2020 Audi SQ5 TDI Debut Review

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2020 Audi SQ5 TDI Debut Review
It’s funny how things go around in seemingly endless cycles. A decade or so ago, if you wanted a fast SUV it simply had to have a whacking great petrol engine. Then, just a few years back, you’d have been viewed as highly suspicious for choosing anything without diesel power, so it was obvious that the original Audi SQ5 would be a diesel. Yet, when the second generation came along in 2017, it had a powerful 3.0-litre turbocharged petrol V6 nestling under its bonnet — suddenly, the green pump was back in vogue.

Since then we’ve had the BMW X3 M40i (although there’s an M40d, too), the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43, and an entirely revamped Porsche Macan range that hasn’t a single diesel engine in its line-up. And of course, with the repercussions of ‘Dieselgate’ still dictating buying trends, that all makes perfect sense.

So why then, after dropping the petrol SQ5 in 2018, did Audi reintroduce it in 2019 with a new, V6 3.0 TDI diesel? You might argue this was ignoring public opinion, but there are at least two reasons to consider that Audi might be on to something.

Firstly, a large, high-performance SUV with a powerful petrol engine will drink more than the local rugby team on a celebratory bender — when we tested it, the petrol SQ5 averaged 24mpg at best. And secondly, this current-generation diesel employs a number of neat features to keep it clean.

It has an electric compressor (EPC) to improve the engine’s low-end responsiveness. The EPC runs off a 48-volt, mild-hybrid electrical system that has two main functions: it recovers energy during braking to power the EPC, which is energy that would otherwise be lost, and it allows the engine to switch off completely and coast for periods up to 40sec when you lift off the accelerator. Clearly, when an engine isn’t running, even a diesel, it’s no more polluting than a field of buttercups.

In pure straight line pace the SQ5 is fast, but not quite as explosively so as, say, the Mercedes-AMG GLC 43. Yet if you’re after something that is quick but also effortless to drive, it gains speed without needing to be ragged, then the immense torque that this 3.0 TDI engine produces does the job. There’s still some momentary low-end turbo lag, even with the EPC, but otherwise the engine responds so forcefully in its mid-range that you barely need to flex your right toe; you’re up to 70mph or swiftly past that dawdling Sunday driver in no time at all. And it even sounds better than any diesel has the right to, thanks to a sound generator in its exhaust that delivers a purposeful parp.

The brakes prove awesome at shedding speed but also easy to apply smoothly. The standard eight-speed automatic gearbox is a little slow to kick down several gears in one hit, but it sifts through its gears smoothly and speedily the rest of the time – especially if you change gears manually using the paddle shifters mounted behind the steering wheel.

There are various driving modes to flick between, the most focused of which is Dynamic. This sharpens the SQ5's accelerator response, adds weight to the steering and makes the gearbox even more assertive. If you've chosen to add the optional S adaptive air suspension, Dynamic mode also stiffens that up to reduce body lean through corners.

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