Audi Q5 55 TFSI e PHEV Review

Practicality and Boot Space

The interior of the Q5 is spacious and well built – so just what you’d expect to find from an Audi SUV. The front seats are supportive and there’s tons of oddment storage too, while the driving position is also spot-on. Those in the back aren’t going to be complaining about a lack of space, either, though it can feel a little dark and claustrophobic at times.

When it comes to boot space there isn’t too much of a penalty levelled at the Q5 because of its batteries. It’s down by 95 litres compared to the standard Q5, but that still puts boot room at a very useable 450 litres – so there’s more than enough room for most occasions. What is annoying, however, is the sheer size of the charging cables and the bag in which to put them – there’s no underfloor storage area for them, and they take up a huge portion of the load area.

Technology

As a result of being a facelift rather than an all-new model, the Q5 doesn’t benefit from the very latest in-car tech that Audi has to offer. So rather than the new twin-screen setup that we’ve become accustomed to seeing in cars such as the Q7 and Q8, the Q5 makes do with an older, ‘floating’ style screen without touch-sensitive capability.

This isn’t so much of a bother for the most part but the lack of touchscreen makes using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto particularly cumbersome and puts you off from using them. It’s a small niggle, but one which does detract from the overall user experience.

Safety 

The Q5 is as strong as they come when it comes to crash performance with a five-star rating from the independent testers at Euro NCAP in both front and side impact assessments. 

It also features a number of driver assistance systems including adaptive cruise control, electronic emergency braking, lane assist, high beam assist, parking sensors and all-round cameras.