space for passengers above 6-foot tall. Acoustic glass on the windshield and available acoustic glass on the sides should make for a quiet overall ride. Audi deepened the center console for more storage, and the cargo cover in back can neatly be stowed under the cargo floor, solving the problem of leaving cargo covers toppled over and forgotten in garages.
What is the infotainment and technology in the 2025 Audi Q5?
Audi calls its curved panoramic display of screens a "Digital Stage," and that’s pretty accurate for automaker-speak. The intuitive panel of screens sits low and doesn't need to be touched often so it shouldn’t distract from driving. An 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster shows vehicle info, what the exterior sensors detect, and a voice command monitor to let you know you’re being heard. The voice commands lessen the reliance on a 14.5-inch touchscreen interface that evolves Audi's already excellent graphics. These AI-backed voice commands can process more than 800 functions; there’s a learning curve as man and machine learn how to share a language.
Beside the center screen is a 10.9-inch touchscreen for the front passenger to override the nav settings in the center screen or to zone out and ride the stream. An available light strip at the cowl between the dash and windshield also illuminates upcoming turn directions, or it can be in the background as part of the ambient lighting.
How safe is the 2025 Audi Q5?
It’s hard to say until it goes through the battery of crash tests performed by the IIHS and the NHTSA, but Audi equips it with tech meant to avoid or mitigate the impacts of a crash. That includes everything from adaptive cruise control to active lane control. A surround-view camera and a head-up display are available.
How much does the 2025 Audi Q5 cost?
Pricing won’t be announced until near the end of the year. Expect the 2025 Audi Q5 to start above last year’s $45,795, but below $50,000. It will be offered in base, S Line, and the SQ5 performance model, with Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige trims. The SQ5 should cost about $15,000 more than the base model.
The 2025 Q5 will roll on 18-inch alloy wheels, but options will range in design and size up to 21-inch forged wheels on the SQ5. Standard features will include power front seats that are heated and covered in synthetic leather, the 11.9-inch digital cluster and 14.5-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless smartphone compatibility. Options range from a 10.9-inch passenger touchscreen and a head-up display to an air suspension and massaging front seats.
Every Audi has a 4-year/50,000-mile warranty without scheduled maintenance.
Where is the 2025 Audi Q5 made?
In San Jose Chiapa, Mexico.
