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Audi Q5 scooped
By
Ben Pulman (artist's impression by Radovan Varicak)
11 April 2008 11:56
This is Audi’s new Q5 SUV. We’ll see the car officially on 20 April 2008 at the Beijing Motor Show but our artist’s impressions show you - a week early - what to expect. It’s a compact 4x4 designed to take on the BMW X3 and new Mercedes GLK. Sales will start at the very end of 2008.
So what do I need to know about the Audi Q5?
It will be a smaller, more eco-friendly version of the gargantuan Q7. The Q5 sits on a different platform though: there’s no Porsche Cayenne under this body. Instead the Q5 uses the same architecture as the A4 and A5, which means a wheelbase extended to bring the engine further back inside the wheelbase. It's hardly a front/mid-engined SUV though...
Isn’t this just another niche-filling Audi?
Well yes, but at least it’s a (fairly) sensible one. It’s a small(er) 4x4 so you don’t feel quite so much guilt, and pump out quite so many emissions as you would when you cruise around in a Q7.
And at least it’s not a convertible… Audi previewed the Q5 with the Cross Cabriolet quattro, which was a two-door drop-top.
Click 'Next' for the full mechanical rundown on the Q5
