2025 Audi Q5, SQ5 get new sleek appearance, keeps familiar character | Reviews (2024)

Audi may be delving deep into electricity, but it’s not giving up gasoline just yet. That includes its all-new 2025 Q5, now moving into its new third generation. We haven’t yet been behind the wheel, but we got a sneak preview of Audi’s popular model at a closed event in Munich recently.

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This was a global reveal and so we don’t have the full story on all the Canada-specific information; that’ll come closer to the Q5’s launch expected later this year, along with its pricing. But we’ll tell you what we know now on the 2025 Q5, and yes, there will be an SQ5 as well.

The Q5 is the last of three models we saw at the reveal, following the A5 sedan and A6 e-tron. Audi is changing the way it names its vehicles: While “A” still indicates a car and “Q” an SUV, those are now followed by an even number if the vehicle is electric, and an odd number for gasoline. While some models will be switching their badges to a new number, the Q5 was gasoline and still is, and so Q5 it was and Q5 it shall remain.

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Overall, the U.S. and Canada are the top markets for the Q5, taking in about 44% of production. Europe accounts for 35%, and other global markets sell the remaining 21%.

What’s new with the 2025 Audi Q5 on the outside?

This third-generation Q5 occupies the same wheelbase as the outgoing version, but it’s on an entirely new platform that’s dubbed the Premium Platform Combustion (PPC). It’s slipping under other upcoming models as well, including that new 2025 A5 sedan – a “low floor” version of it is used for cars, and a “high floor” one for SUVs. The underpinning for battery vehicles is the corresponding Premium Platform Electric, or PPE. As with the current Q5, the new one will be built in Audi’s facility in San José Chiapa, Mexico.

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This next-gen model is still unmistakably a Q5, but with enough differences to tell the world it’s new. It’s more streamlined and looks slimmer, primarily because Audi’s designers used the “rule of thirds” – two-thirds of the vehicle below the beltline, one-third taken up by the windows and roof. The nose is more vertical and the rear window is at a steeper angle.

The design improves aerodynamics, including its front air curtains and deflectors, underbody cladding, and rear spoiler. The rear diffuser is integrated into the fascia – Audi calls it an “island” – and with rectangular tailpipes on the Q5 and round ones on the SQ5. Globally it will offer wheel sizes from 17 to 21 inches, although we can expect our rims in the upper numbers.

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The new lighting is the most noticeable, with new and slimmer headlights. The rear features three-dimensional taillights within the full-width housing strip. They include proximity warnings, which flash red triangles if pedestrians or cyclists get too close. The third brakelight reflects in the rear window, and on Canadian models, it will spell out “Quattro,” the automaker’s name for its all-wheel drive (AWD).

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The new Audi Q5 on the inside

The equally-new A5 sedan features textile on its dash and touchpoints, and the A6 e-tron has a padded “softwrap” from door to door, but the Q5 is more utilitarian than those and that’s intentional – still a luxury vehicle, but it’s definitely an SUV. The cabin design is chunkier and with diamond-quilt upholstery materials that include sustainable textiles, some partially made with recycled polyester or plastic fibres.

As with the new A5 and A6 e-tron, the interior focus is on the new “Digital Stage,” as Audi is calling its stretch of curved screens tucked into a panel at the bottom of the dash. These consist of an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and 14.5-inch centre touchscreen, packed behind a single piece of glass; and an available 10.9-inch screen for the front passenger, which can be used for entertainment or to assist with certain functions shared with the driver, such as navigation. The screen displays only for the passenger and appears black to the driver to avoid distraction.

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The infotainment system is Audi’s Multi-Media Interface, or MMI. The voice-control assistant will constantly learn through AI and will be able to handle an estimated 800 functions. Features will include an available 685-watt Bang & Olufsen sound system with 16 speakers; and a configurable head-up display tied into the steering wheel buttons, so drivers can use the buttons for functions such as phone calls or entertainment while looking at the head-up to see what it is those buttons are doing. Climate controls are handled by icons at the bottom of the centre screen, although some functions, such as drive modes and stereo volume, use toggles and dials.

Up front, small-item storage is handled by cubbies and a larger-than-before console bin. There are two USB-C ports up front and two in the rear, and the wireless phone charger is cooled. The rear seat reclines and can be folded to provide up to 1,473 litres of cargo space; and when it’s not required, the tonneau cover can be stashed in a compartment under the cargo floor.

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What powers the 2025 Audi Q5?

We will get two engine choices at launch, although all their finalized power outputs and fuel efficiency haven’t yet been revealed. The entry engine is a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder that’s expected to pump out 268 horsepower – it’s the same engine as is offered now, but with more power. The SQ5 will use a turbocharged 3.0L V6 as it does now, but it looks like it will get a power boost as well, with Audi’s German headquarters reporting 362 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque across global markets. Both will use an automatic seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and Quattro AWD will be standard. The Q5 will also include an adaptive air suspension, selective dampers, progressive steering, and a trailer maneuver assistant for towing.

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Globally, the Q5 will also come with a 2.0L diesel engine, which we obviously won’t get; and as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV). Oddly, while the Q5 is available as the PHEV here for 2024 – known as the Q5 TFSIe – Audi Canada has confirmed that it won’t be returning under the hood of this new 2025 Q5.

Final Thoughts

As with our previous reports on the A5 and A6 e-tron, this was only a look at a static display and not a chance to drive it. The makeover gives the Q5 a sleek and updated appearance while still keeping its familiar character. The interior looks long-distance comfortable; it retains its cargo-friendly practicality; and the “wall-o-screens” across the dash will appeal to those who like their technology up front. We’ll convey our further impressions as soon as we get behind the wheel of this next-generation Audi Q5.

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