FIRST DRIVE ~ 2012 AUDI Q5 HYBRID
Q5 Hybrid heralds the electrification of Audi MALLORCA, Spain: Meet the world’s first premium compact hybrid crossover, the 2012 Audi Q5 Hybrid quattro.
Audi is one of the last companies in North America to offer a hybrid. Even Rolls-Royce has one.
But, Audi being Audi, it is jumping in with all technological guns blazing. In fact, the Q5 Hybrid is seen as the harbinger of the electrification of the entire product line.
Being late is actually an advantage as Audi is capitalizing on what appears to be the next evolution of the hybrid, involving the elimination of CVTs and torque converters that are being replaced by an electric motor/generator hooked up between the engine and a multi-speed automatic transmission. In this car, the automatic is an eight-speed.
This new blend of technologies is lighter, simpler and definitely the coming trend. It is similar to the system used in the Infiniti M Hybrid (reviewed earlier on these pages) and by Porsche.
Like the Infiniti, it relies on an eight-speed automatic with sequential shift mode and paddles on the steering wheel. The beauty of it is that you can accelerate to over 100 km/h on combined engine/motor power and then lift off the gas and cruise on battery power alone.
It is possible to go up to three kilometers at 60 km/h on the battery. During the press preview of the Q5 Hydrid in Mallorca, one of my colleagues reported driving electrically at 120 km/h.
On paper, the engine seems small at 2.0-litres but it features Audi’s turbocharging expertise, producing a full 211 hp. A gasoline engine was chosen over a turbo diesel because it is more appealing to North America and China, two very critical markets for Audi.
Mated with a 40 kW (54 hp) electric motor, the combined output works out to 245 hp and 354 lb/ft of torque. Combined fuel consumption in European testing is 6.9L/ 100 km or 40 mpg and that’s with Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive as opposed to two-wheel-drive. Top speed is 225 km/h.
An interesting aside is that the electric steering lowers fuel consumption by 0.2L/100 km
There is very little to distinguish the Hybrid from the standard Q5, which was a design objective. Besides the “Hybrid” badging, there are subtle aerodynamic tweaks like lowering the ride height 25 mm, along with underbody panels and slatted spoke wheels to smooth out air flow under the car and along its sides. The result is a drag coefficient of 0.32, the lowest in the compact CUV/SUV segment.
Because the lithium-ion battery pack is located beneath the cargo floor in its own crash-proof pod, Audi was able to maintain the identical cargo volumes of 460-1,480 litres (16.24-52.27 cu ft), depending on whether the back seat is up or folded flat.
Towing is unchanged at 2,400 kg on an eight per cent grade and 2,000 kg on a 12 per cent grade.
Inside, the Q5 is, again, identical to the standard model with two small, but significant differences.
First is the main instrument cluster. On the right, is the normal large speedometer with a secondary fuel gauge.
On the left, the tachometer has been replaced by a “Power Meter” and secondary battery power level gauge.
On start up, the needle swings to the nine o’clock position which is labelled “ready”. As the Q5 starts off under electric power, the needle moves through the “efficiency” or battery-only zone until 12 ‘clock where the engine takes over until the 100 per cent power point is reached at two o’clock. After that there is the “boost” level that combines engine and motor for full power until the “max” is reached at the three o’clock setting.
Under regenerative braking, the motor acts as a generator and this is shown with the needle returning to nine o’clock and dipping down to as low as eight o’clock, depending on aggressiveness of braking. Even if the driver just lifts off the accelerator, the decrease causes the motor to capture this recuperative energy and feed it to the battery.
Meanwhile, between the two main gauges, a multi media information (MMI) display depicts where the power is coming from and going to.
The other difference is in the three driving modes.
With the gear selector in “D”, the Q5 Hybrid works to optimize the motor and engine for fuel economy. In the “S” position, the mapping changes towards performance and sporty driving where the paddles of the tiptronic transmission can be used.
But, for even better fuel efficiency, at the bottom of the centre stack is a button marked “EV” that gives priority to electric drive at low speeds such as in an urban setting.
Audi stressed over and over that the Q5 Hybrid was meant to drive and handle like the “normal” Q5, and it does, only more so.
You can feel the power right off the bat.
With 345 lb/ft of torque, it digs in more like a V8 than a 2.0-litre four. All that torque means it is quicker off the line than expected, with a 0-100 km/h time of 7.1 seconds. More importantly, the 80-120 km/h passing time is 6.0 seconds, again up in V8 territory.
Mallorca is an island made up of two mountains with a plain in the centre. Most roads are about the same width as a Canadian single car driveway.
Ergo, most of my driving was on combined power. Trying to look down the road and then refocus to look at the MMI was difficult. But, by tilting the steering wheel up to a position that I was not all that comfortable with, the payoff was being able to see the swing of the Power Meter’s big white needle along the lower periphery of my vision, while looking straight ahead.
That way I could judge when to let off the gas pedal and do what Audi calls “gliding” on electric power.
Another plus of hybrids is regenerative braking. Besides harvesting the kinetic energy, it noticeably lessens braking distance. The Q5 has big, vented discs (345 mm front/ 330 mm rear) so stopping was sharp, which I appreciated on the 270 degree switchbacks in the mountains.
Sadly for Canadians the Q5 Hybrid won’t be available here for another year as a 2012 model.
We will be getting a “premium” version, meaning it will come with a suite of top trim features as standard. Pricing is not even close to being set, but figure on somewhere in the $52,000-$56,000 bracket.
But when the Q5 Hybrid does arrive, you can be sure it will be bristling with all the engineering and technology that has made Audi arguably the leader in premium style and performance.
Audi is one of the last companies in North America to offer a hybrid. Even Rolls-Royce has one.
But, Audi being Audi, it is jumping in with all technological guns blazing. In fact, the Q5 Hybrid is seen as the harbinger of the electrification of the entire product line.
Being late is actually an advantage as Audi is capitalizing on what appears to be the next evolution of the hybrid, involving the elimination of CVTs and torque converters that are being replaced by an electric motor/generator hooked up between the engine and a multi-speed automatic transmission. In this car, the automatic is an eight-speed.
This new blend of technologies is lighter, simpler and definitely the coming trend. It is similar to the system used in the Infiniti M Hybrid (reviewed earlier on these pages) and by Porsche.
Like the Infiniti, it relies on an eight-speed automatic with sequential shift mode and paddles on the steering wheel. The beauty of it is that you can accelerate to over 100 km/h on combined engine/motor power and then lift off the gas and cruise on battery power alone.
It is possible to go up to three kilometers at 60 km/h on the battery. During the press preview of the Q5 Hydrid in Mallorca, one of my colleagues reported driving electrically at 120 km/h.
On paper, the engine seems small at 2.0-litres but it features Audi’s turbocharging expertise, producing a full 211 hp. A gasoline engine was chosen over a turbo diesel because it is more appealing to North America and China, two very critical markets for Audi.Mated with a 40 kW (54 hp) electric motor, the combined output works out to 245 hp and 354 lb/ft of torque. Combined fuel consumption in European testing is 6.9L/ 100 km or 40 mpg and that’s with Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive as opposed to two-wheel-drive. Top speed is 225 km/h.
An interesting aside is that the electric steering lowers fuel consumption by 0.2L/100 km
There is very little to distinguish the Hybrid from the standard Q5, which was a design objective. Besides the “Hybrid” badging, there are subtle aerodynamic tweaks like lowering the ride height 25 mm, along with underbody panels and slatted spoke wheels to smooth out air flow under the car and along its sides. The result is a drag coefficient of 0.32, the lowest in the compact CUV/SUV segment.
Because the lithium-ion battery pack is located beneath the cargo floor in its own crash-proof pod, Audi was able to maintain the identical cargo volumes of 460-1,480 litres (16.24-52.27 cu ft), depending on whether the back seat is up or folded flat.
Towing is unchanged at 2,400 kg on an eight per cent grade and 2,000 kg on a 12 per cent grade.
Inside, the Q5 is, again, identical to the standard model with two small, but significant differences.
First is the main instrument cluster. On the right, is the normal large speedometer with a secondary fuel gauge. On the left, the tachometer has been replaced by a “Power Meter” and secondary battery power level gauge.
On start up, the needle swings to the nine o’clock position which is labelled “ready”. As the Q5 starts off under electric power, the needle moves through the “efficiency” or battery-only zone until 12 ‘clock where the engine takes over until the 100 per cent power point is reached at two o’clock. After that there is the “boost” level that combines engine and motor for full power until the “max” is reached at the three o’clock setting.
Under regenerative braking, the motor acts as a generator and this is shown with the needle returning to nine o’clock and dipping down to as low as eight o’clock, depending on aggressiveness of braking. Even if the driver just lifts off the accelerator, the decrease causes the motor to capture this recuperative energy and feed it to the battery.
Meanwhile, between the two main gauges, a multi media information (MMI) display depicts where the power is coming from and going to.
The other difference is in the three driving modes.With the gear selector in “D”, the Q5 Hybrid works to optimize the motor and engine for fuel economy. In the “S” position, the mapping changes towards performance and sporty driving where the paddles of the tiptronic transmission can be used.
But, for even better fuel efficiency, at the bottom of the centre stack is a button marked “EV” that gives priority to electric drive at low speeds such as in an urban setting.
Audi stressed over and over that the Q5 Hybrid was meant to drive and handle like the “normal” Q5, and it does, only more so.
You can feel the power right off the bat.
With 345 lb/ft of torque, it digs in more like a V8 than a 2.0-litre four. All that torque means it is quicker off the line than expected, with a 0-100 km/h time of 7.1 seconds. More importantly, the 80-120 km/h passing time is 6.0 seconds, again up in V8 territory.
Mallorca is an island made up of two mountains with a plain in the centre. Most roads are about the same width as a Canadian single car driveway.
Ergo, most of my driving was on combined power. Trying to look down the road and then refocus to look at the MMI was difficult. But, by tilting the steering wheel up to a position that I was not all that comfortable with, the payoff was being able to see the swing of the Power Meter’s big white needle along the lower periphery of my vision, while looking straight ahead.
That way I could judge when to let off the gas pedal and do what Audi calls “gliding” on electric power.Another plus of hybrids is regenerative braking. Besides harvesting the kinetic energy, it noticeably lessens braking distance. The Q5 has big, vented discs (345 mm front/ 330 mm rear) so stopping was sharp, which I appreciated on the 270 degree switchbacks in the mountains.
Sadly for Canadians the Q5 Hybrid won’t be available here for another year as a 2012 model.
We will be getting a “premium” version, meaning it will come with a suite of top trim features as standard. Pricing is not even close to being set, but figure on somewhere in the $52,000-$56,000 bracket.
But when the Q5 Hybrid does arrive, you can be sure it will be bristling with all the engineering and technology that has made Audi arguably the leader in premium style and performance.
BODY STYLE: Premium compact SUV/CUV.DRIVE METHOD: front-engine, all-wheel-drive.
ENGINE: 2.0-litre DOHC inline four-cylinder (211 hp) plus 40 kW (54 hp) electric motor; combined (245 hp, 354 lb/ft).
FUEL ECONOMY: 6.9L/100 km combined Euro cycle.
TOW RATING: 2,400 kg (8 per cent grade); 2,000 kg (12 per cent grade)
PRICE: (Est.) $52,000-$56,000.
