Audi had
decided to ditch the S-Tronic gearbox for the automatic transmission on the
entire Q5 range and with slick and lightning-quick gear shifts,
we don’t miss the DCT unit much. While gear changes don’t feel as direct, the
eight-speeder was able to cycle through the gears seamlessly and without any
fuss.
Like all S
cars, power is delivered to all four wheels using Audi’s famed Quattro system.
On the SQ5, this delivers immense grip around corners, and is aided by the
Electronic Differential Lock that applies the brake on a wheel that is losing
traction. It’s a strange feeling, especially when you hear/ feel an ABS-ish pulsating on the wheels when you are going fast into a
corner. But leaves you with a smile as you leave the turn and
approach the next one.
Audi’s chassis
modifications are just as important as the contents of the engine bay
The
suspension has also been re-worked. It’s now been lowered by 30 mm compared to
the standard Q5. Audi has also opted to use fixed-rate dampers, instead of
adjustable ones seen on the 2.0 TFSI. The shortened and harder coil springs,
together with the sports absorbers, control the magnitude of the body roll. You
may be sitting a head above a sedan or hot-hatch, but it definitely doesn’t
feel like it when you attack the corners. The smirk on the other guys face is
quickly wiped away when he sees how fast you can accelerate to beat him to the
next sweeper – and holding your speed through the entire bend without batting
an eyelid.
And to haul
in the reins on this massive speed wagon are 380 mm two-piece rotors on the
front and 300 mm ones on the back. The brake feel is positive and feedback is
just right.
A pair of side curtain
balloons for the back seats brings the airbag count to eight and an advanced
stability control program is matched to the anchors
For most,
they wouldn’t know what just flew by. The SQ5 is every bit understated – save
for the world’s largest matt silver elephant ears, I mean, wing mirrors. There
are other subtle differentiators here, including the 21-inch 5-twin spoke
wheels, SQ5 trim plate on the front brake calipers, as well as the horizontal
double chrome grille (Q5 has the vertical ones). On the rear is a quad-pipe
exhaust surrounded by a silver diffuser.
If you
wanted loud, then this isn’t really the car for the job.
The Audi SQ5’s engine
turns in an impressive all-round performance
Inside, the
SQ5 is beautifully appointed. You get two-tone seats covered in the finest Nappa leather and a powerful 14-speaker Bang and Olufsen stereo. Just to remind you that you are driving
something special, there’s a plethora of SQ5 emblems throughout the front of
the cabin: door sills, seats, steering wheel, speedometer and the shift lever.
The sporty bits include small details like the red ring around the start/stop
button and the large shift paddles lifted off the R8.
The SQ5 is
about $29,000 dearer than the 3-litre TFSI Q5. That’s quite a lot of money just
looking at raw figures. But that’s less than a 10% difference. But what you get
is 30% more horsepower, 17.5% more torque and accelerate 8.5% faster. On top of
that, you get the bragging rights to owning the one of the fastest mid-sized
SUV in the world that would even give Porsche Boxsters
a run for their money. It’s hard to explain why anyone needs such a fast SUV,
but this has changed my mind.
