Compare the2024 Audi Q5VS 2024 BMW X5

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi Q5 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X5 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Q5 and X5 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q5 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The X5’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q5. But it costs extra on the X5.

Both the Q5 and the X5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q5 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 98 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The X5 last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2022.

The Audi Q5’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the X5’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

On the EPA test cycle the Q5 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the X5 running its gasoline engine:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Audi Q5 uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The X5 M60i xDrive requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Q5 offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The X5 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better maneuverability, the Q5 40/45 TFSI’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the X5 M60i xDrive’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.4 feet). The Q5 55 TFSI e’s turning circle is 1.9 feet tighter than the X5’s (39.4 feet vs. 41.3 feet).

The Audi Q5 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 850 to 900 pounds less than the BMW X5.

The Q5 is 9.9 inches shorter than the X5, making the Q5 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Q5 has 1.1 inches more front legroom and .6 inches more rear legroom than the X5.

The front step up height for the Q5 is 1.2 inches lower than the X5 (18.3” vs. 19.5”). The Q5’s rear step up height is 2 inches lower than the X5’s (18” vs. 20”).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Q5 easier. The Q5’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29 inches, while the X5’s liftover is 30.8 inches.

The Q5’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The X5’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Q5 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The X5 doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Q5’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the X5’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q5 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The X5 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Q5 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the X5.