Video: 2009 Audi Q5

It was designed for off-roading. It's not efficient. It's not that roomy inside, for the amount of size it is on the outside. This one's a different story. It is more efficient and not just more efficient than the Q7, but it's more efficient within its class. Now, because you're probably wondering what this is. This is the optional remains of Dr. Spock, from the second Star Trek movie. What it's sitting on though, is actually pretty innovative. These cross-members, which are standard with the Q5. The car knows when they're there. Okay. And it changes the stability system to account for extra weight up here. Audi has a lot of hatches. This one comes between the A4 and the A6, in terms of the amount of space. But I have to say big, wide opening. And considering that it's kind of sleek looking, which usually costs you some interior space. Seems like there's a lot here, even when the seats are up. And of course they fold down. It seems really usable to me. This is not a new feature by any stretch of the imagination. You might've seen these deals, they're plastic bins. But, they made this one really easy to take out. And I think that that's definitely worth having. Now, here we see a big advantage. You know, small SUVs and hatchbacks, for a long time, you get the really small seat, because they wanted to give you a lot of cargo room. Now, fortunately, they're getting smart. They're making the seats adjustable. And as a result, really good backseat room, or exceptionally large cargo room. And is only just shy of the Q7, which is large. That one actually has 104 cubic feet of passenger volume, this one has 101. Just proves that the Q7 is inefficiently packaged. Pretty big on the outside for what you get on the inside. In terms of the front seat. Again, pretty roomy. It doesn't really give up a whole lot in terms of dimensions to the other hatchbacks from Audi. The interior is really nice. It's an Audi, that's what they do right. One new thing is an upgrade to the navigation system. You still have your multimedia interface knob down here. And the improvement in the maps is mostly that the graphics are better. It'll give you this 3D view. And one thing is, when you zoom in far enough, you start to get actual buildings. You get to see the actual graphic display of the building. Which I guess is helpful, if you're in a plane. Because that's not what they look like from the street. Overall, I think I'd rather have more clear street names than graphic stuff like that. The system could be a little bit easier to use. Audi tried to distinguish the Q5 by making it sportier, little more fun to drive than the others in it's class, Like a Volvo XC60 and the Mercedes GLK. They mostly, I think, achieve that. Part of the way they do it is with all wheel drive. They send more power to the rear wheels, which gives it more of a balanced rear wheel drive feel to it. To get that in this class, you might look at something like the Infinity EX35. The problem with that is tiny backseat. practically non-existent and very little cargo space. So it's pretty much a balance of all of these things. This would have been a great model for Audi to have several years ago, instead of the Q7, in my opinion. But, it's definitely good to have now, because it's more efficient, a little bit more affordable, more appropriate for these times. <v Narrator>For more car related news, go to Cars.com or our blog LickingTires.net.