BMW X5 vs Audi Q5

Sport activity vehicles (SAVs) like these are the perfect choice for long road trips. They provide a little more room to stretch out, extra cargo space, and even higher towing capacities if you’re bringing along a trailer.

If you have a growing family, the more rows of seating in your car, the better. In this respect, the BMW X5 is the top choice. While its base trim level has seating for five, a simple upgrade adds in a third row and seating for seven. There’s also more room for your cargo—or shopping bags—with that extra row!

The Audi Q5 is a more compact SUV. At maximum, it seats five passengers with no third row available. It’s certainly not the ideal vehicle for bigger families or large groups of friends.

If you have family and friends in tow while traveling the trendy avenues and picturesque pathways of South Carolina’s Low Country, a little rev of the engine is sure to impress.When you hit the accelerator of the base Audi Q5 trim level, you’ll only have a 4-cylinder engine to work with. However, the 261 horsepower (HP) of that standard trim level gets a boost when you upgrade to the available plug-in hybrid trim that generates an exciting 362 HP.

That’s certainly impressive, but, unfortunately, it doesn’t hold a candle to the BMW X5 M50i trim level. This race-ready SAV packs a V8 engine under the hood for a maximum 523 HP. With that kind of muscle, you’ll leave the Audi Q5 in the dust—much to the approval of your crew.

The plug-in trim level of the Audi Q5 is definitely a more powerful hybrid than the garden variety. However, when it comes to all-electric performance, it’s only capable of driving for an EPA-estimated 19 miles without gas assistance.

The BMW X5 offers a plug-in hybrid trim as well: the xDrive45e. Its all-electric range maxes out at an EPA-estimated 30 miles.

In the end, the BMW X5 doesn’t just go one extra mile for drivers—it goes 11.