Audi Q5 review - Reliability & safety

It might not look like it, but the Audi Q5 sits on the same mechanical platform as the Audi A4 saloon, and features a similar roster of protective technology. Reliability appears reasonable, although Audi needs to do more to impress customers according to the latest feedback.

Audi Q5 reliability

Audi’s cars generally feel rock-solid inside, but that hasn’t always translated to strong customer satisfaction. In the most recent 2024 Driver Power survey, Audi finished in a dire 27th position from 32 brands – that’s actually an improvement on its 30th place finish the year before, but not a good finish in general. Worse still for Audi, that was two positions behind Mercedes-Benz and well behind BMW in 14th place – Audi’s key rivals. The Q5 itself didn’t feature in 2024’s survey.

Budget-focused sister-companies Skoda and SEAT came ahead of Audi, but considering Volkswagen Group products often share mechanical components, it may be a case of Audis not quite meeting buyers’ high expectations. 21% of Audi owners reported an issue with their car in the first year, which is slightly better than average and the most reliable figure of all Volkswagen Group brands including Volkswagen itself, Skoda, SEAT and Cupra.

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Safety

The latest Q5 scored the full five stars in Euro NCAP crash-testing. Mandatory safety equipment like electronic stability control, a tyre-pressure monitoring system and ISOFIX child-seat mounts obviously feature in the Q5, but it’s good to see Audi throwing in an autonomous emergency braking system with every car.

The standard autonomous emergency braking system in the Q5 is only designed to work at up to 52mph, but research indicates 75% of all collisions occur under 25mph, and the Q5’s setup can detect pedestrians as well as larger obstacles.

If you want more safety kit, it’s time to head over to the options list. Super-bright ‘matrix’ LED lights are to be found here, and it’s also possible to specify a lane-departure warning system, a self-parking feature and adaptive cruise control.