Audi Q5: Affordable evolution that's a lot of fun on the road

It was a sign of the times, good times.

After decades of being a slave to the wage, my freelance business was booming and I felt brave enough to splash out on a posh car rather than a working man’s model.

It was Audi’s second ever SUV, the Q5, as I couldn’t quite stretch to the first, the behemoth Q7.

To be honest when it first came out, and I tried to get a price on a PCP, I couldn’t afford it. Being brand new, exciting and in demand, the dealer wanted £900 a month.

So I waited six months and managed to negotiate £600, still a lot of money in 2010 but worth it to sport the interlocking rings. Great times.

It’s hard to believe 15 years have passed. Where did that go then? And it’s still about the same monthly cost. How can that be possible?

The price has risen from around £40k to £54k but the moneymen can manipulate the figures so the Audi is still affordable.

In fact, if you measure it in cappuccino, it’s cheap as chips, to mix my food metaphors. In 2010, £600 a month would have bought me 300 cappas. Today it would get me just 150. So in my mind it’s half price.

Brand new Q5 is a typical Audi evolution rather than radical mix-up and the influences are clear – e-tron. The front gets a big, bold, snarling grille and air scoops – nice – then foxy lights that are demure and alluring.

The side view offers an aesthetic which is perfectly proportioned, with minimal overhangs, bold suage lines and big alloys.

The rear is well and truly brought up by full stretch lighting right across the tailgate that is very much out of the e-tron camp. So, while new Q5 reflects its 15 year heritage, it looks and feels fresh and modern.

Inside is a peerless exercise of Audi design. A sexy virtual dashboard flows seamlessly from one side of the Q5 to the other.

An OLED touchscreen takes pride of place in the centre and also in front of the passenger and functions are backed by haptics to give some feel and feedback. It’s also very intuitive and easy to use so no worries there.

Q5 is nice and spacious too and the boot swells easily at the tug of a couple of levers to drop the rears seats.

There’s no gear lever as such just a switch marked with the usual D and R for direction of travel and the hexagonal, and therefore flat-bottomed, steering wheel is a pleasure to grasp.

TDI is powered by a 2.0 litre diesel – yes, a diesel – though you would struggle to tell as it is so quiet and unassuming, especially when you start off as it pulls away on electric.

The MHEV technology features a new 48-volt electrical system which supports the 2.0 TDI combustion engine, reduces CO2 emissions and increases performance. All versions drive through a seven-speed, super-slick and fast-changing S tronic gearbox which passes the 204PS of power to the road through standard quattro all-wheel drive.

Put more than 200PS in a taut chassis, dial in all-wheel-drive and positive steering and guess what you get? That’s right, something that is a lot of fun to drive through the esses.

Show me an Audi that isn’t rewarding to drive and I’ll have to show you another brand as they are all at the top of their game. Q5 is no exception and is controlled, refined, yet involving to drive. You also have the pride of the badge and in such a pleasant shade of green, it’s a vehicle that draws admiring glances.

For me it reminds me of happy days, when the money was flowing free and fast and my two-year-old was happy to call me daddy, rather than grunt dad as he does now. It’s a car I’d be happy to revisit any time.