This is the all-new third-gen Audi SQ5, and it’s got V6 petrol power again

Sighs, this’ll sell well, won’t it. Meet the brand-new, third-generation Audi SQ5, which in Good News for executive German car platform enthusiasts, is the first Audi SUV to use the Premium Platform Combustion, um, platform. Yay!

And in the freshly updated SQ5, there is plenty of combustion, because Audi has reverted to petrol power again, binning the old V6 TDI and slinging in a 3.0-litre V6 TFSI engine producing a heady 362bhp and 406lb ft of torque.

That’s matched of course, to Audi’s little-known ‘quattro’ four-wheel-drive system and a seven-speed dual clutcher. We won’t know the performance details like acceleration and top speed until later this year but expect it to be ‘very’ and ‘much’.

We do know what it looks like. And it looks… actually really rather good, for an SUV. Purposeful. Sharp. The SQ5’s gloss black ‘singleframe’ grille, huge front air intakes and narrower (very fancy OLED) headlights feel better connected this time around. More cohesive. And definitely a little bit angry about something.

Round the rear of the SQ5 you’ll find the traditional quad exhausts underneath a redesigned rear diffuser that’s been integrated into the new bumper “as an island”. Yep, us neither. There are yet fancier rear OLED lights with ‘signatures’ and fancy tech, and it looks like there are some massive brakes sitting behind those SQ5-specific alloys, too.

Overall, whether it’s this SQ5 or the ‘regular’ new Q5 (pictured below), it’s a smart shape. Audi has worked hard on finessing the airflow so it scythes through the air better than the last one, and as good as a big, blocky SUV can.

If you want to scythe through the air with slightly less vigour, outside of the SQ5’s headline V6, you’ve got the option of either a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (201bhp, 250lb ft), or a 2.0-litre four-pot diesel (201bhp, 295lb ft). Both are quattro. Both get the seven-speed ‘box.

And all three get Audi’s ‘MHEV Plus’ hybrid setup, which smuggles in a pair of electric motors (one on the engine, one on the gearbox) and a tiny 1.7kWh battery to both boost efficiency and performance. This setup allows for some electric-only range, as well as a 24bhp boost when required.

Though, Audi concedes it has set the new SQ5 and Q5 up to provide “largely neutral handling”. Both cars get ‘progressive’ steering, with the regular Q5 getting steel suspension as standard, or sports suspension as an option on S line and Edition 1 trims.

Naturally the SQ5 gets adaptive dampers, and apparently there’s a noticeably bigger spread between ‘comfort’ and ‘sport’ modes.

There’s a noticeably bigger jump inside, because the new SQ5 (and Q5) ditches the more convenient button-heavy interior cabin of the outgoing car and introduces the current affectation: massive touchscreens! Saying that, the old Q5’s screen always looked like an afterthought plonked atop the central part of the dashboard; this third gen car at least integrates them more cohesively.

There are two OLED screens: an 11.9in virtual cockpit for the driver which continues to impress as it develops generation to generation, and a central, 14.5in panoramic MMI. Separately, you can option a third screen for the passenger – a 10.9in version your companion can use to play all the wrong music or totally fluff up the sat nav directions. HUD, too.

Looks very technical and very… Audi in here, which is a good thing. The seats get diamond quilting, ‘comfort-orientated’ areas get soft materials, controls are in gloss black, and there are plenty of fancy elements used in the cabin’s construction.

It’s better lit than before thanks to interior lighting and should be quieter via the medium of acoustic glazing in the windscreen and front windows. You can absolutely shatter that new-found ambience via the new audio setup – Bang & Olufsen on the SQ5 (optional for lesser trims), or Audi’s own sound system on the regular car.

“The Audi Q5 has been our most successful and most important SUV model in the midsize class for more than 15 years,” said Audi boss Gernot Döllner. “It marks the next important step in the rejuvenation of our portfolio.

“I am certain that the new Audi Q5, as a sporty all-rounder with a dynamic SUV design, will continue its success story,” he added. Sighs, yeah, this’ll sell really well, won’t it.