Audi Q5 long-term test: report 6

The car Audi Q5 45 TFSI quattro 265 S line S tronic Run by Darren Moss, deputy editor

Why it’s here We already think the Audi Q5 is one of the best large SUVs you can buy, but is this facelifted version a step forwards or a leap back?

Needs to Be comfortable for both short and long journeys, spacious and able to function as a mobile office when needed

Mileage 1972 List price £47,340 Target Price £44,397 Price as tested £52,800 Test economy 30.5mpg Official economy 32.8mpg

19 April 2021 – Big and bootiful

I live alone, so I’ve been in a support bubble with my parents over the course of this most recent lockdown, and on one trip home to see them I took over a load of detritus from clearing out my spare room. Now, you won’t be surprised to learn that the boot of the Q5 was spacious enough to carry everything I needed to once I’d folded down the rear seats – a task made easier by the convenient plastic handles you can pull from inside the boot, which save you clambering round to the sides of the car to drop them manually. 

What did surprise me was the amount of debris and dust left inside the boot once I’d shifted the belongings I wanted to keep into my parents’ garage. No problem, I thought, as 10 minutes with my Hoover-brand vacuum cleaner would soon see to it, and to make the job easier I was also able to remove part of the boot floor. No, I’m not talking about dismantling my car, but rather removing the carpeted layer that separates the boot from the Q5’s air compressor and tyre sealant holder beneath – in other words, the space which in an older car might contain a spare wheel. This was very easy to do, and meant I could prop up the piece of flooring and really go at it with the carpet attachment of my vacuum cleaner.

On the drive to and from my parents' house in Northamptonshire, I was reminded why I fell so in love with the Q5 in the first place: its ability to carry you mile after mile in comfort and serenity. There’s almost no wind noise at motorway speeds, and the 45 TFSI petrol engine of my car is whisper quiet. Add in a driver’s seat which offers four-way adjustable lumbar support and extendable under-thigh support, plus a height-adjustable armrest for my elbow to rest on, and it’s a heavenly place to spend time. Put it this way – I covered more than 200 miles in a single day on the way to my parents’ house and back, and at the end of it all I felt fresh as a daisy.

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