2022 Audi SQ5 Sportback review

After kicking around the popular mid-sized SUV traps for two generations across 13 years, Audi has finally, with some trepidation, applied the coupe-shaped Sportback format to its recently revised Q5 family, neatly lining up the wheel tracks of BMW X4 and Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe. And the SQ5 Sportback TDI before you is currently the fittest and most elaborate example of the Q5 breed.

The SQ5 formula, though, has kicked as a wagon on Ingolstadt’s global menu for eight years, in both petrol and diesel flavours. Australia get the oiler, both for Sportback and its related and recently launched, gen-two, facelifted SQ5 wagon twin.

No RS? Audi has decided not to be rushed on the predictable RennSport-fettled Q5 in any body style, despite being circled in the home stable by a smaller RS Q3, larger RSQ8, and equally medium-sized RS4 Avant: all petrol powered. You don’t need to gaze deeply into the crystal ball to predict the inevitable. Or to deduce that positioning SQ5 as an oiler offers a key point of difference, in Audi's range or against key segment competition.

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It’s no new ploy. The first-gen, and original, SQ5 wagon lobbed in Oz in 2013 as an oiler only to great success, Australia passing on the supercharged TFSI V6 offered overseas. Then, when the second-generation Q5 arrived locally in 2017, it went spark ignition, parking diesel on the sidelines for what would be a three-year hiatus until TDI returned to SQ5 in last year’s Limited Edition, with tricky new EPC – or electric power compressor – tech under the bonnet.  

This all makes for a good read but, crucially, it needs to pay dividends in the experience to quash the stigma of oiler power shoe-horned into a sport-infused coupe-like concept, SUV or not. And that is quite apart from questions of whether the stylised Sportback form robs practicality against the available wagon alternative, or whether it warrants the premium it asks for.

Pricing and features

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The price of style? By Audi’s reckoning, it’s $4400, which is the extra splurge the $110,900 SQ5 Sportback TDI demands over the $106,500 wagon version (both before on-road costs). Surely a worthy nominal lease payment adjustment in the beholding eye of some fast-SUV buyers.

Against the obvious suspect, the Audi undercuts the BMW X4 M40i’s $123,900 by a fair wedge, while the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 Coupe wants for $120,476. Porsche’s Macan GTS, in one-style-fits-all wagon, asks $129,800. For its part, the Ingolstadt machine is the only oiler pick of the similarly quick German bunch, with the likes of the measurably more affordable diesel Genesis GV70 2.2D ($71,676) more closely aligned with the entry Q5 Sportback 40 TDI ($77,700).

The step up from the Q5 Sportback 45 TFSI ($86,300 + ORC) to more fulsome SQ5 grade demands an extra $24,600, a fair slice of it committed to the 48-volt-juiced powertrain, go-fast S-grade adaptive and 30mm-lowered suspension, and uprated braking hardware. It fits an eight-speed conventional auto rather than the dual-clutch stuff down range, 21-inch wheels and specific styling that includes deleting the SUV-like plastic exterior cladding and roof rails.

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Otherwise, the list of ‘S’ extras above the regular Q5 TFSI is surprisingly lean, with Matrix LED headlights, 360-degree camera system, Virtual Cockpit digital instrumentation, heated Nappa leather sports seats (in different designs), gesture control tailgate, three-zone climate control, full-featured 10.1-inch MMI Touch infotainment and the lion’s share of niceties common between the two variants.

SQ5 exclusives? Variable seat headrests, 30-colour ambient lighting, some extra ‘extended’ leather trim, a head-up display; all detail stuff and not a whole lot of it. Less of a case of skimping on the flagship and more that the standard S-line-infused lower grades are quite healthily equipped.

You don’t need to gaze into the crystal ball to deduce that positioning the SQ5 as an oiler offers a key point of difference against segment competition.

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You do stump up more for the Quattro sport rear differential ($2990), adaptive air suspension upgrade ($2250) and treats such as OLED animated taillights ($2500), as fitted to our tester, plus other extras that nudge the bottom line up to $120,940 + ORC and much closer to its X4 and GLC Coupe rivals.

The second-gen Q5 wagon’s five-star ANCAP assessment from 2017 carries over to all Sportback versions, which pack autonomous emergency braking with turn assist, active lane assist, collision avoidance steering intervention, rear cross-traffic assist, adaptive cruise with stop and go, high-beam assist and exit warning as standard.

Comfort and space 

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Coupe SUVs. Stupid and impractical, right? As something of a latecomer to segment, Audi’s managed to execute SQ5 Sportback with enough resolve as to not compromise packaging by much measure at all.

It's five millimetres longer and two millimetres shorter in height than the SQ5 wagon on an identical wheelbase, so there’s precious little size difference. Yes, it is a coupe, the roof shoulders sloping in a neat arc beyond the B pillars, though the crown of the roof is no more coupe-esque than most sedan silhouettes.

In effect, the coupe look is largely prescribed via the teardrop daylight opening and upswept window and body lines, augmented by the strong tornado lines that give Sportback quite pronounced haunches. As a result, it appears more coupe-like at three-quarter view than it does side on.

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How much do you lose in boot space? Twenty litres. But given luggage capacity remains a fulsome 500 litres, it’s a four per cent loss, most of it lowered hatch glass, and the tilting rear 40:20:40 split-fold seatback offers the facility to tune load volume to payload anyway. Much compromise? Not really. The plush carpeting throughout and luggage netting, too, are nice upmarket touches.

The Sportback’s second row clearly favours adult-only accommodation in the outboard positions, if mostly due to the seat contours and large tailshaft tunnel. Spatially, though, this body style only trims 16mm in height from the seat base to ceiling against the wagon. The difference is, ostensibly, quite marginal. Dual USB ports and a dedicated third-zone climate control panel are thoughtful if expected inclusions.

The coupe look is largely prescribed via the teardrop glass area and upswept window and body lines, giving the Sportback quite pronounced haunches.

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By Audi’s reckoning, there’s no difference in space forward of the B pillars, though the Sportback’s dash fascia contour and trim configuration do bring a slightly sportier spin to the Q5 vibe.

Similarly, the display ware and techy blend of material variety and integration are up to Ingolstadt’s usually high standards, more sport-infused than regular Q5 stock if not nearly as ostentatiously racy as full-house RS machinery, though fetching in our tester’s contrasting rich Magma Red Nappa leather that’s lovingly supple to touch.

But surprises are few. If there’s one trick Audi continues to miss, it’s that its cabins do seem samey across different model lines, right down to the digital display skins, which do reinforce a family theme but also makes the stable feel a bit too homogenised between models and grades. If Audi can come up with a new grille design every other day, it could bring a bit more distinction and separation in, say, Virtual Cockpit aesthetics between models.

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It is a nice place to spend serious time. The seats are wonderfully shaped and supportive, even if the large squab bolster wants to cork your thigh when climbing in or out. Ergonomically, it’s equally natural in comfort and purposefully snug enough for those red-misted moments, a just-right balance fitting the ‘S’ all-rounder theme.

Besides the ever-so slightly clumsy ‘user administration’ when logging into the infotainment system and slightly lazy and confused Bluetooth reconnection, the touchscreen and its ‘connect plus’ smarts are generally slick, sharp and friendly, and the SQ5’s standard B&O 3D 19-speaker audio is a quantum leap beyond the ordinary gear Audi sticks in most of its base variants. The maker’s brilliant 360-degree camera system really is industry-leading for clarity and visual assistance.   

All in all, the SQ5 cabin and boot space are uncompromised in packaging and fit-out to a level befitting the vehicle’s positioning, even if it’s not all that distinctive or bespoke.

On the road

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The SQ5 Sportback and wagon fit Audi’s third-generation S-grade 3.0-litre oiler. It has new internals – steel pistons, notably – and a “twin-dosing” SRC catalytic system, one functioning as a particulate filter, that facilitates Euro 6d emissions compliance. But the headline deviation from the old twin-turbocharged form is the forced induction method.

It's now single-turbocharged and plumbs an electric compressor further upstream, after the intercooler. The EPC is powered by a 48-volt electric system and proves 2.4bar of charge at up to 70,000rpm.

At 251kW and 700Nm, the new TDI is precisely one kilowatt higher in output than the old twin-turbo engine. But the real benefit, it's claimed, is in throttle response by way of instantaneously compressed boost, less lag and cleaner running, with peak torque arriving lower in the rev range, at 1750rpm.

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A version of the ‘dual charged’ EPC 3.0 TDI debuted on last year’s first-gen Limited Edition and it was disappointing, with dull pauses in throttle response when left its own devices and only really shining in the Sport powertrain mode while shifting manually.

This TDI, effectively a generation newer, seems to have licked the old engine’s ills. The V6 is more instantly alert, more linear in torque ramp-up, its peak blooming rather than punching suddenly from nowhere. It’s more well-mannered and more evenly tempered without robbing from that rich V8-like thrum – augmented by exhaust sound resonators for mechanical amplification – or softening off its wonderfully addictive 700Nm undertow. Treat the loud pedal quietly and there’s enough mumbo to ride taller ratios without the powertrain becoming overly flustered.

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Peak torque clocks on at 1750rpm and maximum power drops off beyond four grand for quite a narrow sweet spot, but the eight-speed conventional auto does a commendable job of plucking fulsome goodness on the march and maintaining reasonably alert responses at a cruise. The tap-for-Sport transmission selector is a handy and intuitive ally, and a godsend given Audi's persistence with its clumsy sequential drive mode switch mechanism. 

At 5.1 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint, its pace is on the money. At 7.1L/100kms of claimed combined consumption, this engine is certainly nicely frugal for its performance capabilities. But while the boomerang TDI is quicker than the last-gen petrol SQ5 wagon, the latest gear is no quicker or better with thirst than its original S-grade oiler forebears. Hmm…

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With the 48-volt EPC and so-called “mild hybrid” tech comes complexity and, by association, weight. The SQ5 Sportback weighs in at 2085kg kerb. It’s a porker, and that’s with no intended inference to Stuttgart.

Net zero gain, then, even though the rolling stop-start tech at play is claimed to save as much as 0.7L of diesel per hundred.

The V6 is more instantly alert, more linear in torque ramp-up, its peak blooming rather than punching suddenly from nowhere.

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Its Quattro system is more conventional, its self-locking centre diff nominally 40:60 in front/rear split but able to ply 85 per cent of drive rearward, to the optional sport rear LSD. During our dry, warm weather assessment, there’s enough purchase from the 255mm Pirelli P Zeros that rear-axle torque apportioning smarts seem fairly superfluous short of race track pace that, frankly, would surely and squarely plonk this portly fish well out of friendly water.

Instead, its on-road manner and character suit the grandest of touring much better, though it can dial up dynamic competency when the roads and conditions allow.

The jury is out on the standard steel suspenders, but the optional air-sprung ride and handling is, by gut feel, worth the extra splurge.

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Engage Dynamic mode and the multilink axles muster up a decent amount of body control. It sits quite flat in the corners and there’s a fair degree of accuracy and enthusiasm in changing direction, despite the SUV’s portly heft that feels ever-present from the moment you ply steering lock at a decent clip. Still, point-to-point, it’s quick and surefooted, communicative enough in chassis and lusty enough in propulsion to stoke the driver’s enthusiasm nicely.

Rein in the leash and the ride is pleasant and compliant, without the flaccid wooliness that afflicts some premium carmakers' air suspension designs when set to more comfort-leaning tuning. Nor is there much in the way of slap across sharp edges or expansion joints that usually accompanies low-profile 21-inch rolling stock. Brakes, too, are powerful if easy to modulate cold or at low speed.

On-road, the SQ5 Sportback is both nicely polished and match fit, even if it’s realistically no fitter than TDI wagons that have trekked this same path in the past.

Ownership

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Audi still persists with its slim three-year warranty, among the shortest in premium importer circles and woeful compared with many mainstream marques. Servicing is $3170 for a five-year plan package, slightly ($30) higher than that of the less-heroic Q5 Sportback variants.

At 7.1L/100km, it’s certainly frugal for its performance capabilities. But the latest gear is no quicker or better with thirst than the original S-grade oiler.

VERDICT

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By taking its time, Audi has negotiated the risky ground of melding coupe design and SUV sensibility with a Sportback form that is both handsomely organic and, for most purposes, almost as practical as its wagon twin. A worthwhile upcharge, for style and some extra exclusivity, in many buyers' eyes, no doubt.

The big, torquey diesel does make certain sense in a big country faced with the tyranny of distance, though that's nothing new and Australia’s taste for premium oilers has waned over time. What this new, techier EPC-boosted TDI brings is a damn good drive and a wondrous soundtrack, if not a lot else new in terms of tangible pace or frugality. This new application, with its 48-volt complexities and weight penalty, is perhaps something Audi has been forced into rather than being a path of choice – there’s certainly a tinge of damage control in the face of ever-tightening Euro-led emissions legislation. 

Still, it works a treat, not just for performance but as a package. In practice, the whole diesel coupe SUV amalgamation fits together more neatly and convincingly than it might seem on paper or screen. With its oiler engine as a key point of difference to logical petrol rivals from BMW and Mercedes-AMG, there’s nothing else out there quite like the SQ5 Sportback. And more power to the Ingolstadt machine because of it.

2022 Audi SQ5 Sportback specifications