New Is Not Enough: 2025 Audi SQ5 Review

The brand-new SQ5 is a big deal for Audi. The SUV is far and away its bestseller in the U.S., nearly doubling Audi’s next-best last year. When brand sales dropped 14% in 2024, and the Q5 and more powerful SQ5 were down 23%, it’s a big problem in need of a solution.

Audi needs to reverse that trend, and the Q5, along with the SQ5 performance SUV, is the best way for the automaker to do it. As I said, it’s important. Crucial, even. So Audi is going all-out.

This year’s new SQ5 is built on what Audi has been calling a brand-new architecture underneath it. It’s one that it will use under at least half a dozen other new models over the next few years to bring the company toward the next decade.

In short: From behind the wheel, all I can think is that Audi might be in serious trouble. This sports SUV isn’t particularly sporty, and it misses on what should be some easy feature implementation. New doesn’t always mean better and this, unfortunately, is an excellent example of that.

2025 Audi SQ5 Review

Old V6 Makes Slightly More Power

Under the hood of the SQ5 is a familiar engine. The single-turbo 3.0L V6 is the same as the old model. It does make a little bit more horsepower this year, climbing from 349 to 362. Likewise, torque is up from 369 to 406 pound-feet.

But the SQ5 never feels that quick. The official 0-60 time is 4.6 seconds, and maybe it’ll do that from a launch. When you’re driving, especially passing, it just doesn’t feel particularly quick.

The biggest change Audi made to the driveline was a new transmission. A seven-speed dual-clutch box replaced a conventional eight-speed automatic. Audi is one of a few brands trying to make the DCT happen over the last few decades, and this is its latest effort.

It is also the worst part of the experience.

Transmission Is Not Up to Luxury or Performance Requirements

The Audi transmission feels its worst from a stop, that thing you do more than anything else while you drive. Press the throttle to pull away, and at first nothing happens. You wait a few beats for the engine to refire from start-stop. Followed by another moment while you wait for it to engage a gear. Then, when you think it’s about to accelerate, the nose dips. Finally, it goes forward.

Except that it isn’t a smooth acceleration. It’s a lurch. And it happens every single time, no matter how you try to use the throttle or the drive mode selected. Try to disable start–stop, or let the engine fire up when the light turns yellow, and it’s not any better.

The SQ5 takes a solid 3 seconds (I timed it) to move from a stop, and when it does, it’s awkward and unseemly. Each time, the worry of getting rear-ended at a light got a little more real because once your foot is on the gas, the brake lights go out.

A clunky transmission might be an acceptable trade-off if the rest of the experience is sports car fun. But it isn’t.

2025 Audi SQ5 Needs More Sport

The SQ5 comes standard with Audi’s Sport adaptive suspension and, in most situations, delivers a comfortable drive. You feel the weight of the big tires and wheels, but it soaks up most bumps. And it keeps body roll well in check.

It isn’t, however, a particularly sport-like feel. It’s the same problem many Audi S models face. They’re quicker than the standard A and Q models they’re based on, and they have more grip in corners. But they don’t add any driver involvement. Much like a video game, they are quicker, but they lack any sort of feel.

The steering is the worst part of that. It lacks any sort of feel other than a pull back to the center. Turning into a corner felt notchy. As though it was settling into preset detents in the mechanism rather than turning freely.

Treat it more like a mildly quick SUV, and not the sport model that Audi’s badging and giant LED quattro brake light that projects onto the rear glass suggest, and it makes more sense. BMW shows that you can make an SUV like this feel satisfying to drive, even if it’s never up to the level of a sedan.

At least the Audi is relatively comfortable on the highway. There is plenty of noise from the wide performance tires and the loud sports exhaust, but if you picked the SQ model, that’s what you’ve asked for.

It’s also a quite comfortable place to sit. The seats have countless adjustments, including pull-out thigh bolsters, so once you get everything how you want it, the seats are great. They’re supportive and, in the optional red leather, look the part of this SUV’s pricetag.

Audi’s Software Needs Hard Work

If the level of horsepower is missing the mark, the performance of the SQ5’s software is downright disappointing. The wide single-screen setup is Audi’s newest software and hardware, and this is the first model to use it.

This could explain why it’s buggy and sluggish during normal operation, doing things like defaulting to a nonexistent FM station with every engine start. Unsure if it was just my tester, I reached out to colleagues who reported similar experiences in different SQ5s.

Being new, though, doesn’t excuse the abysmal camera operation.

It’s wonderful to be able to see 360 degrees around your SUV as you maneuver around a parking lot. It’s not wonderful when the frame rate is so slow that it makes it look like you’re watching a slideshow. When the image is taking such a long time to update that it’s nearly useless when you are trying to use it and distracting when you’re trying not to.

Audi turns the camera image to help you see better in the direction you’re turning, which would be amazing if you could actually see what was going on. The poor image quality just gets worse in poor light, which is when you need it most.

Newest Virtual Cockpit Is a Step Back

There’s one feature that best sums up the infotainment experience, and that’s Audi’s signature Virtual Cockpit. For more than a decade, Audi’s use of the digital dash to deliver an extremely customizable experience, which can include a full-screen navigation map, has wowed owners.

On the new SQ5, it loses almost all of its signature features. The new interface has a couple of different options for the left and right sides of the dash, none of which is a blank screen. And, worst of all, the map is gone.

In its place, the center of the dash is now a driver-assist screen that displays your vehicle, other traffic, and your position in the lane. The icon showing your SQ5 bounces wildly around the virtual lane, constantly pulling my eyes downward. No, you can’t turn it off.

Good Details Make the Bad Ones Stand Out

I know it’s starting to sound like I hate everything about the SQ5, but that’s absolutely not the case. I love how composed it feels during highway driving, for example. The Teutonic dynamics that can handle triple-digit Autobahn speeds make it a breeze to drive at 70 mph.

Some of the interior details are wonderful as well. Like the microsuede on the interior door panels, and just how effective the seat massage is. Most seat massagers are less effective than a toddler sitting behind you, but the Audi’s is actually relaxing.

The SQ5 also has one feature I’ve never seen before: The camera display will tell you exactly how far you are from an obstacle — in inches, not just in beeps or colored lines. It’s a super-cool use of tech, and I’m surprised nobody else is doing the same.

Unfortunately, those wonderful details make the other parts stand out. I know Audi can do better, and seeing the blank button where the door lock button should be — it’s instead on the infuriating flat plate filled with switches on the door handle — just hammers that point home.

SQ5 Has Cargo Carrying Done Right

Pop the power hatch, and Audi at least has an excellent cargo area. The rear seat is a 40-20-40 split, so long and thin items like skis can fit without leaving you just a single back seat.

The cargo floor’s tie-down hooks are metal instead of the usual plastic, and they feel like they’ll actually stay in place if you use them to strap things down. Thanks to the air suspension, you can make loading a little easier. Dropping the rear of the SQ5 by a couple of inches is just a button press away.

2025 Audi SQ5 Review: Conclusions

If you’re already on board with the Audi brand, then you’ll probably like most aspects of the 2025 SQ5. But if you’ve got a late-model Audi, you’re probably going to miss what was a great camera system and Virtual Cockpit display. While the tech could get over-the-air improvements, that’s not a guarantee.

With a starting price of $64,800, the SQ5 needs to be more than just a little quick and “OK.” My tester, at $74,740 including $1,295 destination, needs to push the needle all the way to “Great.” The brand-new 2025 Audi SQ5 doesn’t do that, which makes it a tough recommendation with excellent and more powerful models from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and even Genesis all waiting for you.