The market for electric cars, trucks, and SUVs has suddenly blossomed with fashionable, desired models. Cars that plug in to charge are currently very popular. Even plug-in hybrids, like this 2021 Audi Q5 55 TFSI e, are becoming part of the trend. The Q5 55 plug-in hybrid, which will go on sale for the 2020 model year, crams an 11.3 kWh battery pack and a 141-hp electric motor into the conventional Q5’s drivetrain for a total of 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque.
The SUV’s load capacity was unaffected in the process, but its estimated all-electric range of 19 miles is lower than that of comparable plug-in hybrids. For instance, both the Lexus NX450h+ and the Lincoln Corsair PHEV can go further on battery power alone. On top of that, the Audi’s electric range was 17 miles at 75 mph on a full charge. We were unhappy to learn that, unlike the Volvo XC60 T8, the Audi’s battery cannot be recharged using the gasoline engine. Re-juicing is thus only possible if you have access to a charger.
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The cost of an Audi Q5 PHEV.
The Q5 receives a perfect score for livability. This Premium Plus test vehicle costs $3,900 more than the standard trim, but it also comes with conveniences like keyless entry, a wireless device charger, a panoramic sunroof, and a number of safety suite enhancements. The Qi charging pad might be my favorite feature because it can slide out from behind the center armrest for accessibility but otherwise stays hidden for safety. As a result, there is plenty of space for tchotchke storage ahead of the shifter, while the spacious door-card cubbies are also useful for hiding things.
Despite being six feet tall, I would be able to comfortably handle longer excursions even though the back seat is a little on the tight side. There are only a few cargo nets on the front seatbacks and tiny door-panel pockets for storage, but at least there are two USB outlets in the back. Moving backwards, I’m happy that Audi was able to squeeze a PHEV powertrain in the Q5 without compromising the vehicle’s storage volume, which is still a respectable 25.6 cubic feet. There is a bag with all the charging supplies back there, but if you only ever plug in at home or at public chargers, you may leave that in the garage.
The 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four that drives the standard Q5 makes 248 horsepower on its own and is found under the hood of the Q5 PHEV. This generates a total of 362 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, which are then sent to the wheels via a seven-speed automatic transmission. The other components include a 141 horsepower electric motor and a 14.1 kilowatt-hour battery pack. It is significantly faster than the original Q5, reaching 60 mph in 5 seconds instead of 5.7, but it also has an additional 540 pounds on board. With all that delicious, rapid electric torque available when the vehicle is in EV mode, acceleration is more than quick enough for around-town use.
A 19-mile range is provided by the 14.1 kWh battery, which I found to be very easy to match while driving through suburbs in everyday life. The highway definitely depletes the battery, so I frequently have to hit the EV button on the dashboard to keep the pack charged at greater speeds. The cabin is peaceful and quiet while operating in electric mode, and the legally required low-speed EV noises are futuristic but not obtrusive. When it comes to charging, a Level 2 charger will finish it up in around 2.5 hours, and an overnight charge is possible with a conventional three-prong 110-volt connection.
The Q5 PHEV performs like a conventional gas-electric hybrid when the battery is almost completely depleted, employing brief periods of electric operation to increase the vehicle’s overall economy. However, this is where I have a problem with the car: The car will begin moving with electric power if you apply light to medium throttle as you leave a stop, but the gas engine will sputter as soon as the transmission switches into second gear. This problem won’t arise if you pay close attention to keeping the battery charged; otherwise, some footwork modifications will prevent this problem from occurring.
Otherwise, exactly like with the original model, driving the Q5 PHEV is a complete pleasure. Even with the larger alloy wheels on my tester, the suspension does a fantastic job of minimizing rough surfaces underfoot. The brakes do have a little bit more bite than the base model, but the pedal modulation is dead simple and it’s hard to tell when friction and regenerative braking are blending together.
The EPA rates the 2021 Audi Q5 PHEV at 50 mpg overall, which is a little less than its rivals’ ratings of 60 mpg for the BMW X3 xDrive30e and the Mercedes-Benz GLC350e (68 mpge). Nevertheless, depending on how frequently the battery is charged and how far the drive is, PHEV efficiency varies greatly in real-world circumstances. I have found that the Audi’s EPA estimations are easily attainable with regular access to a plug or a public charger throughout my week with the Q5. One more word of caution: the Q5 PHEV’s gas tank has to decrease from 18.5 gallons to 14.3 gallons in order to make room for the hybrid components.
The Q5’s technology extends beyond what is found within the body panels. The new 10.1-inch dashboard display houses the most recent version of Audi’s MMI Touch infotainment system. I adore how simple the menus and aesthetics are on this system, and how snappy it is at all times. Although Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both included as standard features and the latter boasts wireless capabilities, the Premium Plus trim adds inbuilt navigation for a $1,500 premium. Additionally, my test vehicle has an Audi 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit Plus, which brings nearly everything from the primary screen closer to my eyes. With steering wheel buttons and thumb wheels, I can easily navigate between its many modes.
The Q5 PHEV follows in Audi’s tradition of providing a full set of standard safety technologies. Automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, parking sensors, and automatic high beams are all included in the standard equipment. A surround-view camera system, active lane-keep assist, and adaptive cruise control are all included in the Premium Plus trim, which makes daily commutes less irritating.
While the beginning price of a regular 2021 Audi Q5 is $44,395 (plus $1,095 in destination fees), the PHEV starts at $52,995 (before any EV-related federal or municipal incentives). The Premium Plus trim, together with extras like finer paint, navigation, a Bang & Olufsen sound system, and larger wheels, raises the out-the-door cost of my tester’s vehicle to $60,740.
Similar to its gas-powered sibling, the Audi Q5 PHEV faces a sizable field of rivals. The BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class plug-in hybrids are more powerful than the Audi, but both outperform it in terms of on-road efficiency. The 2021 Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring PHEV is brand-new and pretty enticing from a luxury perspective if you favor some domestically flavored electric vehicles. In the same size range, there are also fully electric vehicles like the Audi E-Tron and the impending Mercedes EQC.
The 2021 Audi Q5 PHEV is a fantastic electric crossover that combines all the best features of the internal-combustion Q5 with an electrified powertrain that may significantly lessen a person’s dependence on fossil fuels. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. The Q5 PHEV should be top of your list of vehicles to test-drive if you want to commute in complete silence.
What is the hybrid Audi Q5’s operating range?
I’ve never given my vehicles names, but the 2021 Audi Q5 plug-in hybrid that I recently spent a week in offered Sybil as a suggestion. It’s the title of a 1976 movie that was based on the 1973 best-seller that made a sensation out of the life of Shirley Mason, a woman who claimed to be controlled by 16 different personalities. It presented a case of multiple personality disorder (now known as dissociative identity disorder) during my time using the Q5 plug-in that was just as compelling as Shirley’s enormously well-known account (strangely, much of her tale turned out to have been fabricated).
The Walter Mitty Luxe CUV
I left for a week at my lake home almost as soon as the 2021 Audi Q5 plug-in hybrid was delivered. Because there isn’t a plug close to where we park, I diligently followed the onscreen instructions to put the Q5 in Battery Save mode so that its fully charged battery pack would have enough energy to perform at its best when I tested it at our northern test track in Michigan’s thumb. The Q5 operates like a mild hybrid in this mode, conserving all of the battery energy it has built up during acceleration.
The Audi plug-in behaves like a 4,760-pound SUV with a 248-hp, 273-lb-ft 2.0-liter turbo-four once you reach to driving speeds, yet it will still move out of the driveway in electric mode. She’s no fireworks, each horse pulling 19.2 pounds. Sybil tested in Battery Save wafted to 60 mph in a leisurely 8.5 seconds and then completed a quarter-mile pass at 81.7 mph in 16.7 seconds. The 2.4-liter, non-turbo 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander performs almost identically to a less upscale plug-in hybrid that lacks the Q5’s sports aspirations. It’s a derogatory analogy.
The Poky E-SUV
Of course, driving plug-in hybrids in battery electric mode is how society prefers that we do. You won’t be able to obtain the Q5’s attractive 43/64/50-mpg-e city/highway/combined EPA figures until at least 70% of your driving is done in this mode. The central console has a button that, when touched, enters EV mode, allowing Sybil to switch into her even mousier 141-hp/258-lb-ft quiet mime persona. The Audi Q5 plug-in hybrid limped to 60 in 16.4 seconds and lumbered across the quarter-mile line in 20.9 seconds at 66.8 mph with each overburdened horse now toting 33.8 pounds. That’s assuming you didn’t lose patience and kick-down the engine by pressing the switch at the end of the accelerator pedal’s stroke. To locate an SUV that accelerated nearly as slowly, we had to go back to the 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser, which was equipped with a sluggish 212-hp inline-six and a four-speed automatic transmission (16.2 seconds to 60 mph, 20.1 seconds at 66.3 mph through the quarter).
The RS Q5 That Audi Doesn’t Offer
My 2021 Audi Q5 plug-in hybrid (PHEV for short) finally had its full 362 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of combined gas and electric motivation when I finally took it to the test track, engaged the Dynamic drive select setting, and let it run in its Hybrid mode. Our docile Q5 suddenly changed into the fastest Q5 model we’ve tested, accelerating to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds and barreling through the quarter-mile lights in 13.2 seconds at 103.1 mph. That puts it two tenths faster than the fastest Audi SQ5 V-6 turbo we’ve tested, which only makes 349 horsepower but is 308 pounds lighter and delivers the same amount of torque (369 lb-ft). The Porsche Macan S and the inconspicuous Q5 plug-in, which share a corporate MLB platform, are competitive at full power.
To get the turbo spooling, the pedal overlap technique, often known as “brake-torque,” was used to accomplish the performance mentioned above. The quarter-mile trap speed decreases to 98.7 mph if you merely floor the gas after coming to a halt, and the times are off by two or three tenths. To reach our best time, we typically only make two or three laps in each direction. However, with this plug-in Audi, I made back-to-back runs to drain the battery and see if the performance of the hybrid mode would deteriorate to the same level as that of Battery Save mode. Not at all. Presumably, slowing down from 100 mph repeatedly recovered enough electrons to give all 362 horses enough energy to run continuously.
How Does the 2021 Audi Q5 Plug-In Hybrid Handle?
This does not feel like an RS Q5 when you twirl the steering wheel or mash the brakes. With stops from 60 mph taking 116 feet instead of the 104 and 107 required by the SQ5 and Macan S, those 308 extra pounds became apparent. Additionally, even while the Q5 plug-maximum in’s lateral grip of 0.92 g is respectably close to the 0.94 g recorded by its cousins, those lighter utes lack the Q5 plug-dynamic in’s playfulness.
How Does It Rank as a Plug-In?
The sensation of this car may seem strange to drivers used to PHEV and fully electric cars because the electric motor climbs up through the first few gears. The driving experience is otherwise very unremarkable. The driver’s right foot angle is essentially shown by a huge power meter that replaces the standard tachometer. When in EV mode, pushing that needle past around 55 to 60 percent power ignites the engine. (The tach is reduced to a linear gauge that is one inch long.)
When the battery was completely down after my test run, I requested the navigation system to locate the closest public charging station. All of the first-place options were in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. I paged through and plugged in while I ran the test calculations at a nearby Level 2 charger in Port Huron, Michigan. The display indicated that a full charge would take four hours, but when I left after 30 minutes, I had four miles of electric range. From there, I used Battery Save mode to drive to the cabin where I plugged in the Q5 using extension cords that I had strung from a 110-volt outlet. It took exactly 18 hours as predicted by the information screen to add the final 15 miles of range.
The 14.1 kWh capacity of our 2021 Audi Q5 plug-in hybrid is rated for a 19-mile electric range. The battery size increases to 17.9 kWh for the 2022 model year, extending the range to 23 miles. Additional powertrain improvements have also changed the engine’s output numbers, which are now 261 horsepower at 5,250 rpm and 273 lb-ft of torque at 1,600 rpm. However, neither the numbers for the electric motor output nor the overall combined system output change. Audi claims that the redesigned 2022 Q5 PHEV has a reduced curb weight, although it credits this to a change in the list of standard features. While the gas-only ratings fall to 25/27/26 mpg for 2022, the EPA’s gas+electric ratings rise to 60/61/61 mpg-e. Also take note of the $1,000 increase in the base pricing.
Should You Consider an Audi Q5 Plug-In Hybrid?
Sure. You’d never get tired of riding in Sybil, er, the Q5 PHEV, with so many personalities! Of course, if we spent around $60K on one, we’d probably settle down with its RS Q5 character and then wonder why we didn’t choose a minimally optioned base Macan instead of this heavy PHEV.