Spicing up a new hard-hitting, high-performance crossover
FUTURE MODELS
Last year Audi revealed its new Q5 which is due in SA later in 2017. Now it has used the Detroit show to pull the wraps off a hard-hitting, 260kW version of the all-new Q5 crossover SUV.
And, unlike Audi SUVs of the past, the SQ5 will favour oversteer over understeer thanks to a trick new centre differential.
The company claims the mid-sized SUV will punch to 100km/h in 5.4 seconds on its way to an artificial top speed of 250km/h while displaying civilised road manners most of the time.
The new warmed-up midsizer is 4,671mm long, 1,893mm wide and 1,635mm high, with seating for five and a 2,824mm wheelbase. At 1,995kg, the thing is still two tonnes, but Audi suggests it should be patted on the back for making it 35kg lighter than the old one.
Unlike the upcoming RS4 and the yet-to-be-confirmed RSQ5, the SQ5 will use Audi’s in-house 3.0l V6 petrol engine, rather than the Porsche-developed 2.9l V6. While the two engines are worlds apart in philosophy but only a handful of cubic centimetres different in capacity, the SQ5’s motor uses a twin-scroll turbocharger (the smaller V6, dubbed KoVoMo, uses a pair of turbochargers and aims to take the place of Audi’s outgoing 4.2l V8 engines).
The SQ5’s longer-stroke 2,995cc V6 has been given a higher compression ratio and higher fuel injection pressures to pump up the output to 500Nm of torque from just 1,370r/min all the way through to 4,500r/min. It still delivers a claimed fuel figure of 8.3l/100km, while its 189g/km CO2 figure is 13g less than its predecessor.
It uses a development of the Atkinson Cycle variable compression system, which Audi dubs B-Cycle, to give it a power stroke that is relatively longer than the compression stroke, giving it fuel savings and increased torque at part loads. It reverts to normal operation under heavy feet.
The 172kg engine is 14kg lighter than the supercharged V6 in its predecessor, which Audi insists helps both economy and handling, lowering the weight over the front axle.
Its eight-speed automatic transmission feeds into an allwheel drive system that’s constantly variable, but prefers to send the lion’s share of the torque to the rear end as often as possible.
Its optional sport differential, derived from the unit in the SQ7, can be asked to send more torque to the outside rear wheel to counter understeer (which, by definition is promoting oversteer).
It uses a set of six-piston brake callipers to chew on 350mm discs at the front end, while it carries over the core architecture of the new Q5’s five-link rear suspension system and sits on standard 20inch wheels and 225/45 tyres.
There is electro-mechanical steering, though there’s an optional dynamic system that adjusts the ratio with speed, while the optional air suspension also adjusts the car’s ride height depending on the speed or the driver’s choice.
It scores the full array of Q5 driver assistance systems, like active cruise control, active lane assist, the lazy-man traffic jam assist, an auto-parking function and autonomous braking.
It also gets the 8.3-inch multimedia touchscreen as standard equipment, along with gesture control and LTE internet connectivity.