Audi Reveals New-Generation Q5, SQ5 ICE Models

Audi reveals its third-generation Q5 ahead of an early 2025 start to North American sales of the premium  SUV.

The new 5-seater, closely related to the recently unveiled A5 sedan, forms part of a renaissance for traditional internal-combustion-engine models at Audi, whose chairman, Gernot Döllner, recently indicated its switch to an all-electric lineup would take longer than originally planned due to a slower-than-expected ramp-up in sales for the German automaker’s battery-electric models.

That is a trend across most legacy automakers today as they take advantage of a slowdown in mandates for fleets to go all-electric. General Motors, Ford and Stellantis are among those slowing EV plans.

With 334,480 sales in 2023, the Q5 continues to be a linchpin in Audi’s global sales operations. As with its seven-year-old predecessor, the latest iteration of the CUV, which competes against the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC, will be produced at Audi’s San Jose Chiapa plant in Mexico.

A long-wheelbase version of the new model is also planned to be produced in partnership with First Automobile Works (FAW) at a factory in Changchun, China.

The 2025 model year Q5 features a brand-new exterior design featuring a larger and bolder grille and narrower high-tech OLED headlamps. The rear, meanwhile, continues the recent Audi trend toward a full-width OLED taillamp graphic.

Dimensions are yet to be revealed, though expect moderate increases on the previous generation Q5, which runs to 184.3 ins. (4,681 mm) long and 74.5 ins.  (1,892 mm) in width. Wheel diameter ranges from 17 ins. on lower-end models to 21 ins. on higher-end models.

A successor to the Q5 Sportback featuring a more sloping rear-end design than that of the newly revealed Q5 SUV will be unveiled by the end of 2024.

Like the new A5, Audi has updated all its ICEs for the Q5. Details of the U.S. lineup are yet to be revealed, though the highlight for European markets is a new 362-hp turbocharged 3.0L gasoline V-6 with mild-hybrid properties in the initial range-topping, all-wheel-drive SQ5 – a high-performance model Wards Auto can confirm will be sold in  North America.

Other engines to be offered at the start in Europe include a turbocharged 2.0L gasoline and diesel 4-cylinder – both with mild-hybrid properties, the same 201-hp, standard quattro all-wheel drive and a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

Also planned for launch in 2025 are two plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) with 295 hp and 362 hp, along with electric-only ranges of around 50 miles (80 km).

Based on the same Premium Platform Combustion (PPC) architecture that underpins the new Audi A5, the latest iteration of the Q5 receives a significant upgrade in computing power compared with the outgoing second-generation model that was launched back in 2017 on the German automaker’s older Modular Langsbaukasten platform with five individual computers and what Audi describes as its new E³ 1.2 electronics architecture.

As part of the focus on computing functionality, Audi claims an improvement in handling and ride comfort. Standard models receive steel springs and passive dampers as standard, though a more advanced air suspension with adaptive damping properties will be available on some models to be sold in the U.S., officials at Audi’s Ingolstadt headquarters in Germany reveal.

Further highlights include the Q5’s new “Digital Stage” interior design. Like that of the recently unveiled Q6 e-tron and A5, it features a free-standing OLED panel atop the dashboard housing an 11.9-in. (111-cm) digital instrument display and 14.5-in. (37-cm) infotainment touchscreen display. A smaller 10.9-in.  (28-cm)  touchscreen for the front passenger and newly developed head-up display with more contemporary graphics than that used by the old Q5 are among a long list of optional equipment.

The upgrades across the Q5 lineup, including the addition of a PHEV, are critical for Audi’s market share and profitability in Europe and export markets.