Almost Perfect: The 2018 Audi Q5 2.0T quattro S tronic

The 2018 Audi Q5 2.0T quattro S tronic.

Want to see a great example of the rapid progression in cars these days?  Check out the Phoenix Bureau's review of the 2014 Audi Q5 TDI quattro Tiptronic.  Compare the pictures in that review to the pictures in this one.  You may not think Audi's mid-size SUV has changed much in four years, but the pictures tell the story.  There's been a remarkable evolution of the design.

Now look at the technicals.  The '14 was a three-liter diesel V6 making 240 horsepower and delivering an EPA fuel economy estimate of 24 city/31 highway.  Our '18?  A two-liter turbocharged gasoline four with 252 horsepower and getting very close to what four years ago were remarkable diesel numbers for this size class...23 city/27 highway.

Why The Audi Q5 TDI quattro Tiptronic Is A Great SUV

The 2014 Audi Q5 TDI quattro Tiptronic

There is a key to design that not all automakers understand, or at least apply: Form, in and of itself, can be beautiful. Form and function serving each other is beyond beautiful.

Audi has understood and applied that in its products for years. Audis are always impeccably designed, not styled, intelligently thought out and meticulously executed. The 2014 Audi Q5 TDI quattro Tiptronic is a tremendous example of that. There is not a wasted nor superfluous line on the car. It is simple, yet conveys an elegance that most crossovers in its size class simply do not.