Compare the2025 Audi new Q5 SportbackVS 2025 Mercedes GLE Coupe

Both the new Q5 Sportback and GLE Coupe have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The new Q5 Sportback 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 GLE Coupe’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.

With its standard Active Front Assist, the Audi new Q5 Sportback is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Mercedes GLE Coupe, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Audi new Q5 Sportback achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Mercedes GLE Coupe has not been tested.

The new Q5 Sportback’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLE Coupe.

The Audi new Q5 Sportback offers an optional Top View Camera System and it also offers an optional rear camera washer to make backing always safe, regardless of road dirt or grime, while the Mercedes GLE Coupe doesn’t offer a camera washer, requiring manual cleaning.

Both the new Q5 Sportback and the GLE Coupe have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Audi new Q5 Sportback is safer than the GLE Coupe:

The new Q5 Sportback’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the GLE Coupe’s (12 vs. 5 years).

The Audi new Q5 Sportback’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the GLE Coupe’s engine uses 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 new Q5 Sportback gets better fuel mileage than the GLE 450 Coupe 4MATIC (22 city/30 hwy vs. 19 city/25 hwy).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies the Audi new Q5 Sportback as a “Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (SULEV). The Mercedes GLE Coupe is only certified to “Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (ULEV) standards.

The new Q5 Sportback offers an available 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 GLE Coupe doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The new Q5 Sportback’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The GLE Coupe doesn’t offer launch control.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires standard on the new Q5 Sportback can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The GLE Coupe doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

For better maneuverability, the new Q5 Sportback’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the GLE Coupe’s (38.7 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

The Audi new Q5 Sportback may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 800 pounds less than the Mercedes GLE Coupe.

The new Q5 Sportback is 8.8 inches shorter than the GLE Coupe, making the new Q5 Sportback easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the new Q5 Sportback’s rear seats recline. The GLE Coupe’s rear seats don’t recline.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the new Q5 Sportback has a standard rear wiper. The GLE Coupe doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

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