Ingolstadt – The new Audi Q5 combines the dynamism of a sports sedan with highly variable interior and versatile options for leisure-time and family use. Strong and efficient engines, quattro permanent all-wheel drive and agile running gear have been brought together to create a superior technology package for both on- and off-road driving. The sportiest SUV in its class is dynamic, multifunctional and comfortable.

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A few things I noticed:

o Navigation system is hard drive based instead of DVD based
o 3rd Gen MMI - is this the same as in the S5/A5/B8 A4, or newer?
o No mention of alternate drivetrains (a bad trend....dammit)
o LED taillamps look great.
o Surprising that the very US-centric (room for surfboards) Q5 press release is being announced in China

Do we have any ideas on:

o Pricing
o Alternate drivetrains
o Timeline for availability
o I assume this is built on the A4/A5 MLP?

Modified by Travis Grundke at 8:50 AM 4/19/2008

The US debut is going to be in early 2009 as a 2010 year model. Maybe the 2011 model coming in 2010 will let us have the 3.0L TDI. I am waiting till then and will not be buying this first year with its single drivetrain option.

But the TDI V6 and petrol V6 are usually similarly priced in Europe (and in some cases the TDI is less!), so why would the TDI be significantly more here? Doesn't make sense...

For example:

A8 3.2 FSI: 67,800
A8 3.0 TDI: 67,500

A6 3.2 FSI: 45,350
A6 3.0 TDI: 44,750

A5 3.2 FSI: 44,600
A5 3.0 TDI: 45,550

A4 3.2 FSI: 40,000
A4 3.0 TDI: 41,000

Q7 3.6 FSI: 50,700
Q7 3.0 TDI: 51,500

Me not speak english well?

One of the models at the launch was a 2.0T.

Can we expect the Q5 to be priced between the RDX and the X3? That makes it around $35,000 to start with.

Next thought is, what is the real difference between the A4 Avant and the Q5, except that the Q5 sits higher and is called a "SUV"?

Modified by dsackman at 7:53 AM 4-20-2008

They say this chassis is based off the A5 which is longitudinally mounted but I thought this engine was transverse!?
Whatever the case the design they brought forward 10 years ago..yes 10 years! looked way better to me.

Then:

Now:

I don't really care about the number of gears. 6 is more than enough but I don't want to drive a slushbox after driving a DSG. Extra gears could help with fuel economy i guess.

and the B8 Avant looks better and better by the day... I must say I am a little disappointed with the Q5. Maybe the long wait raised my expectations too high...

Well, the press release says a hard drive with music storage and active traffic data in the Navi. I believe Europe already has active traffic data but it'd be cool to see Audi implement some sort of setup like that from their satellite radio supplier.

An admission. I've seen the Q5 recently in Germany. I had a chance to sit inside it and one of the other changes I noticed, that you can see in one of the high-res interior shots from the microsite, is a small change in the main dial of the MMI setup. The aluminum frame of the dial remains basically the same but the black center is now movable like a small thumb or finger joystick or one o those knobs you see in the center of the keyboard on PC laptops. The MMI unit wasn't functioning on the Q5 I had access to, so I'd be curious to see how the function is integrated.

Quote, originally posted by dsackman »

Next thought is, what is the real difference between the A4 Avant and the Q5, except that the Q5 sits higher and is called a "SUV"? Modified by dsackman at 7:53 AM 4-20-2008

This is probably another reason why the A4 Avant drivetrain offerings for next year are so limited.

It's longitudinal and B-chassis based. Tiguan is transverse and A-chassis based. The two are not to be confused even though sizing and proportions aren't far off. Rumor is Audi is working on a sub Q5 model that won't be called Q3 for the A-chassis and that Porsche is working on a sub-Cayenne that'll use the Q5 setup.

Any word if this, along with things such as the LED taillights, will be running changes on the A4/A5/S5?

Quote, originally posted by George@Fourtitude »

Well, the press release says a hard drive with music storage and active traffic data in the Navi. I believe Europe already has active traffic data but it'd be cool to see Audi implement some sort of setup like that from their satellite radio supplier. An admission. I've seen the Q5 recently in Germany. I had a chance to sit inside it and one of the other changes I noticed, that you can see in one of the high-res interior shots from the microsite, is a small change in the main dial of the MMI setup. The aluminum frame of the dial remains basically the same but the black center is now movable like a small thumb or finger joystick or one o those knobs you see in the center of the keyboard on PC laptops. The MMI unit wasn't functioning on the Q5 I had access to, so I'd be curious to see how the function is integrated.

Quote, originally posted by George@Fourtitude »

This is probably another reason why the A4 Avant drivetrain offerings for next year are so limited.

Not quite 10 years, only 7 years and 6 months The Audi Steppenwolf was presented at Paris Auto Motor Show 2000 ( September 28 - October 15).

I'm still waiting for the Steppenwolf design or something similar. From my point of vue, last chance is the Q3.

dhcmrlchtdj

I believe the hardware is largely a plug-and-play module setup and so easily added to those cars, maybe for 2010 model year six months after the market launch of the Q5 here. That's a guess, but I don't see why not.

I wouldn't be surprised to see something like this, but supposedly not under the Q3 name based on the settlement with Infiniti.