Audi lobs diesel V6 Q5
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 30th May 2018
AUDI Australia has announced it will restore V6 diesel power to its Q5 medium SUV line-up, with the new 3.0-litre TDI to land in the second-generation Q5 in Australian showrooms in September priced from $83,900 plus on-roads.
The new variant – with 210kW of power and 620Nm – will go some way to placating owners of the previous-generation Q5 who were miffed that the only diesel on offer in the fresh range launched last year was a four cylinder.
The new engine has higher performance than the previous generation’s 190kW/580Nm 3.0 TDI, but falls short of the 240kW/650Nm output of the previous 3.0-litre turbo-diesel SQ5 that has been replaced by a petrol twin-turbo V6 SQ5 in the current model.
Price wise, the latest 3.0 TDI will sit beneath the top-spec SQ5 ($99,611) and above the 185kW 2.0 TFSI ($73,211).
Audi Australia director of product and pricing Shawn Ticehurst said the inclusion of the new version was driven by customer demand.
“The 2.0 TDI and TFSI four-cylinder engines have impressed owners with their versatility of use – a great balance between performance and efficiency,” he said.
“However, our customers have been clear in expressing their desire for an even more powerful model in the range, and so we are delighted to add the new 3.0 TDI V6 to our Q5 line-up to satisfy those customers.”
Fuel economy is rated at 6.3 litres per 100km, while the zero-to-100km/h sprint can be completed in 5.8 seconds, 0.4s off the pace of the SQ5.
The diesel mill is mated to an eight-speed tiptronic automatic transmission which channels power to all four wheels via Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system with a mechanical centre differential delivering a 40:60 front/rear torque split.
Audi claims the new 3.0 TDI adds $6000 worth of features over its predecessor, including 20-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, heating, folding, auto-dimming and memory exterior mirrors, electric tailgate with kick-motion opening, surround-view monitor and park assist.
Inside, the newest Q5 scores leather-appointed heated front sports seats, hands-free entry and start, three-zone climate control with digital rear display, 10-speaker Audi sound system, driver’s seat memory function, electrically adjustable steering column with automatic entry and exit function, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and an 8.3-inch touchscreen MMI with navigation plus and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
Boot volume is rated between 550 and 610 litres, depending on how the sliding rear bench seat is positioned, and can increase to 1550L with the 40:20:40 split-fold seats down.
Standard safety equipment includes Audi pre-sense city with autonomous emergency braking and pedestrian detection, cross-traffic assist, blind spot warning, active lane assist, pre-sense features including seatbelt pretensioners and window closing, adaptive cruise control with stop and go function, turn assist, collision warning and collision avoidance assist and high-beam assist.
Audi has recorded 1494 sales of the Q5 to the end of April, a significant jump over the 709 recorded to the same point last year, due largely to the arrival of the second-gen model around this time in 2017.
It currently sits third in the premium medium SUV segment behind the BMW X3 (1878) and Mercedes-Benz GLC (1649), and ahead of the Lexus NX (1272) and Land Rover Discovery Sport (1052).
2018 Audi Q5 pricing*
| Design 2.0 TDI | $65,900 |
| Sport 2.0 TDI | $70,700 |
| Sport 2.0 TFSI | $73,211 |
| Sport 3.0 TDI | $83,900 |
*Excludes on-road costs
