Indiacar.com - Shootout - Audi Q5 3.0 TDI vs. BMW X3 xDrive20d

FLess monstrous and more realistic than the Q7, Audi’s Q5 is here and ready to tackle the BMW X3. The question is: does it have what it takes to best the X3? Ask Over Drive (June ’09).

Design
Stylistically the Q5 adopts the Q7’s template and shrinks it down to 75 per cent. It’s almost a faithful reproduction of its elder brother, right down to the tail lamps that are mounted on the tailgate (not on the body), but with none of the oh-my-god-is-it-coming-at-me feeling, you get when confronted with a Q7. The large single frame grille seems to have grown even bigger with even more prominent chrome surrounds. The large wheels lend the flanks lots of muscle but overall proportions are much better resolved and like so many cars today this is one that looks even better in the flesh. Subtle detailing abounds and particularly like the extruded aluminum roof rails mounted flush to the roof and the so – called zero-gap joint between the roof and the sides which smacks of obsessive German engineering.

The Q5 rums on the modular platform that under-pins the A5 coupe and A4 saloon and shares an almost identical wheel-base. High strength steel is used extensively in the body structure for excellent torsional rigidity while the hood and tailgate are made from aluminum to reduce weight. As befitting on an SUV the Q5 is much taller, fractionally wider but perhaps surprisingly is a touch shorter than the A4 but the 2.81-metre wheelbase and some clever packaging liberates more interior space than the X3. Inside the similarities with the A4 are immediately obvious with the dash being A4-derived, only a bit taller.

Interiors

The test car for OverDrive (June ’09) came with a full complement of airbags , adaptive xenon lights, an excellent 550 watt 14 speaker Bang and Olufsen sound set-up with an integrated 40GB hard drive and even SD card readers, Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity and DVD capability for the rear seats.

As ever Audi’s MMI multimedia interface is excellent, requiring only a little fiddling around to become intuitively easy to use. A new feature is, when you change the climate control settings a small box pops up on the MMI screen (on the left or right depending which zone has been operated) whereas in previous iterations these temporary indicators would take up the entire screen.

The X3 is the oldest car in BMW’s Indian line – up and is surely due for an update soon but right now it feels dated. Equipment levels aren’t anywhere close to that of the Q5 and while material quality is still very high, everything is organized is a very matter-of-fact, even plain jane manner.

The X3 has been around for four years now. Last year’s face-lift did sort out a lot of the idiosyncrasies but it is left with a few weird details and the front and rear simply don’t gel.

Ride & Handling

SUV’s today are getting increasingly car-like to drive but the Q5 is the most car-like of all the SUV’s we’ve driven says OverDrive (June ’09). It’s not the outright handling (there are SUV’s that can out – handle it) but its combination of factors – handling, manageable size and proportions, the driving position and the car-like driving environment. It’s easy to forget the Q5 is an SUV; such is the combination of feel, dynamics and quiet refinement.

But no matter how many times the Q5’s press kit shouts out the work sporty is it is outright corner carving for you, the X3 still sets the blench mark. The four-wheel drive system, xDrive, infinitely adjusts and varies torque between the front and rear axles depending on driving conditions significantly cutting under steer and over steer. On the road it gives the X3 incredible poise, grip and stability around corners with hardly any body roll.

So why you might ask, isn’t the X3 the ultimate car like SUV to drive? The problem is those dynamics are corrupted by ride quality that is just too stiff. That’s the area where the Q5 scores. Despite handling extremely well and cornering with minimum body roll, it rides well, firmly but without undue harshness.

Quattro four wheel drive is of course standard, offering a 40:60 front to rear torque split. The ESP has an off-road setting while the ABS sensors recognize if the Q5 is off-road and adjusts application of brakes in such a way that’s all mounds of dirt or gravel build up in front of the tyres to reduce stopping distances.

Approach and departure angles are 25 degrees, ground clearance is 200mm and it can wade through half a metre deep water. The roof rack also has sensors that detect when load is being carried and feeds that information to ESP to lower the intervention threshold to compensate for the upward shift in the centre of gravity.

Performance

In India the Q5 gets two power plants: the 2.0-litre turbo charged direct injection petrol engine developing 211PS of power and 350Nm and the 3.0-litreV6 diesel from the Q7. It is the latter that is being tested by OverDrive (June ’09) and its definitely not short on power. 240PS and 500Nm of torque is good enough to propel her to 100kmph in 7.8seconds, 200kmph in 36.42seconds and on to an electronically limited top speed of 225kmph.

Better still its mated to the 7-speed twin clutch automatic transmission whose virtues we’ve extolled in the past - instantaneous up shifts with cut in torque, rapid down-shifts with an automatic blip of the throttle and lightning quick responses .

Twin clutch gearboxes also offer superior fuel efficiency than conventional automatics but there’s a downside – it is not as refined as a conventional slush box. And that’s what the BMW has. OverDrive testers have always praised the BMW auto box’s rapid shifts and in sport mode you invariably find yourself in the right gear for the corner you’re attacking but the shifts aren’t as quick as in a twin clutch. What is better though is smoothness; the shifts are almost imperceptible, particularly downshifts where there aren’t any jolts.

BMW’s 6-speed auto is mated to the 2-litre 4-cylinder diesel engine from the 320d that develops 178PS of power and 350Nm of torque. Compared to the Q5’s V6 diesel, the X3 does lose out on capacity and power and posts a slower 0-100kmph time of 8.9 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 206kmph. Overall fuel efficiency for both is identical at 10kmpl.

Verdict
You have to give it to the X3 – it’s five years old but it can still out-handle many cars and show them the way around a race track. With the new diesel engine it is the more sensible option combining performance and improved drive ability with significantly lower running costs. The interiors too are well finished but they look outdated and that’s its biggest problem. The biggest downside though is ride quality that’s plainly very uncomfortable. And that’s where the Q5 scores.

The Q5 rides firmly and feels very car-like. It looks excellent in the metal, handsome and far more understated than the Q7. The interiors are fabulously well assembled, equipment levels are very high and it costs almost the same as X3 (Rs 46 lakh, ex-showroom) which makes it better value for money too. On every front the Q5 has improved on the X3’s bench marks and in the real world this is as good as it gets.