Q5 Given Look Of An Audi, But Feel Of The Macan and GLC

When the engineers sat down with their laptops and tablets to begin designing the Q5, the team had two mark, the Porsche Macan and the Mercedes-Benz GLC. As this report show, they achieved their goals.

When you look closely at the Audi Q5, you soon discover why U.S. buyers like it so much. The developers consciously sought to make it drive like the Porsche Macan. And, the development team was successful in making it ride like a Mercedes-Benz GLC.

Like the Macan and GLC, the Q5 offers an air suspension system as an option. It displays an interesting fact about the Q5, variety. Audi offers the Q5 in four chassis setups. In addition to the air suspension, the Q5 setups rely on steel springs with different settings. There’s a setting for normal driving; another for sport, and still another that is called varied. The varied setting uses adaptive dampers. The result is a driving experience that is little short of awesome.

The development team applied another tweak to the top of the Q5 line, an active rear axle torque vectoring system (TVS). The TVS brings high-speed performance up several notches. During a high-speed corner, TVS varies torque to each wheel so that the Q5 takes the line that you have set up and holds it as if it were on rails. The only other mid-sized luxury crossover to offer this feature is the Range Rover Evoque.

The new dimensions of the Q5 enhance in its heightened level of performance. Because it is longer and wider, the handling is better. By the same token, the new dimensions give the driver and passengers more interior space overall. There is more headroom, as well as rear seat knee and legroom. Interestingly, though the new Q5 is bigger, the developers trimmed its weight about 150 pounds.

Product plans call for a plug-in hybrid Q5 in 2018 and a performance SQ5, as well. The 48-volt electric supercharger, which appears on the supercharged SQ7 SU, may be included on a supercharged SQ5. There is a problem, though, expense. Because the cost of the supercharger is high, the automaker may not incorporate it in the Q5 lineup at all. That the Q5 and Q7 can share parts is, in large part, due to the common platform for both models, the MLB Evo platform.

Source: Automotive News