Meet the Audi SQ5 TDI,
the most powerful SUV in its class!
And guess what? Yap, it’s powered by a diesel engine! Audi has always been at
the forefront of performance. Remember the Ur-quattro
that laid the foundation for today’s quattro systems? Or the RS 2 of the 1990s? Or the blistering RS 4?
A sporty, powerful SUV is also nothing new to Audi, if you
look to the current forceful 1000Nm Q7
V12 TDI you’ll know what I’m talking about. So the SQ5 TDI comes from some
serious pedigree, including that of
the diesel kind. A quick glance at
the figures more than confirms these thoughts. Fed through all four wheels via
quattro and an 8-speed automatic,
the mid-sized crosser is pushed forth by a 3.0-litre
BiTDI (two turbo) motor scheming out 230kW
and 650Nm of torque. We understand
it can hit 0 – 100km/h in 5.1 seconds,
reaching a top end of 250km/h some time later. At the same time, it’s said to
fall just below the 6 litres per
100km mark when it comes to average fuel consumption.
Audi made some changes from the normal Q5, including
lowering the suspension system by 30 millimetres, enhancing the exhaust
note so that it sounds like a typical S car, using a special single-frame
grille, putting on four tailpipes,
standard 20-inch wheels (21-inch
optional in the UK), piano black finishes inside and plenty of others.
Knowing the good folks down at Audi South Africa as well as
we do, a local launch date has been touted as is being finalised as we speak. Only question will be pricing. With no real direct rivals – the closest being BMW’s X3 xDrive35i and xDrive30d, it will be interesting to see where they place it. For
what it’s worth, the Audi SQ5 TDI launches in the UK this October at a price of
around R590 000.
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