Transfer

I’m about 500 miles into my B9 SQ5 and wanted to do a little comparo/review thingy.

I bought the first gen SQ5 in December 2013 and it was a love/hate relationship. It did many things right and many things wrong. After almost 4 years and 41k miles I was ready to see it go. I drove the 2018 SQ5 and I was highly convinced after one test drive that the new model was a huge upgrade from the old. A few other cars to my more recent history: 2010 WRX 5 door (highly modded), 2011 E90 M3 comp pack (lightly modded for track), and current other car 2015 M235i xDrive.

My build which took me awhile to find and required 6 hours round trip to pick up:
2018 SQ5 Prestige in Ibis White
Black nappa leather with carbon fiber trim
S Sport package
Driver assistance package
21” wheels
Trailer hitch (for bike rack)
Audi Ring lights (a bit silly)

Exterior:
Really impressive in person with 21" wheels and S sport brakes and lowered suspension. I'm telling you, get the 21s and S sport pack. The body lines, headlights, and surprisingly even the brushed aluminum bits feel modern and sporty. Black optics will be a pure personal preference on this gen while I feel it really elevated the car on the prior gen. The fake exhaust exits surprisingly don't bother me and spare the pain of cleaning carbon soot off real tips. It also doesn't hurt that the side mirrors are no longer elephant ears obstructing corner view.

Interior:
What an interior! Everyone always says Audi has the best interiors but I’ve never really felt there was a huge advantage to Audi over BMW or Mercedes. This new gen changes my opinion. The interior visuals are just beautiful with the virtual cockpit, adjustable color LED ambient lighting, the quilted leather seats, the CF trim, the gear selector… blah blah I can’t say enough good things about this interior and it annihilates the B8 SQ5. I sat on the alcantara seats thinking I would save some money with those but found them quite stiff and much lower rent than the leather. The quilted nappa leather feels incredibly plush and looks high end. Interior space for 4 passengers is much better than B8 with plenty of room for 4 adults. Cargo space is a little larger and very usable and the air suspension lowering for loading is surprisingly useful. The steering wheel feels great although compared to thick padded BMW wheels it is much different. One of my very few complaints on this car is why can't we get a heated steering wheel with the flat bottom? No one is stocking cold weather pack because it eliminates flat bottom and everyone wants that wheel.

The drive:
Some may lament the move to the turbo V6 but at this point I prefer it. I think both engines are excellent and honestly they feel like almost identical power but they perform very differently as you would expect from supercharged vs turbo. I think my biggest complaint about the prior gen drivetrain was really in the transmission. I hated that thing as it never did what I wanted it to, requiring me to drive in manual mode almost all the time, and it was pretty jerky. The new transmission tuning is so much better with smoother shifting, intuitive shifting logic, and much improved rev matching. The new engine is also much smoother and sounds great. I'm still trying to decide which one I think sounds better because they both have a nice character to them. The new engine/exhaust has a nice wookie growl and enough pops and bangs to keep you entertained without being obnoxious. The turbo certainly has lag of about 1 second for torque to kick in, but this is easy to acclimate to and the RPMs don't seem to be a factor since you're up to 2k pretty quickly. Aggressive driving is as good or better in the new SQ5 vs the old. The front end turn in and grip is a big improvement and body roll is less. And that air suspension... oh the suspension. Absolute marvel of comfort and handling.

Tech:
I wasn't sure I needed or wanted all the Prestige plus DAP stuff but I'm glad I have it. The HUD works very well although doesn't show you the manual gear and disappears with my polarized sunglasses. The DAP equipment is very handy and can make highway driving or traffic a very relaxed experience. The virtual cockpit looks great as expected and Apple Carplay is handy but I'm having issues with phone calls when attached to Carplay. I just haven't taken the time to sort that out. Voice recognition and nav are hugely improved compared to prior gen.

Overall:
The new SQ5 and probably the whole new Audi line in general, are a huge hit in my book. I think this SQ5 is the nicest, most upscale, and comfortable car I've ever had and it is highly capable when you want to drive aggressively. This thing does it all and so far I am very happy with it as significant upgrade over my 2014 SQ5. Alright that was really long. Now ask me anything!

cakasky

Awesome review and very good looking. Thank you for sharing.

I am going from a 2010 Q5 SLine to a (hopefully soon) 2018 Prestige Q5 fully loaded. For the Q5 model we can’t get the air suspension but I did get the adaptive dampening suspension. I know they are not the same. Anyways that’s one reason I sorta wish I ordered an SQ5. On the other hand I really liked the Nougat Brown interior and most other features I did want are part of the Q5 Prestige with options. So I ended up ordering a Q5.

My question is...what is the major differential between the Q5 and SQ5 in your opinion with respect to the suspension (specifically the air suspension) for its average/ daily ride?

damnitBobby

Nice review! Looks just like mine

Agree with everything you said especially about the alcantara seats. I sat in a SQ5 with them and they looked cheap and would HIGHLY suggest any future buyer to spend a little more for the leather seats.

Yep I can't find any fault with this car. The lag is definitely there in Comfort and Auto mode. But I don't necessarily think it's turbo lag as much as it is the transmission starting off in 2nd gear for fuel economy. Because when I put it in Dynamic mode it starts off in 1st gear and there's very little lag. My only other gripe would be the brake dust on the front wheels.

Mike Weber

Cakasky: Bear in mind that I am no expert and have zero tech knowledge; however, I test drove the Q5 with active dampening and recently took delivery of the SQ5 with air suspension. The SQ5 has an additional 'cushion,' even when in dynamic mode which decreases any harshness. The Q5 was lovely, however, and I wouldn't know the difference had I not ordered the SQ5. I'm sure you will love your vehicle!

cakasky

Thanks for the comparison. I was asking because as I still await the build of my Q5, I did find an order from a semi-close dealer that has an SQ5. The SQ5 has air suspension and was built just a couple days ago. I also learned this morning that it is not a customer sold order, meaning it is up for grabs. So my wheels are spinning here a bit as both are well equipped with the options I would want. For now I am going to wait another week or two and see how it goes with my ordered Q5 before seriously considering the SQ5 as it gets from the factory to state-side.

Again thank you for your comment, exactly what I was curious about.

Mike Weber

You're welcome. And if it helps you, I am thrilled with the SQ5. I have no real interest in a "sports car" but chose it over the Q5 for some additional aesthetic features including the Nappa leather, alcantara inserts on the doors and the steering wheel. It's a great combination of quiet, luxury and torque without seeming excessive. If you choose to get the SQ5, I'm sure you will be happy.

Transfer

Even in dynamic in sport auto or manual shifting when you nail the gas from a full boil roll, there is a 1 second delay in power which I would argue is turbo lag. The throttle is open but the turbo takes a second to spool. With the B8 supercharged V6, the accelerator was an instant on/off pedal. Now this isn't necessarily a criticism but just a difference. I think the new engine does many things very well and better than the older model.

I haven't driven the regular Q5 but that sums up my assumption of why the SQ5 is so velvety and I'm sure the Q5 will be good as well.

I very much agree. This isn't a sports car but it has the power, looks, handling, and comfort that makes it incredibly enjoyable to drive.

sass0

great review, loved the info on nappa seats vs alcantara..

do you see any probs with the 21" rims when going on gravel/dirt roads?

AndroidRobot

I had the 21" wheels, no issues on dirt roads, but I stayed at a reasonable 25mph. If you use all season tires (they don't make any for the 255/40R21 spec) I'm sure it would be much better. I the look of 21" wheels, but the practicality or lack there of for tire options kills it for me. I now have a SQ5 with the normal 20" wheels and they are even better. I've found the ride to be smoother, not that the 21"s weren't, the 20"s are just better for rough roads.

Transfer

Thanks! Glad to help out.

I will definitely be doing some light off roading and fire road rally driving and I’m certainly hoping everything will be fine. I did a little pounding on the 20s with Michelin PSS tires on my 2014 and never had a problem. I’m also assuming the air suspension in all-road or offroad configuration will smooth things out as it sure works great on crappy streets.