The Q5 SUV has been such a big hit for Audi that the current car is the marque’s most popular vehicle. But that second-generation car has been on sale for almost six years, meaning work is already well advanced on its replacement.
And to help us judge how well the new one is shaping up, Audi’s development engineers kindly parked the two side by side so we could get a few snaps. We’ll have to wait for Audi to release the car’s specification, probably late next year as a 2024 model, but these images seem to suggest the new version is longer, and we can clearly see that it’s lower. The windshield appears to have a more pronounced slope and the roof sinks more dramatically towards the ground at the rear, giving a sportier look to the whole car.
And while this prototype is still fitted with placeholder lights at both ends, it looks like the Q5 will get conventional one-piece front headlight units, and not jump to the fashionable split-lamp design seen on the upcoming Q6 e-tron. But the lights will feature LEDs, and Audi will of course offer its smart adaptive matrix LED lighting system.
Related: Next-generation Audi Q5 Spied Camouflaging Its Comprehensive Changes
The exterior changes are nothing compared with what’s going on inside the next Q5, however. The current car has a rectangular tablet touchscreen and a digital gauge pack tucked inside a conventional dashboard design, but that’s being sent to the design junkyard. Instead, the new car will feature a large square infotainment tablet and an on-trend freestanding digital instrument cluster ahead of a four-spoke steering wheel. The overall look is similar to what we’ve already seen in spy shots of the next A4 sedan and Avant wagon.
The underhood hardware will also have plenty in common with its A4 brother, and consist of petrol, diesel, and plug-in hybrid engines. Whichever you go for, it’ll drive all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission or eight-speed automatic ’box.
