2021 Audi Q5 Plug-in Hybrid

[MUSIC PLAYING] SPEAKER 1: The luxury SUV segment is one of the fastest growing and fiercely competitive out there. SPEAKER 2: Right here we have the 2018 Audi Q5 which is all new, completely redesigned from the ground up, and the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace. We want to find out which one offers certain benefits to certain drivers. Let's go find out. SPEAKER 1: OK, let's start with performance. This is the 35t model, and of course that means it's a three liter supercharged V6. 340 horsepower, which is plenty. SPEAKER 2: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. SPEAKER 1: What does that Q5 have? SPEAKER 2: Less. SPEAKER 1: OK. [LAUGHTER] What I like about this V6 is that when you get into sport mode and you get on the throttle-- [ENGINE REVVING] Like, hey. SPEAKER 2: It sounds good. SPEAKER 1: It sounds like there's an engine. So performance, I think, is pretty strong with the F-Pace, especially this 35t model. It is fun to drive. It has some excitement to the experience from that exhaust sound, from the overall feel. And I think actually, like the sleek exterior design, even though you can't see it when you're driving, that adds to the experience. You know you're driving something that looks cool and has some sort of fun or excitement to it. [ENGINE ROARING] You've spent some time driving this, how's the power delivery from this turbo engine? SPEAKER 2: It's great. I mean, like every other turbo that's out there now, there's no lag, it doesn't exist anymore. There's a little bit of some low speed clumsiness here and there, but it's sporadic. Power is more than adequate for most drivers. If you need more, there's the SQ5 with a ton more power, I think 352 or 354 or something ridiculous like that. SPEAKER 1: More than plenty. You know what I don't hear? SPEAKER 2: What? SPEAKER 1: Engine. SPEAKER 2: Yeah, OK. So let's-- [ENGINE REVVING] That's a four cylinder. SPEAKER 1: Oh, it's not bad. SPEAKER 2: Yeah, but it's a four cylinder. SPEAKER 1: It's four cylinder, but it's not a drone-y four cylinder. SPEAKER 2: Right. SPEAKER 1: That's not bad. This is a fine riding SUV. It handles these corners really nicely, but sometimes I feel like it is a little firmer-- SPEAKER 2: It is, sure. SPEAKER 1: --than the comfort level I would want out of a luxury SUV. SPEAKER 2: Right, but I feel that a lot of people who might be looking at the Jaguar would be OK with it. I mean, it's certainly not an objectionable level. SPEAKER 1: No, and when you're buying a Jaguar you're accepting that hey, there's a trade off here. SPEAKER 2: Sure. I spent many hours driving this and never felt any seat fatigue. There's plenty of adjustments to make sure that, if you're tall or short, that it'll fit you well. The one thing that bothers me though, is ventilated seats aren't available until you get to the very top prestige trim. SPEAKER 1: Really? SPEAKER 2: Yeah. Ride quality though, I think it's got a good balance. It's not as smooth as some of the other luxury SUVs, but it handles really well. SPEAKER 1: I think from the passenger's seat it feels appropriate. I'm not blown away by comfort, but I'm not like disappointed by it either. It feels like what I would expect. The F-Pace's interior is-- I wouldn't say, you know, disappointing, but it lacks a certain richness or quality that you get out of like the Audi's and the Mercedes' of the world, right? SPEAKER 2: At this trim level. SPEAKER 1: Yes. SPEAKER 2: At the S level you have more leather, more kind of cool coverings that make it look more expensive and up-marketful. It is more expensive. SPEAKER 1: Yeah. SPEAKER 2: But the Audi, even in base form, they're using the same materials. SPEAKER 1: There's almost kind of a plainness through here, and it's not that it's bad, it's just like the other cars in the segment seem to do it a little bit better than this one. I do wish on that point though that this shifter didn't take up so much space in the center-- SPEAKER 2: Yeah. SPEAKER 1: --because it would be nice to have that, you know-- a shifter in today doesn't need to take up like half a foot of space. SPEAKER 2: No it doesn't. SPEAKER 1: It can be a stalk on the steering wheel, like you're not actually like-- let's not kid ourselves, we're not controlling any like mechanical components anymore, right? It's all electronic. SPEAKER 2: This knob is kind of cool. It's gnarled and it rises from the surface, and there's that little extra touch that kind of makes me happy. SPEAKER 1: It sort of matches the theatre that you want to have out of a luxury SUV. Like the light behind the start/stop button like pulsates when you get in, and this shifter like comes out, and yeah, they're gimmicks, but-- SPEAKER 2: But it makes you feel like there's something special going on that other cars don't have. I think the Q5 might be the class leader now-- SPEAKER 1: OK. SPEAKER 2: --and a lot of it has to do with what we're looking at right now, which is the interior. Look at these materials. I mean, it's premium stuff. Like this is really nice, everything has a nice feel and touch and look to it. I love the way they integrate all the tech. There's a ton of features and it's all easy to use. They have this yacht handle out of the A8-- SPEAKER 1: [LAUGHS] Yacht handle, I like-- SPEAKER 2: Actually what they used to call it. SPEAKER 1: I like yacht handle. SPEAKER 2: And you rest your elbow on the armrest, it goes over, your wrist is on the yacht handle, and it's right where the knob is to control the infotainment. SPEAKER 1: You kind of sealed the deal with yacht handle. SPEAKER 2: Yacht handle. SPEAKER 1: Yacht handle. SPEAKER 2: Mm-hmm. SPEAKER 1: Yeah. SPEAKER 2: Hashtag yacht handle. [LAUGHTER] The screen, even though when they first started putting them up there and looking like a tablet I was kind of opposed to it, but after some use and you realize that man, it's right in your sight line-- SPEAKER 1: Yeah. SPEAKER 2: I really like it. SPEAKER 1: I do kind of wish that the screen was a little bit more integrated into the dash. I get it why they do it like this, but it does kind of look like you've just stuck a phone or a tablet, and like just taped it to the dash. My initial impression going from the driver's seat of the F-Pace to the passenger's seat here is I sense the difference in size. This feels a little smaller, but at the same time it also feels a little airier inside. Here I feel like I have a lot more shoulder space and tons more headroom. Even if that's not true, that's my impression sitting here. We have nice features, we have heated seats, there's heated seats back there. This widescreen navigation system, entertainment system, is really responsive. Looks neat, but Android Auto isn't supported, Apple CarPlay support is apparently on the way. You look at other vehicles in this segment that offer those things or have cleaner displays or more functionality and you're like well, it's kind of a disappointment that this thing doesn't. What's that you're looking at right there? SPEAKER 2: The virtual instrument panel. I love these. SPEAKER 1: Yeah. SPEAKER 2: I really do. Audi has been putting it on almost everything. It's tack sharp, even when we're in direct sunlight it's really easy to read. It's semi customizable, so you go from one view to another and you can see a big nav map like this-- SPEAKER 1: Whoa, yeah. SPEAKER 2: You get a ton of information without really having to take your eyes off the road very much. I'm peeking down here and I'm still keeping a good reference of what's in front of us. When you don't have a touch screen in Apple CarPlay that means you have to use this knob to kind of scroll through all the little hotspots on the screen. There are some shortcuts, you can move the knob left, right, up, and down to kind of get to one section or another quickly, but it's not as intuitive as a touch screen. [ENGINE ROARING] So here we're in the backseat of the Q5. I'm running out of a little bit of headroom thanks to this sunroof rail, and I'm not getting a whole lot of thigh support further forward. But backseats you can't really expect too much, right? SPEAKER 1: I've got good knee room, I've got good headroom. I like the softness of the seats, even if the support might be a little lacking. I feel like the seat comfort is pretty decent. I feel like just back here there's less attention paid to the appearance overall, as you might expect, because most people sit in the front seat of these cars anyway, so why spend more money back here? But it does seem a bit more apparent in the Q5. SPEAKER 2: Yeah, and you kind of mentioned that it feels a little bit more like Volkswagen back here, and I'm kind of with you on that one. But on a road trip I think I'd be OK back here. SPEAKER 1: Totally. Welcome to my office. SPEAKER 2: It's a nice office. SPEAKER 1: Yeah. You know, the F-Pace's backseat, I feel like I have a little bit more space in every dimension, and I notice your-- SPEAKER 2: I am not brushing this. SPEAKER 1: --your wonderful hair is not touching the headrest. I feel like a bit more space, the seats are a little firmer, especially towards the center, there's like a-- SPEAKER 2: Crown. SPEAKER 1: Yeah. SPEAKER 2: Materials wise it feels just slightly better than the Q5, even though this center thing isn't all that attractive, either. But I do like that you have these little-- SPEAKER 1: The two USB ports and 12 volt, yeah. SPEAKER 2: --USB ports there that are covered as well. SPEAKER 1: I feel like from front to rear there's more consistency in terms of interior quality-- SPEAKER 2: Yes. SPEAKER 1: --where over in the Q5 it may be a more dramatic change. But the space back here is bigger because of course this is just a bigger vehicle, so it gets the advantage of that. SPEAKER 2: Yeah. SPEAKER 1: But it's nice having a bit more headroom back here. SPEAKER 2: Yeah. I'm not feeling quite as much shoulder room on the outboard, but that's such a nit picky little thing. SPEAKER 1: Want to know the upside? SPEAKER 2: Hmm? SPEAKER 1: Reclining seats. SPEAKER 2: Takes a bit of time to get there. SPEAKER 1: The Q5 doesn't have this though, so what's up? SPEAKER 2: OK, fine. Fine, fine. SPEAKER 1: No, I think anybody would be comfortable back here for a long time. SPEAKER 2: Yeah, and generally you're going to be putting smaller people back here. [ENGINE ROARING] SPEAKER 1: When comparing this to the Q5, we have to take into account that the F-Pace is a little bit bigger than most of the vehicles in this segment-- SPEAKER 2: Yes. SPEAKER 1: --and one of the ways that manifests is that this thing has decent cargo capacity and decent rear size space because it's slightly bigger. SPEAKER 2: I would actually go further and say exceptional for the class, because I had a-- ooh God, 74 inch flat pack cabinet-- SPEAKER 1: Yeah? SPEAKER 2: --that fit with, you know, the second row folded. And I didn't have to take it out of the box, I didn't have to leave the hatch open, it closed on it. It was shocking that it was that easy, so I give it really high marks for that. SPEAKER 1: I feel the F-Pace, I think, is the clear design winner here. SPEAKER 2: It's a very pretty car. SPEAKER 1: This has a very understated look, which isn't a bad thing. SPEAKER 2: That's Audi's character. SPEAKER 1: If I want to spend money on some S it should have that feel it's something nice. You don't need to be flashy-- SPEAKER 2: Right. SPEAKER 1: --to have that feel, but there does seem to be some elements of design that stand out, or at least give you that sense of worth. SPEAKER 2: This, like you said, is understated, but modern and kind of chiseled, and-- SPEAKER 1: Yeah. SPEAKER 2: --it's got the new Audi look. Which I'm not a big fan of the grill, everybody's doing these sharp trapezoidal grills. I want them to go away, but I like the way it looks. SPEAKER 1: An interesting thing happened to me yesterday as I was fueling this thing up, a guy actually walked up and said hey, cool Jag. Nobody would do that to a luxury SUV. You park any luxury SUV-- SPEAKER 2: Yeah, when was the last time someone said hey, nice X5. SPEAKER 1: [LAUGHS] Yeah, exactly. It doesn't happen, but it did with this F-Pace because this thing does a great job of standing out and having an identity that's more unique. We like the Jaguar F-Pace a lot, primarily because of how it looks, but also because of how it drives. It's a very emotionally appealing SUV, and that means it's a fairly easy car to recommend. SPEAKER 2: And the Q5 is as easy to recommend. I mean, the styling maybe isn't as sculpted and seductive as the Jag, but it's got some aggression and some chiseled lines, and I personally like it a lot. But it really gets high marks for the interior, the interior is impeccable. If I were choosing between the two it'd be a really tough choice, but I would just barely give it to the Audi. So that says you should really take your time in the test drive, really get to know the cars. Honestly I don't think there's a deal breaker with any of these. It's probably going to come down to personal preference. SPEAKER 1: Thanks for watching this comparison. 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