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By Jonathan Crouch

Audi has improved its second generation Q5 mid-sized SUV. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at what's on offer.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 77

Audi's second generation Q5 gets a smarter look, an extra sleeker Sportback body shape, an upgraded cabin and more efficient diesel power to join the existing petrol and petrol plug-in options. There's a big step forward in media connectivity too. As ever, this mid-sized premium Audi executive SUV offers car-like driving dynamics that are great on tarmac and are even pretty effective for light off road use. In short, if you can afford it, you'd like one.

Backgroundword count: 154

Three models dominate the executive mid-to-large section of the premium-badged SUV sector and this is one of them, Audi's Q5. It's almost faced stiff competition from its two arch-rivals, the BMW X3 and the Mercedes GLC but looks stronger against them thanks to the package of mid-term updates visited upon the revised Q5 model range we're going to look at here. Some things haven't changed though. As before, this is the kind of compact SUV you buy if you want something that'll look great in the driveway, keep you mobile in a snowy snap and shrink around you when a twisting road opens up ahead. It's a demanding brief that around three quarters of a million global owners feel was delivered on by the earlier versions of this car. But is this latest version good enough to continue to ask questions its rivals may struggle to answer? That's what we're going to find out.

Driving Experienceword count: 268

This isn't the most dynamic-handling premium-badged mid-sized SUV you can buy but it's arguably the one that rides best and is most refined. S tronic auto transmission and quattro 4WD are standard across the range. The key news on the engine front is the arrival of a lighter, cleaner, more powerful 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine for the 40 TDI quattro variants that most Q5 customers choose. Power for this powerplant has increased from 190 to 204PS and this unit now uses the brand's latest, more efficient so-called 'twin dosing' catalytic converter technology. The conventional engine alternative is a 45 TFSI 245PS version of the brand's 2.0-litre petrol turbo. You may not have yet caught up with the fact that the SQ5 sporting model is now a mild hybrid 3.0-litre diesel (with 341PS and 700Nm of torque) and capable of 62mph in 5.1s en route to 155mph. You also may not be up to date with the fact that the Q5 range offers a TFSI e Plug-in hybrid option which uses a that 2.0-litre TFSI petrol turbo unit mated to a rechargeable 14.1 kWh lithium-ion battery capable of providing a WLTP-rated electric driving range of up to 38 miles. This Q5 PHEV is the 50 TFSI e variant, which offers 299PS and makes 62mph from rest in 6.1s en route to 148mph. For the TFSI e powertrain, there is of course the option of the sleeker Sportback body shape and if you choose that, you can have firmer sports suspension; as with the standard model, you can upgrade that with either adaptive damping or full air suspension on request.

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