Audi Q5 vs Toyota RAV4

What's the difference?

Ever since returning from the launch of the new Audi Q5 I've been looking at old ones and thinking how lumpy and dumpy they look by comparison. The new Q5 will be an adornment to our roads in styling terms, it's a tour de force of interior design and its engines might well be the last barking gasp of its kind. So it's definitely worth a look if you're in the mid-size SUV space. And you don't want an EV yet.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The Toyota RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid 2WD model reaffirms why the RAV4 is so popular in Australia. It offers families space, convenience and features in a well-priced and handsome package. The cabin noise might be an ick for some but for everything else this model offers it could be overlooked.

Other than the closely related Porsche Macan, and maybe an Alfa Romeo Stelvio, it's hard to think of a better, smoother looking SUV than this new Audi Q5, with its revised Singleframe grille flanked by vertical air curtains, that look a bit like gills.

Audi claims the Q5 has "perfect proportions", which is bold, but it certainly looks sleek rather than bulky, with a nice silhouette and dynamic rather than Mumsy appeal.

The rear is particularly attractive with a three-dimensional light strip that ties it all neatly together. It's a more refined, sharper look than the Q5 it replaces.

Inside, of course, Audi has either taken its interior to another level of futuristic fabulousness, or put too many bloody screens in, all of which are too big, depending on who you ask. And how old they are. Kids will love it, however.

Interestingly, while every car company ever claims that its cabin has a cockpit feel, focusing on the driver, the Q5 really does. So much so that there's a raised edge in the centre console that quite noticeably cuts the driver off from the passenger. In the other front seat you do feel a bit removed, as if you're meant to leave the driver to it, which might be why you get your own screen to play with.

In anticipation of the next-gen model, there hasn't been any design changes for the RAV4 - it remains a good-looking family SUV despite being a little heavy-handed with its angles.

Some external design highlights include garage friendly dimensions and a host of black accents across the body, including 18-inch alloy wheels that help to create an edgy kerb-side appeal.

Head inside and the RAV4 Cruiser offers a premium cabin-feel with its leather upholstery and large tech screens that headline the dashboard.

As always, there is a sense that design is based on functionality rather than style, which is typical of Toyota, but the simplicity makes the cabin relaxing to be in.

You’re not overwhelmed by touchpads or gadgets as can be the case in other new cars and there is a certain charm about that.

Audi is talking up the little things with the new Q5, like the fact that there's a much larger storage space under the centre armrest now - and it's true, you can lose your car key in it - plus numerous other storage areas, and an inductive and cooled charging tray so your phone won't get cooking hot and shut off, with 15 watts of power.

In exciting news for screen addicts/children, Audi is also very excited about its uprated USB-C ports, which can charge at up to 60 watts through the two in the front, while the rear passengers also get two more, rated at 100 watts. Which sounds like a lot, Audi says it's enough to run your laptop.

The new Q5 also gets a very useful adjustable rear seat, which can be slid lengthways and tilted, providing either more passenger space and less boot room or vice versa. With the rear seat down you get 1473 litres, but thanks to the new sloping rear design you get slightly less room in the Q5 SUV, with 520 litres behind the second row. The SQ5 gets even less at just 470 litres.

Another handy feature is that the snappy luggage cover can be stowed in a special designed compartment under the boot floor. Clever.

The RAV4 continues to impress with its practicality.

Access and comfort for both rows is excellent. The heat and cool functions for the front seats are perfect for all seasons and the two-position memory function on the driver’s side is handy if you often share driving duties with your partner.  

The rear row seating is well-padded and middle seaters will love the legroom the lower transmission tunnel offers. Head- and legroom is good in both rows, even for taller adults.

Amenities and storage are also great throughout the car.

Front rowers enjoy a decently sized middle console which I can squeeze my small handbag into, a glove box, two cupholders, two drink bottle holders, a phone tray and two shelves in the dashboard. You also get a sunglasses holder!

In the rear you get a single map pocket, two cupholders and two drink bottle holders, which is enough for my little family of three.

In terms of technology, you get a bunch and the usability is great.

The 10.5-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks really nice and is now the same system that Lexus uses, which is a big plus as it’s much easier to use than the previous Toyota one. The next-gen model should see this upgraded to a 12.3-inch system, which is more in line with its rivals.

You also get built-in satellite navigation, wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto. CarPlay maintains a strong connection.

There's a multitude of charging options throughout, including a USB-A port, four USB-C ports, a 12-volt socket and a wireless charging pad.

Rounding out the cabin is a boot that offers plenty of space with its 580L capacity and you get a temporary spare tyre, as well as, a retractable cargo cover.

However, the quality of the cargo cover isn't the best and it would be easier to use if it had a handle to grip onto.

The Cruiser model comes with a powered tailgate, which is always handy but the 'warning' alert as it opens or descends is very loud. Truck-reversing-beeping loud. Everyone will know when you open the boot!

The model line-up for the RAV4 consists of five variants with each available in front- or all-wheel drive.

The model on test for this review is the Hybrid Cruiser 2WD, which sits second-from-the-top in the line-up and is priced from $51,410 MSRP.

This price tag nudges it to the top of its rivals, the GWM Haval H6 Ultra Hybrid ($45,990 MSRP) and Nissan X-Trail e-Power ST-L ($50,490 MSRP) but the standard equipment for the Cruiser highlights its overall good value.

Premium features include leather-appointed upholstery, electric front seats with heat and ventilation functions, two-position memory function for the driver's seat, a sunroof and carpet mats.

Technology has had a good look in recently with the 10.5-inch touchscreen multimedia system now powered by the Lexus system (much easier to use) and a customisable 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster.

Other tech includes built-in satellite navigation, a nine-speaker JBL sound system, USB-A port, four USB-C ports, a 12-volt socket, a wireless charging pad, digital radio, digital rear view mirror, and a 'Toyota Connect' app with over-the-air updates.

Practical items include keyless entry and start, rain-sensing wipers, dusk-sensing LED headlights, dual-zone climate control, a powered tailgate and directional air-vents in the rear.

For the grade level and compared to its rivals, the Cruiser more than holds its own.

Does it seem strange to anyone else that a company so focused on reducing emissions through promoting EVs is still offering diesel engines? The reason, of course, is that so many Europeans still want them, because fuel is so damn expensive there, and yet Audi Australia says it will also offer them here.

That's where the range now starts, with the TDI diesel version coming standard with all-wheel drive, or Quattro, with outputs of 150kW/400Nm. Like every car in the new Q5 range, it uses a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which is excellent.

Every Q5 also uses MHEV technology to reduce emissions and increase performance, which means it gets a 48-volt electrical system to support its combustion engines. This system means you start up, in most conditions, in silent electric mode, and you can even manoeuvre and park the car using only electricity, most of the time.

The electrical system is connected to a Powertrain Generator which provides additional torque of up to 230Nm, and a mere 18kW of extra power. Every little bit helps I guess.

Basically, it's a mild hybrid, meaning you get a mild amount of help, and the full plug-in hybrid Q5s are coming soon. Later this year.

Stepping up from the diesel you can have a 2.0-litre TFSI four-cylinder petrol engine, with either front or Quattro all-wheel drive and making 150kW/340Nm.

The range-topping all-wheel-drive SQ5 gets a very enjoyable 3.0-litre six-cylinder TFSI petrol engine with 270kW and 550Nm. It feels like more kilowatts, honestly.

All RAV4 models have a continuously variable automatic transmission and the same hybrid combination of a 2.5L four-cylinder petrol engine and electric motor which combine to produce up to 160kW of power and 221Nm of torque for front-wheel-drive models. 

The combo delivers decent power for an SUV of this size.

The MHEV technology is supposed to provide some boost to fuel economy but the figures aren't super exciting. You'll be getting a claimed 5.9 litres per 100km from the 2.0 TDI diesel, or 6.5L/100km from the 2.0 TFSI petrol.

The V6 is going to cost you more at the pump with a claimed figure of 8.1 litres per 100km. You might want to wait for the PHEVs.

The Toyota hybrid powertrain produces the lowest official combined fuel cycle figure compared to its rivals at just 4.7L/100km and the best theoretical driving range of up to 1170km courtesy of its 55L fuel tank.

After covering a mix of open-road and urban driving this week, the on-test figure is 5.5L/100km, which proves Toyota does hybrids well.

While the new Q5 might feel classier, techier and generally more expensive and Q7/Q8-like on the inside, it's pulled off an even more impressive feat in the chassis department, which no doubt owes a lot to the entirely new PPC platform, because it feels more like a powerful Q3 to drive than the Q5 of old.

That's not a comment on interior or load space, it's just that it feels smaller and more spritely on the road. It turns in better, holds its line better and resists gentle understeer right up to the point where you wonder whether your co-driver has lost his mind or is trying to kill you both.

Seriously, the SQ5 can properly get up and boogie in Sport mode (Audi says one of the things it's proudest of with the new car is how much more noticeable the range of difference is between the relaxed, or 'Balanced' and 'Comfort', modes and the more aggressive ones) and you really have to be going beyond sensible to find the edge of grip.

The SQ5's V6 also makes the kind of noises that now sound weirdly wonderful in an Audi, when so many of the new offerings are electric. Choose to shift the gears yourself and this can be a properly involving machine, and quite impressive for an SUV.

What separates it from the kid of fun you could have in its cousin, the previous Porsche Macan with petrol power, is the steering. It's not terrible, and it is sharp, but it just lacks a bit in the feel and muscle department. Being generous you'd say it's easy to drive but you just know that if this had an R badge the steering would be so much better, and closer to Porsche and BMW.

The diesel TDI model does not make glorious noises, and the whines and groans it does make - which seem loud by Audi standards, it's usually very good at quietening its diesels down - do not encourage you to shift gears yourself or drive it in a sporty fashion. It is a workhorse variant, with plenty of torque, and for a certain kind of customer who cares not for sportiness or excitement I'm sure it's a fine option.

One thing I did not expect to be doing on an Audi Q5 launch is clambering up and over a rock strewn mountain on properly rutted and rough gravel tracks, but that was an option here so I took the 2.0 TFSI on the optional off-road adventure and I must say I was both surprised and impressed.

The Q5 is not a mountain goat, or a Land Rover, but despite feeling like I was doing the gardening in a shiny suit, I managed to traverse a track that felt too serious and intense for a soft roader, and did so with ease and in comfort. The air suspension raises the Q5 a full 45mm in Off-road mode, so ground clearance was no problem - nor did I encounter any boulders - but the way the Quattro system dealt with the dirty stuff was impressive.

Overall, I can see that this TFSI model is the sweet spot in the range in terms of value and performance, and it really is all the Q5 you could need. It never feels underpowered, unless you've just stepped out of the SQ5, and you get all the benefits of the chassis and handling upgrades.

Personally, though, I'd have the SQ5 just for the rorty V6 noises alone. It feels like something new, but also the end of something wonderful.

The RAV4 Hybrid Cruiser 2WD is stupidly easy to drive which is one of its best qualities.

The driver is front and centre for design, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to twiddle with climate controls or changing your music. That makes the driving feel… well, cruisy.

Power delivery is mostly smooth and offers decent punch when you need to put your foot down. However, it can be laggy off the mark from a cold-start, so take care when crossing traffic.

Suspension feels well-tuned for our Aussie roads, even the regional ones, but never feels floaty. This is well-grounded but you do get some roll in corners.

A drawback is the cabin is annoyingly loud once you hit the open-road and there is a wind-whistle near the driver that drove me nuts.

There are also a lot of squeaky/rubbing noises when you hit bumpy roads. However, it is a refined experience around town, when engine noise is all but nil. The urban environment is where it shines. 

The steering is direct with a tight 11.4m turning circle, which makes the RAV4 easy to park. It also helps that the 360-degree view camera set-up is top-notch, which is not always the case for Toyota, and you get front and rear parking sensors too. 

The RAV4 has a maximum five-star ANCAP rating from testing done in 2019 and has seven-airbags but doesn’t have a front-centre airbag yet. 

It has high individual scores for protection, scoring 93 per cent for adult, 89 per cent for child, 85 per cent for vulnerable road-user, and 83 per cent for its safety assist systems.

The RAV4 has AEB with car, pedestrian and cyclist functions, operational from 10-80km/h (180km/h for car) but it is usual to see the system operational from 5.0km/h.

Standard crash-avoidance safety kit includes blind-spot monitoring, an SOS call button, emergency steering assist, driver attention alert, a rear occupant alert, rear and forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert and lane departure alert.

There's also lane keeping aid, traffic sign recognition, an intelligent seatbelt warning, adaptive cruise control with stop/go functionality, a 360-degree view camera system as well as front and rear parking sensors.

You also get a digital rear view mirror, which is great when you have compromised vision out the back window.

There are ISOFIX child seat mounts and three top tethers in the rear row. You might be able to get three seats across but two will fit best.

All Audis are now covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, up from its recent offering of three years, which is better, but could be better still.

There's no news on what servicing arrangements will be because the new Q5 doesn't lob until Q3, but in general the brand will let you prepay your services, required annually, for the first five years, with the regular Q5 currently billed at $3140 and the SQ5 billed at $3170.

The RAV4 is offered with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, but you add two more years if you service exclusively with Toyota and on schedule.

There is a five-year capped-priced servicing program and it costs just $260 per service, which is very competitive for the class.

Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12-months or 15,000km whichever occurs first.