Lets come out and say it-specialization does not count for much in today’s market scenario. Every manufacturer wants a piece of every pie-chart that is available. Super luxury car-makers fabricate much more than that now. And while some of them have been ballsy enough to make the first move (sometimes getting bitten, while at it), others like Audi have phlegmatically taken the last bench, watched and learned before deciding to better everything else. With meshing this bigger-and-better everything else. With meshing this bigger-and- better philosophy. Audi is now sailing in a new direction. They have re-evaluated their looks for being rather boring to the brilliant new R8, which is indisputably a star in its own right and looks the part too. That was of course followed by the A4, which has left half the TG staffers drooling, and I only say half because the other half is still salivating for its taste. Two brilliant cars in less than a year, you’d think the designers and engineers at Audi will we source smug, full of themselves and with their feet dangling high-up in the air that no good work could possibly be executed for the next couple of years. Right?, wrong.

Prepare to be gob smacked. Again, we have been seeing for sometime these sketches and prototypes and whatever stages of metamorphosis through which a concept evolves. And now, it is done. The all new Q5 another munch at the rather beefy word of compact SUV’s. Dominating the front is the trademark Audi Grille, only this time it is large enough to eat a cow. The LED treatment has been passed on and the running lamps have been crafted to sit on the top of the winged headlamps now. Xenons and cornering lamps are also available as options. In profile the Q5 is identical to the Q7 except for the fact that it a size smaller. This shrunken scale of things makes big far more manageable to, as I found out on the narrow Spanish country roads where the Q5 was presented.

Three engine options will power the Q5 with a fourth one to join the brood. A 2.0 litre turbocharged petrol engine and two turbocharged diesels with capacities of 2.0 and 3.0 litres respectively. The 2.0 litre TDI is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and is the most efficient of the lot. This is however least likely to make it to India. The similar capacity petrol engine is high on the priority list though. It manages a remarkable peak torque output of 350 Nm and holds it flat from 1500 rpm all the way to 4200 rpm, after which 211 bhp of power peaks at 4300 rpm and carries on the power surge till the 6000 rpm. There is not even a hint of turbo lag, thanks to the variable geometry turbo and the power delivery that never falters coming in thick and fast. A fantastic engine like this needs good transmission work also. Step in the new seven-speed S tronic DSC which Audi has developed. The shifts are quick and you can hammer them into cogs, as and when desired, and the party trick of course is the fact that it automatically blitz the throttle as you shift down. And all this is not just to make it sound good – it does the business too – propelling this Q5 to a ton in just over seven seconds. Efficiency is pretty good to at over 10 kpl. The other engine that is likely to be offered is the 3 litre TDI, which also features in the Q7. However, this one too is mated with the fantastic seven-speed S tronic box and packs a 500 Nm punch. This combined with the 240 bhp that is belts-out makes it the quickest in the Q5 range. That is of course till the 3.2 litre V6 sees the light of day. All power trains come with all-wheel drive or ‘Quattro’, as standard fitment with power delivery biased slightly toward the rear.

Unfortunately, the narrow roads in the Spanish countryside did not allow for much hard driving apart from a couple of dirt tracks that led out into the fields. With the Audi drive selector set to ‘dynamic’. I managed a couple of fiery runs through the field before the local folks came out screaming at all the best being thrown up. Handling is tight and precise and steering feels wonderfully well weighted providing a good amount of feedback. Get back on to the lazy straight tarmac roads and shift back to ‘comfort’ and you can instantly feel the difference as the steering become light and easy, and the suspension, which is largely made out of aluminium and uses multiple links, becomes more forgiving. The advanced ESP can defect a change in the c of g and also differences in surfaces altering the way it functions for maximum safety.

Dimensionally, the Q5 is slightly larger than the CR-V at 4.63 meters long and 1.88 meters wide. The interiors are massively spacious thanks to the 2.81 meter wheelbase which is possible due to a similar arrangement of the transmission and differential as in the A4. Fortunately Audi hasn’t been too adventurous and kept seating down to a comfortable five with a large loading bay. There are special nets and trays and holders for finicky items, dirty shoes and the like. You can of course fold down the rear bench have enough room for a bed. The cabin also features a variety of options which can help use spec it up to all the comforts that you would except from a mini theatre especially with the Bang and Olufsen stero and 40GB hard drive where you can dump all your music.

The number of permutations and combinations possible are endless and each one seems worth having. And I haven’t even said a word about the ‘S line’ or the off-road package or the brilliant new MMI system. Simply put, the Q5 is an excellent urban SUV with a scorching set of engine options and an even better box to go with it. And by the middle of next year it could be parked in your garage.