2019 Audi SQ5 First Drive: Young Love
We millennials have it so easy. Our parents鈥攖hose (you!) know-it-all baby boomers鈥攇rew up making 鈥渉ard鈥?choices such as which two cars to buy for your young family鈥檚 commute and weekend escapes. We, the allegedly entitled millennial generation, typically have the attention span (and budget) to buy just the one car. And whether we have Tesla money or Toyota money, we expect our ride to do everything鈥攊t must be an economical commuter, a comfortable grand tourer, and a light off-roader, and it should be fun to drive. For the well-heeled among us, the European luxury automakers have gotten quite good at filling this particular niche. And with the 2018 Audi SQ5, the folks from Ingolstadt prove they know what those wealthier millennial (and younger Gen X) buyers want. Audi says the typical SQ5 owner skews male and is typically around 35 years old. That makes it the youngest demographic in the Audi line despite being more expensive than several other four-rings models. Audi seems to have found the formula that sets millennial hearts ablaze. Based on the second-generation Q5, Audi鈥檚 redesigned SQ5 once again picks up where the mainstream Q5 leaves off.
The old SQ5鈥檚 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 gets replaced with a new 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6, with its single twin-scroll turbo nestled inside the engine鈥檚 vee to mitigate lag. Power is unchanged at 354 hp, but torque increases from 346 lb-ft to 369 lb-ft. Audi says the new turbocharged engine is 31 pounds lighter than the old V-6, and it is tuned to be more responsive, too. It鈥檚 also a big leap over the 252 hp and 273 lb-ft you get from the capable-enough 2.0-liter turbo in the standard Q5鈥攚hich no longer offers a V-6 option. Although the new Q5 gets a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, for the SQ5 Audi has opted to carry over the old SQ5鈥檚 quick-shifting eight-speed auto. The eight-speed is mated to Audi鈥檚 Quattro all-wheel-drive system, which unlike the pedestrian Q5 is always shuffling power between the front and rear wheels to optimize performance. 3,000 S Sport package, giving the SQ5 the capability to send nearly 100 percent of its power to a single rear wheel if need be. It can also drift in low-friction situations. Power is only one part of the SQ5 equation鈥攖he other involves the chassis.
Audi was able to give the SQ5, which rides on the Volkswagen Group鈥檚 lightweight MLB Evo platform, a stiffer, more refined chassis than before. Cruising Canada鈥檚 Vancouver Island, the SQ5 package proves to be quite compelling. The Audi鈥檚 new sheetmetal, further differentiated from the Q5 with a more aggressive front fascia, spoiler, and rear diffuser, looks sharp against the green Canadian rainforest. The new turbocharged V-6 fires up with a guttural roar but is otherwise quite docile when driving around town. Although easygoing in city traffic, the SQ5鈥檚 powertrain is quick to wake up with an open road ahead. Firewall the throttle from a standstill, and the SQ5 rockets forward and into triple-digit speeds. Audi estimates 0-60 mph will take the new SQ5 5.1 seconds, but from behind the wheel I鈥檇 have to say the automaker鈥檚 PR department is attempting to avoid ruffling feathers at Porsche. I initially expected the new SQ5鈥檚 engine to lose the charmingly unhinged, instantaneous response of the old supercharged mill, but I鈥檓 happy to say I鈥檓 wrong.
The new SQ5 still knows how to have fun. With all that torque available down low, there鈥檚 no noticeable turbo lag from the engine. With near instantaneous throttle response, the SQ5 gets moving quickly, and once the tach needle swings past 1,400 rpm, the scenery starts flying by noticeably quicker鈥攖he transmission firing off quick upshifts, with a burp from the exhaust for good measure. The SQ5 also remains a willing dance partner through the corners. With the S Sport package鈥檚 suspension in its dynamic setting and the rear diff working out back, the SQ5 is light on its toes. It hunkers down through corners, with the diff shuffling power around to get the Audi鈥檚 nose turned quickly. Although ultimately an improvement over the last SQ5, the new model offers up little in the way of real steering feel or feedback from the road. There鈥檚 a nice heft to the flat-bottomed steering wheel, but it doesn鈥檛 have the precision or delicacy of some of its competitors, such as the Jaguar F-Pace S, Porsche Macan, or Mercedes-Benz GLC43. There鈥檚 an available dynamic steering package that my test vehicle didn鈥檛 have, which might help improve steering feel.