We’ve enjoyed its capabilities on-road, but now it’s time to find out how the Management Fleet Audi Q5 handles the rough stuff as part of the #LandOfQuattro tour.
[Not a valid template]| Driver's Log | |
|---|---|
| Date acquired: | August 2014 |
| Total kilometres: | 17,089 |
| Kilometres this month: | 529 |
| Costs this month: | $0 |
| L/100km this month: | 12.9 |
After brief stints with both James and Mo, the keys to crankandpiston’s long term Audi Q5 S-Line have finally landed in my hands. And while the guys have focused on the car’s day-to-day capabilities on road, there’s one area we haven’t explored yet: how it handles off-road.
Luckily, Audi Middle East recently organised a #LandOfQuattro off-road experience, the route for which was filled with potentially suspension buckling dips, dikes and dunes. Seemed ideal, and we had soon RSVP-ed and made our way to the northern tip of the United Arab Emirates, a place called Asimah.
Now while convoys aren’t really our thing – going at someone else’s pace usually leads to delays – the opening leg of our journey took us across rough gravel and rocky climbs, the scenery as stunning as you’d expect this close to the mountains. Hitting 40kph on this rough terrain, the Q5’s tyres were given a fast and vigorous massage, a worthwhile test of their endurance even if they didn’t particularly care for the rough treatment. Saying that, the suspension took the brunt of the force out of each impact, allowing us to cruise in (relative) comfort.
Turns out the rocky climb was just the beginning of our off-road experience, the next leg taking us further into the sands where the Q5’s durability on the soft stuff really started to make its presence felt. Uphill or down, the Audi offered full traction through all four wheels – the power from the 3-litre supercharged V6 showing it muscles – with no signs of slip or wheel spin. Mercifully we didn’t get stuck either. What really impressed us though was the fuel consumption: after a full day on the move and the best part of 400km covered, there was still juice left in the tank.
Safe to say our day on the rough stuff has left me mightily impressed with the Audi Q5. I only worry that, with this off-road experience in the bag, the rest of the team will start exploring the Q5’s true limits off-road. This could get messy…
– FULL GALLERY OF SHOTS AVAILABLE HERE – CLICK – Shots courtesy of Wouter Kingma
| Audi | Q5 S-Line |
|---|---|
| Engine: | V6 / 2995cc |
| Power: | 272hp @ 4780-6500rpm |
| Torque: | 295lb-ft @ 2150-4780rpm |
| Transmission: | Eight-Speed tiptronic / Quattro all-wheel drive |
| Front suspension: | Independent double wishbones with high-mount upper arms / coil springs / self-adjusting two-mode variable dampers / stabilizer bar |
| Rear suspension: | Independent multilink / coil springs / self-adjusting two-mode variable dampers / stabilizer bar |
| Brakes: | 13.2-inch ventilated discs with four-piston fixed calipers (front) / 12.2-inch ventilated discs with single-piston sliding calipers (rear) |
| Wheels: | 2.5J x 20 front and rear |
| Tyres: | 225/45 R20 front and rear |
| Weight (kerb) | 1840kg |
| 0-100kph: | 5.9secs |
| Top speed: | 234kph |
| Price: | $61,260 |
