Audi Q5 Sportback Review & Prices

The Audi Q5 Sportback is an SUV for people who don’t want to look like they’ve bought an SUV, so it has a seriously rakish profile, like the BMW X4. It’s Audi’s third coupe-styled SUV after the Q3 Sportback and Q8, and is very closely related to its squarer Q5 SUV sibling.

The Q5 Sportback’s styling changes over the Q5 mean it’s a bit like a mullet haircut: it’s business up front and party at the back.

From the front, the new Audi only looks subtly different to the standard SUV. The grille comes with slightly different plastic mesh, and the air intake trims beneath the headlights have been tweaked, too. The Q5 Sportback is available with OLED lighting technology that makes the headlights and brake lights brighter and more efficient than ever.

You’ll see a much bigger difference from the side and rear. The Audi Q5 Sportback is only seven millimetres longer than the standard Q5 but its sloping roofline and heavily revised back end make it look lower, longer and sportier. The rear bumper has been tweaked too, with revised silver trim and different reflector strips under the boot lid.

The new Audi Q5 Sportback’s interior looks much the same as the standard Q5’s cabin, at least in the front. You get the same classy dashboard design with Audi’s latest infotainment system. This consists of a standard-fit 12.3-inch virtual cockpit and a free-standing 10.1-inch touchscreen display. Audi has also upgraded the voice commands that now respond to the ‘Hey Audi’ trigger phrase.

Thankfully, the standard Q5’s cabin was already among the best in its class – the technology all works well and build quality is extremely good. But there is a small sacrifice to be made when you climb in the back.

That swoopy roofline chops 17mm out of the roof height, with reduced headroom for passengers in the back. It’s only minor, and those under six foot or so won’t notice, but really tall adults will find their heads touching the roof where they didn’t in the Q5.

The 550 litres boot in the standard Q5 drops to 510 litres in the Sportback. Fold the Q5 Sportback’s rear seats down and this grows to 1,480 litres – although that’s still 70 litres less than you can fit in the standard Q5. For many that’ll be a small price to pay for style, however.

The new Audi Q5 Sportback is offered with a pair of 2.0-litre engines – a 265hp 45 TFSI petrol and 204hp 40 TDI diesel, as well as a 299hp plug-in hybrid model. Audi has also launched a 347hp twin-turbo V6 diesel SQ5 Sportback model, and every Audi Q5 Sportback – including the high-performance SQ5 – comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

You’ll get deja vu if you step out of the Q5 and into the Q5 Sportback, as they’re almost identical to drive.

S Line models come with lowered, stiffer suspension to make them feel more sporting, and you’ll be able to pay extra for an adaptive suspension setup that lets you switch between a cushy ride and sharper cornering on the fly – the latter is recommended if you really want a proper luxury feel.

Adaptive air suspension that can vary the car’s ride height to make it lower for better stability and taller to deal with the odd spot of off-roading is also available. The Q5 Sportback is the most refined and comfortable car in its class if you do spec this option, and the flexibility it brings is handy.

And the price for the extra style? Well that’s…the price. The Audi Q5 Sportback is around £2,500 more expensive than the equivalent Q5. While that seems fair enough, you’ll have to really like the Sportback’s design. If you’re not bowled over by it you’d be much better off spending that £2,500 on options or a higher trim level in the normal Q5 SUV.

If this does sound like your next new car, check out the latest Audi Q5 Sportback deals. Or if you'd prefer a used Audi Q5 Sportback then head over to our used page.

The Audi Q5 looks expensive when compared to alternatives such as the Mercedes-GLC Coupe and BMW X4. At least the Audi comes fitted with a generous level of standard equipment that includes heated front seats with lumbar support (an option in the BMW X4), a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

The Audi Q5 Sportback is easy to drive in town, quiet on the motorway and reassuring on country roads, although a BMW X4 is more fun 

In town

The Audi Q5 Sportback is great to drive around town. Its controls are light, its automatic gearbox shuffles through its gears smoothly and the suspension is reasonably comfortable.

Okay, so the large pillars at the front and back windows hamper visibility slightly, but all Q5 Sportbacks come with rear parking sensors and a reversing camera as standard. The Q5 Sportback also has a tighter turning circle than a BMW X4.

Still not a parking fan? The Comfort and Sound Pack adds a 360-degree camera that gives you a bird’s-eye view of the road surrounding the car. Or you can go for the optional Park Assist Plus, which means your Q5 Sportback can select a suitable parking space and park itself turning the steering wheel, while you operate the brake and accelerator. 

On the motorway

The Audi Q5 Sportback is a great cruiser with little to no tyre or wind noise upsetting the peace of the interior. All models come with cruise control, but Vorsprung versions go a step further – they are fitted with active cruise control, lane assist and traffic assist, which means the Q5 can brake and steer itself on the motorway and in queueing traffic. These systems make long-distance driving a lot less tiring. 

On a twisty road

The Audi Q5 Sportback doesn’t let itself down on country roads. Stick the car’s Drive Select in Sport mode and you get weightier steering and a sharper throttle. The Q5 grips well, remains flat in corners for a high-riding SUV and has plenty of traction when you’re accelerating out of bends. As a result, you can fling it about without having to worry the car will get away from you. Having said that, it’s not as involved to drive as a BMW X4.

The Audi Q5 Sportback is a practical SUV, although the sloping roof means it’s not as roomy in the back as the standard Q5

The Audi’s driver's seat is very comfortable and, like the steering wheel, has loads of adjustment so you’ll not have any issues finding a perfect driving position. All Q5 Sportbacks come with front seats that are heated and have four-way lumbar adjustment. 

Vorsprung models go a step further by offering electrically adjustable front seats that glide into position at the touch of a button and have a memory function for the driver’s side, so it’s easy to return the seat to your position after someone else has used the car. 

The style of the seats you get depends on the model you go for. Sport versions have twin leather upholstery which is a mix of vinyl and real leather, S line models get an Alcantara interior, while Vorsprung and Edition 1 models get quilted leather. 

In terms of interior storage, you get a sprinkling of semi-useless storage in the centre console, but elsewhere the news is good. You get a neat wireless charging pad which slides your phone out of the way when it is charging, two cup holders, storage under the centre console with USB plugs, an average-sized glovebox and good-sized bins on all four doors. 

Space in the back seats

The downside of the Audi Q5 Sportbacks sloping roof is that it has 17mm less rear headroom than the standard Q5. A fact that tall rear passengers will be aware of, as it means their heads could be brushing the roof lining. 

It’s pretty good in all other respects, though, with plenty of knee and foot room, although a third passenger will struggle to get comfortable on the raised middle seat.

On the bright side, fitting a child seat is made easier by the Q5 Sportback’s wide-opening back doors, raised ride height and clearly marked ISOFIX points.

Boot space

The Audi Q5 Sportback’s sportier body shape means boot space is compromised slightly versus that standard Q5, dropping from 550 to 510 litres in capacity. Fold the back seats by pulling a couple of latches in the boot and the Q5 Sportback’s load area offers a total boot capacity of 1480 litres – 70 litres less than the standard Q5. 

In terms of downsides, there’s a slight lip to lift luggage over, there's nowhere in the boot to store the Q5’s parcel shelf and you don’t get the adjustable boot floor you’ll find in some SUVs. Having said that, you do get hooks for your shopping and a couple of netted storage spaces on either side of the load bay.

The Audi Q5 feels solid on the inside and has pretty infotainment screens, although it's a shame the old scroll wheel control has been dumped in favour of a touchscreen

Build quality inside the Audi Q5 Sportback is very good with soft-touch materials aplenty and components that feel like they’ve been screwed together for life. It’s also very easy to use with physical buttons still used to control things like the car’s stereo and ventilation system. 

The Audi Q5 Sportback S infotainment screen has crystal clear, colourful graphics that come to life with the car’s Google Maps. You don’t get the swivel screen fitted to Audi’s of old, but the touchscreen is quick and responsive to your commands. And anyway, you can always swap prodding the touchscreen for using the voice activation of your phone via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. 

The only downside of using either of those smartphone mirroring systems is that you can’t put your sat-nav map on the car’s digital instrument binnacle, you’ll need to stick with the car's inbuilt sat-nav (which is pretty good) for that. 

The standard stereo is also decent, but if you’re a music fan it’s worth going for the Comfort and Sound Pack which adds, amongst other things, a Bang & Olufsen stereo with 19 speakers and a 755W output.

The Audi Q5 is currently available with a choice of two engines – a diesel and a petrol – both come in combination with a seven-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox.

The 150hp 40 TDI diesel is the model to choose if you want decent fuel economy – it’ll return nearly 50mpg, although CO2 emissions range from 165-176g/km meaning road tax will cost you either £585 or £945 in year one. Nevertheless, performance is strong with the diesel Q5 Sportback surging from 0-62mph in 7.6 seconds and onto a top speed of 137mph.

The Petrol model is quicker on paper. The 195hp 45 TFSI gets from 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds and has a top speed of 149mph, which means the engine is quiet on the motorway. Mind you, the petrol only makes sense if you have a low annual mileage which makes its poor fuel economy – you’ll struggle to get more than 30mpg – less of an issue.

The Audi Q5 Sportback hasn’t been tested for safety by Euro NCAP, but you’d expect it to be just as safe as the standard Q5 which was awarded a five-star rating in 2017. Standard safety kit on the Q5 includes automatic emergency braking, hill descent control, a pop-up bonnet that can protect pedestrians from the hard engine below and six airbags. The Q5 also comes fitted as standard with an alarm that’s hooked up to motion and tow-away sensors.

The Audi Q5 Sportback comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty which isn’t quite as generous as the three-year/unlimited mileage warranty that comes as standard with the BMW X4. For a posh German brand, Audi tends to underperform in customer satisfaction surveys and the Q5 has been subject to various recalls over its life for things like faulty airbags, water ingress into the alternator, loose wheel linings and faulty brake master cylinders.