Zander Drives Cars

The sporty luxury crossover market might be more oversaturated in the market right now. It seems that every manufacturer is hazarding an attempt at making a crossover that is both luxurious and comfortable enough to drive “normally” while being sporty enough to not be considered boring. It is a balance that is very difficult to achieve. For Audi’s best-selling Q5, they reckon (I guess I’m British now) that they have it right. So, let’s find out how right they truly have it.

This particular SQ5 is the “Sportback” model. This means that it is a coupe SUV. This means you get sportier looks, with the disadvantage of less cargo space and, depending on the car, rear headroom. Anyway, back to the looks. I don’t know if it is the color, Chronos Grey Metallic, but I can’t say that the SQ5 is particularly striking to look at, especially with the equally grey, but very classy, five-spoke wheels. The good news is that if you choose to get this car in a more exciting color like Audi’s amazing Ultra Blue Metallic, it does look much better.

The best way that I can describe the interior of the SQ5 would be “corporate chic.” Everything looks very nice, is made out of good materials, and feels decent enough to touch. That being said, the interior is a bit boring. Granted, the lack of a massive show-stopping screen might be a draw to some people, but when it comes to cars like the BMW X3 or Mercedes GLC, it is noticeably more bland. It almost feels like this was designed in a boardroom and not by a design firm. This interior is the equivalent of those trendy graphics that massive corporations use. You know the ones. They’re minimalistic and colorful but carry a sense of sterilization with them. That being said, the layout of this cabin is very nice. Everything is where you would expect it to be and there are no glaring issues when it comes to the physical stuff in the car. Plus, the carbon fiber trim is a nice piece that I’ll never really speak ill about, along with the many “S” badges through the cabin.

The rear seats are also pretty decent for a coupe SUV. While the legroom was nothing groundbreaking, my 6’2 self didn’t feel super claustrophobic in the legroom, nor headroom department, which is always a pleasant surprise.

Audi’s MMI screen is one of the highlights of this car. For one, it is super simple to use. No complicated menus, no endless scrolling, just four or five different major pages with everything in big boxes with large pictures and clear text. It looks good, feels good, and doesn’t make me want to pull my hair out. That being said, and this is something that most German brands, but especially Audi are very guilty of, there is no navigation. Look, this is a $60,000 car. Not everyone wants to use CarPlay, and making people pay an extra thousand or so dollars for a map is highway robbery. And this is one of the main issues with the SQ5, everything is an optional extra, and I mean everything.

Speaking of optional extras: a digital dash! This car doesn’t have one. This is the only car in its class without one, and again, for $60,000, you would think you would get one. That being said, the small center screen does have a decent amount of functionality and shows a majority of what you want to see, but the full functionality of a full screen isn’t there, which is a shame because VAG has the best dashboard map displays of any car. But I guess you would have to go a trim level up for that. For what it’s worth, however, there is something to be said for a classic analog dash, and at least the screen has enough functionality to warrant its existence.

This SQ5 that I drove came with the “Convenience Package.” This adds features like seat memory, a heated steering wheel, power-folding exterior mirrors, and a remote-start stop. I’m sorry, but again, $60,000 car, and I can’t remote start it? It doesn’t have power folding mirrors? Audi, come on.

Features that were present on this SQ5 were heated seats, tri-zone climate controls, handsfree Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, USB-A ports, adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, rain-sensing wipers, heated door mirrors, and that’s about it. No USB-C ports, no wireless charging, no lane keep assist (as standard), no heads-up display, and again, no navigation.

I get that maybe Audi isn’t meant to be as premium as BMW or Mercedes, but when you’re trying to pit a car like the SQ5 against rivals from those brands, having basic features that most other cars in its class have is disappointing.

The Audi SQ5 Sportback is powered by a turbocharged 3.0 liter V6 making 349 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. It sends that power to all four wheels via an 8-speed, dual-clutch “Tiptronic” transmission, meaning that this car will do 0-60 in an impressive 4.7 seconds, and can supposedly sail right the way up to the standard 155 mph speed limiter, albeit with summer tires only. However, with great power comes great fuel consumption. The SQ5 gets 19 mpg city, 24 highway, and 21 combined. This is worse than the BMW X3 M40, but better than the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43.

The base for this car is very good. What I mean by that is both the transmission and the drivetrain are some of the best in the business. Say what you will about VAG products, but Audi’s Quattro system keeps this thing planted in damp conditions. With that, the 8-speed Tiptronic DCT is also very good, it is the same one featured on countless VAG models and it works as well here as it does, say on the MK8 VW GTI. It is sharp, and you can play with it a decent amount before the electronics kick in to stop you.

However, while this car does drive very well, I left the SQ5 feeling a bit disappointed. There wasn’t really a sense of fun. Don’t get me wrong, this thing goes fast and is very pleasant to drive, but at no time did I feel genuinely excited to take another corner. Maybe it was the interior, the cloud-covered horizon, or the very loud fake engine noises being pumped through the cabin (ugh), but I just felt a bit bored after 20 or so minutes behind the wheel. It doesn’t give you the same mild thrill as an AMG or M-line product. Maybe I need to drive an RS-spec Audi to get that, who knows.

I really don’t want to be a Debbie Downer when it comes to this car. I know people who have these and they love them, and my goal is not to put people who do have this, or really any other car I drive, down. But, this car just felt underwhelming. From the very nice, but boring interior, interesting package options, and “mid” driving experience, I left the SQ5 with a “:/” face. That’s to say, however, that if you are looking for a performance SUV that is discrete and doesn’t feel like it will kill you, then yeah, this is a pretty safe bet. But, if you’re looking for a thrilling daily, you might be better off with something else.

Big ol’ thank you to Koons Volvo, especially Robert, for letting me come down and drive this Audi SQ5 because no Audi dealer wants anything to do with me. Anyway, back to the dealership: they’re good people and have a great selection of new and pre-owned vehicles on their lot. Click here to view their site.