Audi SQ5 review
The Audi SQ5 is a seriously fast and luxurious SUV that wraps up incredible performance in a practical, family-friendly package with a stunning interior.
Author: The Cazoo editorial team
7th Jan 2026 – 8 mins read
If you want a car that can handle the school run during the week and deliver thrilling performance at the weekend, the Audi SQ5 could be the perfect choice. It’s the high-performance version of the popular Q5 SUV, blending all the practicality and premium quality of the standard car with a huge dose of speed and sporty style. It’s a brilliant all-rounder that proves you don’t have to sacrifice fun for functionality. The SQ5 has a unique history, starting life as a powerful diesel, switching to petrol for a couple of years, and then returning to diesel power with modern mild-hybrid tech. Whichever version you choose, you get a beautifully crafted and spacious interior, rapid acceleration, and the all-weather security of quattro all-wheel drive. It’s a premium SUV that’s as sensible as it is exciting.
Pros
- Seriously strong performance from powerful engines
- Spacious and practical interior for a family
- Beautifully built, premium cabin with great tech
Cons
- It’s not as fun or engaging to drive as some rivals
- The petrol version can be very thirsty
- It’s an expensive car to buy new
Interior
Dashboard & tech
The interior of the SQ5 is a masterclass in quality and design. It perfectly combines modern technology with high-quality materials and user-friendly controls. You get Audi’s fantastic Virtual Cockpit, a large digital screen that replaces traditional dials, alongside a crisp central touchscreen for the infotainment system.
Unlike some rivals that have moved all controls to touchscreens, the SQ5 retains physical dials for things like the climate control, which are often much easier to use on the move. The quality is simply outstanding, making the cabin feel like a very special place to be.
Comfort
The SQ5 is a very comfortable car, with supportive Nappa leather sports seats that hold you in place but are also great for long journeys. The front seats are heated and even have a massage function, which is a real treat.
The standard sports suspension is firmer than on a regular Q5, but it’s still very comfortable and does a good job of soaking up most bumps. It’s a quiet and refined cruiser on the motorway, making it a brilliant car for long-distance travel.
Quality
Build quality is a huge strength for Audi, and the SQ5 is a fantastic example of this. The entire cabin feels solid and exceptionally well put together, with premium materials everywhere you look and touch. From the soft leather to the cool metal inlays, it feels every bit the expensive, premium product it is. It’s this feeling of quality that really helps the SQ5 stand out from the competition.
Practicality & boot space
Interior space
The SQ5 is a very practical car that’s more than capable of handling family life. There’s plenty of room in the back for adults to sit comfortably, with good headroom and legroom. You’ll also find lots of useful storage spaces and cubby holes for keeping the cabin tidy.
Boot space
Practicality is boosted by a clever sliding rear bench seat, which comes as standard. This allows you to slide the rear seats forwards or backwards to prioritise either rear legroom or boot space. With the seats slid forwards, the boot offers a huge 610 litres of space, which is more than enough for family holidays or trips to the garden centre. Even with the seats all the way back, the 550-litre boot is still very generous.
Versatility
With its spacious cabin, flexible seating, and large boot, the SQ5 is a surprisingly versatile performance car. It has all the space and practicality of the standard Q5, meaning it can handle the demands of family life with ease. The standard quattro all-wheel-drive system also provides excellent grip and confidence in all weather conditions, adding to its all-round usability.
Driving
Driving experience
The SQ5 is all about effortless speed. Whether you choose the petrol or the modern mild-hybrid diesel, it’s an incredibly fast car that can get up to speed with startling pace. It’s the kind of performance that would worry most sports cars, all delivered in a calm and controlled manner.
However, it’s not the most fun or engaging car to drive in its class. The steering can feel a bit numb, and it doesn't have the same agile, playful feel as rivals like the Porsche Macan or BMW X3 M40i. It’s better to think of it as a very fast and comfortable grand tourer, rather than an outright sports car.
Performance
If you’re buying a new SQ5, it comes with a 3.0-litre V6 mild-hybrid diesel engine that produces an impressive 336bhp and a massive 700Nm of torque. Paired with a smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox and quattro all-wheel drive, it can launch from 0-60mph in just 4.9 seconds.
If you’re looking at a used model from 2017 or 2018, you’ll find a 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine with 349bhp. While still very fast, it’s actually slightly slower than the diesel and much less fuel-efficient. The original SQ5 from 2013 used a powerful twin-turbo diesel.
Running costs
Fuel economy & CO2 emissions
One of the main advantages of the modern diesel-powered SQ5 is its relatively sensible running costs. For a heavy SUV with this much performance, a claimed fuel economy of 34.4mpg is very reasonable. The earlier petrol version is significantly thirstier, so that’s something to keep in mind if you’re looking at used models. As a high-performance car, it does sit in a high insurance group (42 out of 50).
Value for money
The SQ5 is a premium performance SUV with a price tag to match. New models start from over £58,000, and it’s easy to push that price much higher with optional extras. However, it comes with a huge amount of standard equipment, including Matrix LED headlights and massaging leather seats. It also holds its value very well for a premium car, which is good news when it comes to selling it on.
Reliability & Warranty
The SQ5 has a decent reputation for reliability, but as with any high-performance car, it’s crucial to make sure it has been well-maintained with a full service history. From new, all Audis come with a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty. Considering the complexity and cost of potential repairs, taking out an extended warranty once the manufacturer’s cover expires could be a sensible idea for extra peace of mind.
Safety
Safety features
The standard Audi Q5, on which the SQ5 is based, received a maximum five-star safety rating from the experts at Euro NCAP, so this is a very safe car to transport your family in.
It comes with a host of safety equipment as standard, including powerful Matrix LED headlights, cruise control, and a reversing camera. To get more advanced driver assistance features like adaptive cruise control and blind-spot monitoring, you’ll need to find a car with these fitted as options, or go for the top-spec Vorsprung model which includes them as standard.
Trims & Engines
Trim levels
The SQ5 is available in two main trim levels. The standard SQ5 is incredibly well-equipped, with 20-inch alloy wheels, sports suspension, Nappa leather sports seats (which are heated and have a massage function), a 10.1-inch touchscreen, and the 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit display.
The top-of-the-range Vorsprung model adds a huge list of extra equipment, but it comes with a very steep price increase. It includes larger 21-inch wheels, a panoramic sunroof, a premium Bang & Olufsen sound system, a head-up display, and a full suite of advanced driver assistance systems.
Engines
The latest SQ5, sold new since 2019, uses a 3.0-litre V6 TDI mild-hybrid diesel engine. This produces 336bhp and comes with an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic gearbox and quattro all-wheel drive as standard.
Used models from 2017 and 2018 feature a 3.0-litre V6 TFSI petrol engine with 349bhp. The first-generation SQ5 (2013-2017) used a 3.0-litre BiTDI twin-turbo diesel engine, which was incredibly popular for its blend of huge performance and reasonable economy.