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The first word mentioned in every Audi Q5 presentation we've seen is stylish; there's nothing really ground-breaking in the Q5's appearance although they have done a few things differently. As you'd expect it looks much like its big-brother Q7, has Audi's familiar full-height grille face, and Audi notes a drag coefficient of 0.33; that's good for a relatively short, upright shape but as usual, no mention of frontal area (an important part of the equation) was made. Wind noise won't become an issue at U.S. highway speeds, but it will take more fuel to push this through the air than an A4 Avant (wagon) for instance. Q5 shares lineage with the A4 and A5 lines, bit it is four inches wider than an A4, nearly nine inches higher and about 10-percent heavier than a comparably equipped A4 wagon. Relative to others in its class it is wider than most (Land Rover's LR2 is narrower), average in height (the LR2 and Volvo XC60 notably taller, the Infiniti EX notably lower) and longer than the LR2 but shorter than the Lexus RX. Audi's signature LED running lights are standard on Premium Plus or Prestige cars and make the front more distinctive than most; all Q5's use LED lamps in back. Those rear lights are all in the hatch that wraps around the sides so they won't get damaged loading anything; conversely there will be no section of taillight showing while loading things at night. Character lines are similar to those on every front-engine Audi, with the upper one soft through the doors and tightly creased at the rear, and the upswept line from front wheel center through the lower doors. The rear door opening marks the leading edge of the wheelwell but insulation is sufficient your slacks won't get covered in muck sliding in and out. A variety of wheels are used and many appear directional; most people will not notice all the detail on the first glance. Regardless of size, all wheels are alloy and relatively easy to clean. Aluminum roof rails and the cross bars that go in them are standard on every Q5 and the rated roof rack load of 220 pounds is higher than many. Leave the cross bars out until you need them because one, they generate some wind noise, and two, because the electronic stability program algorithm changes with the bars installed.
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