2025 Audi Q5 and SQ5 First Look

Audi's compact crossover SUV gets a styling and tech overhaul for 2025.

Andrew Ganz | 

Sep 20, 2024 | 4 min read

Audi

The 2025 Audi Q5 — and sportier SQ5 trim — help give the German brand an updated look as it begins to split its lineup into electric and internal-combustion models. While the new Q5 and SQ5 deviate little from their predecessors' basic form and function, much of what's beneath the surface is new. Here's what you need to know about the 2025 Audi Q5 and SQ5.

Audi

The Q5 and SQ5 Evolve Audi's Styling

These new compact crossover SUVs have plenty of traditional Audi styling cues but also introduce some new elements. Up front, the Q5 and SQ5 flaunt their big grilles and intakes with heavy-appearing mesh-like inserts. In the images of European-market versions Audi has shown so far, the Q5 has lots of matte silver trim, while the SQ5 has glossy black bits.

Above the front bumper, the narrow headlights feature OLED light bars that point downward toward the big four-ring Audi logo.

Audi

In markets outside the United States, the LED exterior lights in the rear can communicate with other vehicles to warn about crashes or road obstructions. While Audi is a leader in testing and developing this so-called car-to-X communication, the automaker has determined it does not comply with current U.S. regulations.

In profile, both the Q5 and SQ5 models have something of a tall hatchback look, with a roofline that slopes gently downward as it works its way toward large rearmost roof pillars. At the back, a wide LED light bar connects the taillights, and the mesh-like look is echoed in the rear diffuser above exposed tailpipes. While 18-inch wheels come standard on the Q5, the SQ5 will come with 20-inchers and will offer 21-inchers.

Audi

The redesigned Q5 and SQ5 models have a fresh, screen-heavy cabin, too. The steering wheel fronts an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster, which sits next to a 14.5-inch touchscreen canted toward the driver. Passengers won't have to feel left out, though, as they can have their own 10.9-inch touchscreen, the contents of which Audi says will not be visible to the driver.

Audi

AI Tech That Learns as the Q5 and SQ5 Go

The Q5 and SQ5 will offer lots of connectivity. The three dash screens can be controlled via an AI voice-command system running on the Google-developed Android Automotive operating system.

However, Audi did not immediately say if the system will have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. Still, the automaker indicated that a digital marketplace will offer access to YouTube and third-party applications. The operating system won't need to be connected to a smartphone to operate because it will have a cellular antenna.

Audi

The available suite of driver-assistance features gleans data beamed to the cloud from other vehicles on the road to help the new Audi accelerate and recognize road sign information.

While the automaker has yet to detail what tech features will be standard, optional, or unavailable for the U.S. market, it did say the European-market Q5 and SQ5 will be available with a 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system, a head-up display controlled via buttons on the steering wheel, USB-C ports with a charging capacity of up to 100 watts, and a cooled wireless charging tray with up to 15 watts of power.

Audi

No Hybrid Tech for the Q5 or SQ5 in the U.S.

Even though the European-market Q5 and SQ5 will have 48-volt hybrid technology, the version set to go on sale in the U.S. in early 2025 will use carryover gasoline engines mostly unchanged from last year.

The base Q5 will have a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 268 horsepower, while the SQ5 swaps that for a 362-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter V6. With either engine, a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission delivers power to all four wheels.

The decision to go hybrid-free stands in marked contrast to the Q5's hybrid-only Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class rival.

Audi

The Q5 can be optionally upgraded with an adaptive air suspension that Audi says can offer a wider "spread between comfort and sport mode," which means it can ride either softer or firmer than the setup underneath the outgoing model. The SQ5 will feature a sport-tuned suspension.

Audi says it will release pricing and detailed trim-level specifications for the U.S.-market version of the Q5 and SQ5 in early 2025. The models are set to be built in San José Chiapa, Mexico.

Andrew Ganz

Andrew Ganz has had cars in his blood ever since he gnawed the paint off of a diecast model as a toddler. After growing up in Dallas, Texas, he earned a journalism degree, worked in public relations for two manufacturers, and served as an editor for a luxury-lifestyle print publication and several well-known automotive websites. In his free time, Andrew loves exploring the Rocky Mountains' best back roads—when he’s not browsing ads for his next car purchase.