Off-Road Challenge: BMW X3 vs Audi Q5 vs Volvo XC60

Most modern SUVs will be used for the school run and never turn a wheel off-road. But, what if you’re looking for a 4-wheel-drive family car that can tackle traffic as well as tough muddy trails?

Well, Mat’s latest off-road head-to-head with the BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 has the answer.

Watch the video to find out which SUV fares best off-road.

All three cars here have 2.0-litre engines, four-wheel drive and cost between £42,000 and £43,000, but that’s where the similarities end.

The BMW X3 is the only hybrid car here, pairing a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a small electric motor to produce 292hp and 420Nm of torque.

That figure is the same as the 420Nm you get from the Volvo XC60’s 2.0-litre diesel engine, although it loses out in terms of power with just 197hp to its name.

The Audi Q5 splits the two on power with its 265hp 2.0-litre petrol engine. Its 370Nm torque figure is less than you get in the other two cars, but the Audi’s the lightest car in this trio. It weighs 1,880kg, which is 19kg less than the Volvo and a whopping 110kg less than the hybrid BMW.

All three cars have various bits of electronics designed to make light work of relatively un-taxing off-roading (such as hill-descent control), but the Audi and BMW have slightly beefier four-wheel-drive systems than the Volvo.

Will this affect how each car performs in a series of tests including uphill drag races, manoeuvrability trials and courses designed to test suspension articulation and ground clearance? You’ll have to watch the video to find out…

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