2025 Audi Q5 vs 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport was designed to project a sportier image within the Range Rover lineup. Its tall stance was complemented by a shorter wheelbase and a chopped top, giving it a more athletic appearance compared to the traditional Range Rover. The large front air intakes and faux vents on the hood and fenders added to its sporty look, although from certain angles, the vehicle appeared somewhat tall and narrow, lacking the wide, planted look of some luxury SUVs. The SV Edition Two trim, the highest-performance model, featured unique elements like 23-inch carbon-fibre wheels and a carbon-fibre hood with an exposed patch. Despite its subtle exterior, the interior was adorned with red leather upholstery, sport seats with illuminated inserts, and a minimalist dashboard design, creating a cockpit-like feel.

In contrast, the 2025 Audi Q5 embraced a rugged SUV aesthetic with a large, textured grille, prominent side air intakes, and high-mounted headlights. The design was more evolutionary than revolutionary, maintaining a familiar look while incorporating new styling elements. The Q5 was available in standard SUV and coupe-like Sportback body styles, with the latter offering a sleeker profile at the expense of cargo space and rear-seat headroom. The SQ5 performance variant featured matte chrome trim, larger air intakes, and quad exhaust tips, along with sportier tuning. Inside, the Q5's design was characterized by a mix of lines and materials, creating a distinctive yet somewhat discordant look. The interior materials were of high quality, with leather seating surfaces standard and a red interior with Alcantara trim available on the SQ5.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport offered a range of powertrain options, all paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and standard four-wheel drive. The base Dynamic SE model featured a 3.0-litre turbocharged inline-six engine producing 395 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. A plug-in hybrid variant based on the same engine delivered 454 hp and 487 lb-ft. The Autobiography trim offered a more powerful plug-in hybrid with 543 hp and 590 lb-ft. Additionally, a BMW-sourced twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 engine was available, producing 523 hp and 553 lb-ft. The SV Edition Two, the most powerful model, used the same V8 but with 626 hp, achieving 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 290 km/h. The Range Rover Sport excelled in both on-road performance and off-road capability, with features like sport-tuned air suspension, four-wheel steering, and brake-based torque vectoring enhancing its agility.

The 2025 Audi Q5 came with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and quattro all-wheel drive. The base model's 2.0-litre turbo-four engine produced 268 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, while the SQ5's 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 delivered 362 hp and 406 lb-ft. The Q5's performance was competitive within its segment, with the SQ5 achieving 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds. However, both models experienced turbo lag and rough shifts from the dual-clutch transmission, affecting their responsiveness. The Q5's suspension offered a balance between damping and body control, with air suspension available on higher trims. While capable, the Q5's handling was not particularly sporty, and its steering lacked feedback. The Q5 included Off-Road and Off-Road Plus modes, but it was more suited to dirt roads than technical trails.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport positioned itself between the Range Rover Velar and the full-size Range Rover, offering a midsize two-row, five-seater configuration. Front-seat occupants enjoyed similar headroom to other midsize luxury SUVs, though legroom was slightly less than in competitors like the Acura MDX and Audi Q7. The sloping roofline did not significantly impact rear-seat headroom, and reclining rear seats were standard. The Sport provided 835 litres of cargo space behind the second row and 1,860 litres with the rear seats folded. While not the largest in its class, it offered ample space. The Sport's towing capacity was impressive, with turbo-six and V8 models capable of towing up to 3,500 kilograms.

The 2025 Audi Q5 maintained similar dimensions to the previous model, offering adequate headroom and legroom. The second-row bench seat was sliding and reclining, with cargo-area buttons for easy adjustment. The Q5 provided 757 litres of cargo space behind the second row and 1,710 litres with the seats folded, offering more space than some rivals but less than others. Standard features included a power tailgate, heated front seats, and a heated steering wheel. The Q5's towing capacity was 2,000 kilograms, surpassing some competitors but falling short of others.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport featured a 13.7-inch digital instrument cluster and a 13.1-inch touchscreen for infotainment, with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa integration. The minimalist design of the dashboard left few physical controls, requiring reliance on the touchscreen for functions like climate control and drive mode selection. The Pivi Pro infotainment system was responsive, with natural-language voice recognition. The SV Edition Two offered "Body and Soul Seats" with embedded transducers for a unique audio experience, though it felt somewhat gimmicky.

The 2025 Audi Q5's standard infotainment setup included an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.5-inch central touchscreen, with a 10.9-inch passenger screen available on the Technik trim. Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a cooled wireless charging pad were standard. The MMI infotainment system, based on Android Automotive OS, was user-friendly, with a built-in voice assistant for some functions. The digital instrument cluster had less functionality than previous versions, and the optional head-up display provided useful information. The Q5 also featured Audi's Dynamic Interaction Light for additional driver cues.

The 2025 Land Rover Range Rover Sport came equipped with standard driver-assist features, including automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and a driver attention monitor. A 360-degree camera system and digital rearview mirror aided parking, though the parking sensors were overly sensitive. Safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available at the time of writing.

The 2025 Audi Q5 included standard driver-assist features such as adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning with swerve and turn aids, lane departure warning, parking sensors, automatic high beams, blind spot monitoring, and traffic sign recognition. An exit alert feature used ambient lighting to warn occupants of oncoming vehicles or cyclists. IIHS ratings were not favourable, with the Q5 receiving Marginal or Acceptable ratings in crash testing, and NHTSA ratings were unavailable.