by James Hamel

Created on: January 20, 2011   Last Updated: January 22, 2011

The 2011 Audi Q5 2.0T Quattro should not be this good. It weighs over 4,000 pounds, has full time all-wheel drive and only boasts a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine under the hood yet it still manages to feel quick, sporty and can average 24 miles per gallon during a week of mixed driving conditions. Has Audi mastered the art of premium SUV black magic?

The credit for making the Q5 such a vastly superior product to so much of the premium compact SUV competition belongs to more than just one part of this vehicle. First off, the 2.0 liter turbocharged/direct injected 4-cylinder is possibly the finest 4-cylinder in the world feeling every inch as strong as its 211 horsepower/258 lb. feet of torque power figures suggest.

Turbo boost is non-existent and the engine just always seems to be right in the sweet spot of its power band thanks to a new addition for the 2011 model year—Audi’s class dominating 8-speed automatic. 7-speed and 8-speed automatic transmissions are very trendy among premium automakers right now but Audi actually took the time to engineer a unit that works so seamlessly most drivers will never notice what it’s doing.

Some other multi-cog transmissions in competing luxury cars endlessly hunt for the right gear and occasionally display some shift action harshness when the computerized brain controlling the transmission gets confused as to which gear is most appropriate for a given situation. There is a manual Tiptronic function for the Q5’s gearbox but it works so well in auto mode that there is little point in using it under normal conditions.

The 2011 Audi Q5 is also offered with a 3.2 liter 270 horsepower/243 lb. feet of torque V6 engine but the performance gains offered by the bigger motor shave only a few tenths of a second off of the 4-cylinder’s 7.1 second 0-60 time and fuel economy drops to 18 city/23 highway. Although the 3.2 liter V6 variant does start out with a higher basic specification, it also has a starting price that is over $7,000 more than that of the 2.0 liter turbo model.

All Q5 models come standard with Quattro all-wheel drive and prices start at just $35,200 for a basic Premium edition. This tester was in Premium 2.0T spec yet still came with standard three zone climate control, the most deliciously sumptuous leather upholstery in this price class, 12-way power front seats, Sirius satellite radio, real wood inlays, 18-inch alloy wheels, power windows, power locks, keyless entry, the 8-speed automatic,

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