2024-01-06 09:59:19
Like every Friday during school holidays, and well before being able to reach the highways, it’s hard to get out of the Paris region. Moreover, the road information already announces several hundred kilometers of traffic jams, mainly on the A6! For my stopover in St Etienne, it will therefore be the A77 via Nevers, then Moulins and Roanne. But for the moment, it’s accordion traffic, and at each stop the stop/start of this Q5 diesel lacks good manners. This classic starter is, unlike alternator-starters, not very fast, and above all the restart is very vibrant. And then on the comfort side, with the option of large and heavy 20-inch wheels (€2,150 to €2,950), it’s really dry on all the small defects in the road – bitumen joints, manholes, etc. – so that my SUV is nevertheless equipped with the air suspension option coupled with controlled damping (€2,040).
Ideal on highways
Frugal and relatively silent at low revs, this Audi Q5© Christophe Congrega
In short, this Q5 is not the ideal machine for this urban and traffic jam use, where its TDI is also a little rumbling when accelerating. But this is in no way a surprise because, as we have always written at L’Automobile Magazine, a diesel is not made for the city where its sophisticated depollution systems struggle to heat up to be effective, and where the particle filter tends to become clogged or even clogged. A diesel’s natural playground is well outside the cities, and we finally arrive there leaving the Paris region. On this almost deserted and free highway having taken up the route of the old Nationale 7 towards Roanne, the Q5 finds its bearings and delights with its long-distance qualities, always with an excellent driving position thanks to the large amplitudes of the steering wheel and from the headquarters.
The trunk is generous© Christophe Congrega
At 130 km/h in cruise control, the 2.0 TDI stabilizes at 1,900 rpm and remains almost inaudible thanks to the very good soundproofing, as evidenced by the sound level meter displaying only 66 dBA. No air noise, little rolling noise, you really travel without fatigue… provided there are only four on board. Because the central rear seat proves to be hard, both for the seat and for the backrest, and the enormous transmission tunnel requires you to travel with your legs well apart. A shame because the very large trunk (370 Dm3 measured under the shelf with our standard suitcases) would easily accommodate the luggage of five people, especially since the 10 cm sliding of the 1/3-2/3 bench allows the hold to be further enlarged by if necessary, up to 620 Dm3 by loading up to the roof.
Old-fashioned ergonomics, but that’s so much the better!
Physical orders are still numerous© Christophe Congrega
As the kilometers pass, night falls, and so does the temperature. I appreciate that this Q5 is, in quotes, an old generation. In quotes because it is not that old, but born at the end of 2016 for this second generation, it benefits from old-fashioned ergonomics. There is certainly a large central screen with several menus, but much less and less complex than on the latest models where almost everything goes through this very complex touch screen to use while driving.
To be, plenty of physical controls remain for frequently used essential functions. For example, I can find the rotary temperature controls without taking my eyes off the road, and modify it – half a degree per click – without having to check what I have done since I have physical feedback, the click! In the same way, as night approaches, I have under my left hand, easy to find by touch, a real rheostat for lighting the screens (meters and central) which I can adjust once again without taking my eyes off the road. . Try to do this safely on recent models by entering the screen menus while you are driving… Likewise, here I activate on the highway, or deactivate elsewhere, the lane keeping assist very easily. ‘one click at the end of the left commodo. And then something else very appreciable, your choice for electronic driving aids remain memorized: if you have cut them, they remain so the next time you restart. Whereas on new models you almost systematically have to cut two or three each time you start when entering menus that are sometimes very complex…horrifying.
Tested on small roads
The controlled damping provides appreciable softness on the secondary network.© Christophe Congrega
Arriving in Moulins after almost three hours on the motorway, I wanted to drive more actively, and chose a Route Bis via the D 989 then the D 480 to Lapalisse, just to take advantage of a few bends and the Matrix LED projectors (1 €220). This technology allows you to stay in headlights at all times thanks to the obscuration of areas of the beam that could dazzle other road users, driving in front or coming from opposite, provides unrivaled driving comfort at night. Certainly, on this Q5 the masks are not as thin as on the very latest generations, but the powerful lighting still remains active on the right and left of the road, which also makes it possible to read the next turns ahead. advances in the vegetation when there is any.
We therefore drive more serenely and rested without disturbing others, or having to constantly switch from headlights to low beam and vice versa. Enough to benefit from the very good chassis of this Q5, equipped with a very efficient front axle, as well as very well calibrated electric steering assistance, just consistent enough to clearly perceive the limits of grip. It’s rare, but I didn’t even need to set this assistance to Sport in Individual mode, which then becomes almost a little too firm, especially at low speeds. On these secondary roads which are not always perfectly surfaced, the air suspension does its job very well this time, the jitters of the large 20-inch wheels having disappeared at these road speeds.
Unlike Mercedes, whose models equipped with air suspension strongly favor softness to the point of becoming almost under-damped on vertical deformations, this Q5 finds the ideal compromise between body maintenance and absorption of defects, even significant ones. The passengers are therefore well isolated from the road, without too much transverse movement of the torso, which is due to the large anti-roll bars necessary to ensure the stability of these tall and heavy machines in the event of a sudden steering input.
Heavy, but invigorating with its high torque
The 400 Nm of torque are necessary to move this SUV weighing almost two tonnes© Christophe Congrega
After a short night in St Etienne, I turn towards the Rhône valley via the D1082 climbing the Col de la République (1,150 m). The regular 17 km climb poses no problem for the 2.0 TDI, whose 400 Nm of torque available from 1,750 rpm easily erases, during restarts, the 1,950 kg empty that we measured. But it is still better, when there is a difference in altitude, to switch the S-Tronic dual-clutch transmission to S mode with a flick backwards on the gearbox lever. Otherwise this S-Tronic, which nevertheless recognizes the terrain and adapts nicely to it, remains a little too placid and keeps the revs a little too low. Same in the 12 km descent towards Bourg-Argental where it does not provide enough engine braking in D.
We can even keep this more responsive S mode on the road because it can adapt to the driving style without ever getting stuck in lower gears in the event of smooth driving after overtaking, for example. Overtaking which does not drag on the secondary network since we measured only 6.2 s to go from 80 to 120 km/h. Not bad for a 4-cylinder 2.0 with 204 hp given the mass to be moved. Romans-sur-Isère, Crest and Die cleared, arrives the Col de Cabre (1,180 m) on the D93 then D993, separating the Drôme from the Hautes-Alpes…a completely icy passage before joining Gap. With my winter tires and the 4-wheel drive of the Q5 40 TDI, I don’t worry about traction. And I discover, in the numerous hairpins, very careful control of the Quattro Ultra system.
Because if the latter does not have the Torsen central differential reserved for the 6-cylinder versions now disappeared on the Q5, replaced here by two piloted clutches capable of completely deactivating the transmission shaft between the front and the rear in order to optimize consumption, this all-wheel drive, in fact not permanent, still works very well. At the slightest loss of grip of the front axle, which is imperceptible at the wheel, this Quattro Ultra instantly connects the rear wheels, and sends enough torque to obtain a slight oversteer in the hairpins, which the ESP anti-skid allows. just enough to curb its natural tendency to understeer in this case.
Amazing agility
Quattro Ultra all-wheel drive is very efficient© Christophe Congrega
This imposing Q5 then turns with unexpected ease, while the electronics watch over the grain and control everything so as not to end up upside down either. Reassuring, and above all well done! Afterwards, all-wheel drive or not, you should remain vigilant when descending the pass towards La Beaume, and anticipate braking. Because if the Quattro Ultra and winter tires work miracles uphill, downhill the more than two tonnes passengers on board will quickly be reminded that the laws of physics remain unavoidable if you arrive too quickly in a bend. In this case, we would also have appreciated if the S-Tronic gearbox downshifted earlier when braking, including in S mode, in order to provide more engine braking when going downhill. Because it generally only does so when re-accelerating, which does not help in this case, and therefore sometimes produces a jerk when re-clutching.
You can of course force the downshift using the paddles on the steering wheel, but the latter are very small and turn with the steering wheel, making their handling very complicated in slightly tight turns. After Gap and the Serre-Ponçon lake, I notice the same phenomenon when climbing to the ski resorts, when it comes to overtaking a bus after having caught up with it and braking, with a downshift arriving too late, when I already re-accelerated. A small annoying lack of adaptivity, but perhaps desired to preserve low consumption. Which are actually much more reasonable than if this SUV were powered by a gasoline unit.
Reasonable consumption
Because at the end of our 2,500 km, with a return via the famous and superb N85, known as the Napoléon route, via Grenoble, then a detour through Auvergne, the on-board computer displays just over 7 l/100 km on average. Compare to the 9 l/100 km that we measured for a plug-in hybrid petrol Q5 once its battery is empty. So, to forget the diesel? Finished and buried, he who is not entitled to the Crit’Air 1 sticker, and risks being banned from the ZFE? Certainly not, especially for those who drive a lot, and mainly use roads and highways… where this Q5 also allows, with its 70 l tank, a range of 1,000 km between two fill-ups. Something impossible with gasoline, and even more so with electric. So, each use has its own energy!
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