Audi Q5/SQ5, redesigned for 2025, to guide brand renewal in the U.S.

Audi unveiled the 2025 Q5 and SQ5 SUVs over Labor Day weekend, revealing new designs, more efficient engines, and software-driven architecture. Of the 20 new or redesigned vehicles Audi will launch over the next two years, none is more important than the redesigned third-generation Q5.

Audi's best-selling car in the U.S., accounting for 44% of the Q5's global sales, it may be the last of its kind; following the 2025 Audi A5 revealed in July, it will be the first to use the brand's new “premium platform combustion” platform It will be an Audi SUV.

The 2025 Audi Q5 and SQ5

It will serve as one of the short fangs of Audi's two approaches over the next decade to become a fully electric vehicle by 2033.

“Until then, we will phase in this parallel strategy and eventually reduce the number of ICE vehicles,” Audi CEO Gernot Dellner explained at a July press briefing. 'For now, and for the next two to three years, we will introduce new ICE vehicles, after which we will decide whether to introduce next-generation vehicles.' We will have to reduce our portfolio because as a company we will not be able to cope with that complexity."

The company's new ICE vehicles will be the first of their kind in the world, and they will be the first to be introduced.

The longer projection will be extended under Audi's premium platform-electric strategy, which launched earlier this summer with the 2025 Audi Q6 E-Tron electric SUV.

How long these platforms will operate and how many vehicles they will support will depend as much on market forces as political ones.

“We have a global strategy, maybe we will have a strategy for the western world and China, but for now we will have strong links between Europe and the US,” Döllner said. 'Especially in the area of SUVs, there will be more cars influenced by the demands of the North American market.'

2025 Audi SQ5

The new PPC allows most types of electrification, but the Q5 “55” plug-in hybrid will not yet return to the U.S., and the standard 18-kilowatt mild hybrid system in the European market Most new SUV models from BMW, Volvo, and Mercedes have some sort of mild hybrid system.

For now. When asked if hybrids are planned for the U.S., Delnor said unequivocally. Yes.”

It could be the Q5. What we know for sure is that the Q5 and SQ5 will be powered by the same engines as the A5 and S5: the 2025 Audi Q5 will have a 268 hp 2.0-liter turbo four, which is cleaner than the current turbo four, while the SQ5 will have a 362-hp 3.0-liter V-6 turbo, which is cleaner than the current V6 turbo's 349 hp. All-wheel drive with torque vectoring will be standard, and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission will be retained.

Stiffer front-axle steering and suspension mounts tighten the steel-spring suspension, and adaptive dampers are available. Four-corner air suspension with adaptive dampers will be standard on the SQ5.

2025 Audi Q5

Audi's new software-defined electrical architecture runs five computers meant to keep the vehicle and its offerings as updatable as a smartphone. This will help the brand evolve what it already does well, with state-of-the-art infotainment systems and distinct interfaces. These interfaces streamline the entire dashboard rather than overwhelming it like some rivals.

In Audi's words, this “digital stage” features a horizontal 11.9-inch digital meter cluster alongside a 14.5-inch touchscreen that curves toward the driver. Then there is a 10.9-inch passenger screen that is invisible to the driver. The front passenger can control the navigation or override it from the passenger screen; there is little need to rely on the touchscreen, thanks to voice commands that the AI learns the driver's preferences and speech patterns. According to Audi, the voice recognition system can register more than 800 commands, and that number will grow over time. In limited testing at the preview, most basic navigation commands were met, and the climate controls were properly adjusted.

The Q5 maintains the same footprint as its predecessor and seats five, but would be more comfortable for four. Its size is closer to the redesigned BMW X3 than to the X5, and closer to the Mercedes-Benz GLC than to the GLE. Its length and wheelbase are slightly smaller than the Genesis GV70 and Volvo XC60.

Audi wraps the cabin from door to dash in available quilted leather and soft-touch materials with contrast stitching. The front seats have ample support on the sides and bottom with standard power adjustment and massage functions; SQ5 models get a hexagonal steering wheel with a flat top and bottom;

The SQ5 model gets a hexagonal steering wheel with flat top and bottom. Audi is trying to reinvent the door control panel with tactile touch surfaces to unlock the doors and operate the windows and side mirrors. It feels too similar to Volkswagen's ID.4.

In the rear, three occupants can sit side by side, providing ample headroom and good legroom, though the middle occupant is best reserved for children. The panoramic sunroof shaves headroom for the rear seats. The rear seats can slide and recline to optimize passenger or cargo space.

2025 Audi Q5

There is another notable interior feature that connects to the exterior design: the halo-like lighting expresses the car's software-defined architecture. A light bar encircling the cowl and extending the length of the windshield discreetly flashes the turn indicators. While normal turn signals flash in a cluster, these “dynamic interaction lights” can also display navigation directions in addition to those shown in the head-up display and cluster. They also accent the ambient lighting that frames the dashboard, doors, and console.

The emphasis on lighting carries over to the exterior design, with Audi's thorough focus on headlights and taillights. U.S. regulators do not allow them to be fully equipped as in other markets, but they are still worth noting. The low-profile daytime running lights curve around corners in narrow slits and can be customized with up to eight different light signatures that can be programmed from a touchscreen while in park. At the rear, a full-width taillight complements the 3D illumination of the outer taillights. In other markets, these taillights flash hazard triangles to warn the driver and can be equipped with sequential turn lights. In North America, a third brake light is integrated into the integrated rear spoiler. It reflects off the glass and can spell “Quattro” for free marketing of Audi's all-wheel drive system. Drivers cannot see it in their rearview mirrors.

Exterior lighting highlights the Q5's new design. The lower grille has eliminated the fake skid plate and is now wider and bolder, with vertical air intakes at the corners. The newly designed honeycomb grille features a 3D Audi Ring logo and is illuminated on some models. More underbody panels reduce aerodynamic drag, and character lines run from the front fenders to the rear. Wheel sizes range from 18 to 21 inches, the latter available only on the SQ5.

2025 Audi Q5

Pricing will not be announced until later this year, and Audi expects deliveries of the third-generation Q5 and SQ5 to begin early 2025. Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige trims will carry over to the base, S-line, and SQ5 grades, and the 2025 Q5 is expected to start priced below the Q5 quattro's $59,000 (based on current exchange rates) in Europe. This is also true for the SQ5, which is estimated at 82,000 euros (about $90,000).

Audi covered the airfare and lodging costs for the Motor Authority to present this direct report.