2025 Audi Q5 Preview – Consumer Reports

You’d be forgiven if you thought Audi was pulling a fast one and merely “freshening” the redesigned 2025 Q5. But while it looks a lot like the outgoing Q5, the new model is indeed on a new platform. And with sales growing at a healthy clip each year, Audi clearly doesn’t want to mess with a popular model. 

From the front three-quarters angle, the Q5 almost looks like the original Audi Q7—that’s just how prominent the grille, front air vents, and fenders are. Whereas the outgoing Q5 has a sleeker, angled look from the hexagonal grille into the hood, the nose of the 2025 Audi Q5 appears very upright. Tall, deep air intake vents flank the grille, sitting low beneath the slim, stylized headlights. While LEDs are used front and rear in the U.S. market Q5s, federal lighting regulations still prevent the advanced Matrix LEDs and digital light signature features that are available in Europe from being sold here. 

From the side, there are a few noticeable changes. The side mirrors have moved from the top of the door panel to the corner junction where the windshield pillar, edge of the clamshell hood, and side window meet. In addition, the deep scallop at the bottom of the doors is more pronounced, starting at a lower point and rising as it extends toward the rear wheels. Finally, there is a slight “Coke bottle” effect along the doorsill, with small flares on the leading edge of the front door and the trailing edge of the rear doors.

At the back, the OLED taillights sit mostly on the rear fenders of the 2025 Audi Q5 and are connected via a lightbar that runs the width of the SUV, just above the license plate area. The center high-mounted stop light (CHMSL) will project onto the rear window during braking, helping to alert any following vehicles.

While the high-performance SQ5 gets a set of twin round tailpipes on each side, the regular Q5 gets a rectangular tailpipe on each side.  

The Q5 will come standard with 18-inch wheels using all-season tires, and 19- and 20-inch packages will be optional. The SQ5 will be fitted with 20-inch wheels with all-season run-flat tires as standard equipment, and 21-inch wheels with all-season or summer tires will be optional.