Audi’s popular Q5 model is to be replaced by an all-new successor that made its world debut at the Paris Motor Show. Its ground-up rework brings with it an intense focus on connectivity, driver assistance, aeroacoustics and driving dynamics.

Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management at AUDI AG, said: “The first Audi Q5 was for many years the world’s best-selling SUV in its class. It was no easy task to design its successor, but that is precisely why it is so very exciting. With the new Q5 we are setting the bar a notch higher. Among the great innovations are the quattro drive system with ultra-technology, highly efficient engines, the air suspension with damper control and a comprehensive line-up of infotainment and assistance systems.”

The new SUV from Audi takes a defined and taut stance. A sculpturally flared single-frame grille with a solid frame dominates its aerodynamically flat front end. It is available with Xenon headlights as standard and either LED or high-resolution Matrix LED with dynamic indicators as options.

A distinctively curved and strongly undercut shoulder line gives structure to the side view. The strongly emphasised wheel arches are a reference to the quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. Just as at the front, horizontal lines at the rear convey an image of width and presence. The tail lights are also available with optional dynamic indicators. The tailgate wraps around the C-pillars – a typical feature of the Q models from Audi. A diffuser insert integrates the exhaust tailpipes.

The new Q5 has grown in nearly all of its dimensions, but the unladen weight has been reduced – depending on the engine – by up to 90 kg.  The interior offers a lot of space for five persons, and it surpasses the previous model and its competitors in key dimensions.

Depending on the rear seat position, the basic volume of the luggage compartment ranges from 550 to 610 litres, 10 litres more than in the previous model. When the rear bench is folded down, this volume grows to 1,550 litres. Cargo loading is simplified by a power-operated tailgate fitted as standard, an optional variably folding mat, optional hands-free control of the power tailgate and manual lowering of the body via the optional air suspension.

Operation of the new Audi SUV is intuitive and is marked by three great new features. The optional Audi virtual cockpit presents brilliant graphics on its high-resolution 12.3-inch screen. The driver can choose from two views – a classic view with large round instruments and a mode in which the navigation map or lists dominate.

The MMI terminal in the centre console acts as the main control element. In the top infotainment system, the optional MMI navigation plus with MMI touch and an 8.3-inch display, a touchpad is integrated into the rotary pushbutton. It recognises handwritten entries as well as gestures familiar from consumer electronics such as zooming gestures. If the new Q5 has an automatic transmission, it also has the larger MMI all-in-touch including haptic feedback.

The MMI operating logic is based on the flat hierarchies used in today’s smartphones, and it offers such features as intelligent free-text search. The new natural-language voice control function also recognizes inputs from everyday speech.

Serving as an additional third operating level in the new Audi Q5 is the multifunction steering wheel plus. Audi can deliver a newly developed head-up display as an option. It projects relevant information onto the windshield – including from driver assistance systems – as symbols and numbers that can be perceived quickly.

The new Audi Q5, like the Q7 and the A4, has a self-learning “personal route assist” function. After activating this function, the navigation system learns the routes and destinations that the customer regularly selects, and it associates this information to the parked position and time of day.

For as long as it is active, the system therefore learns from the customer’s behaviour and uses this information to suggest optimised route planning for the next trip – even while navigation is inactive. The navigation system incorporates the three most likely destinations into the calculation, taking into consideration both the arrival time and current traffic levels. For instance, the system can suggest that the customer activate navigation to find out about potential alternative routes. The driver decides whether or not to activate the function. They also have the option of deleting saved destinations.

The Audi phone box connects smartphones to the vehicle’s antenna for optimal reception quality; it also charges smartphones inductively according to the Qi standard. The Bang & Olufsen Sound System with innovative 3D sound introduces the spatial dimension of height. The Audi tablet, which is also new, serves as a flexible Rear Seat Entertainment device. The Audi smartphone interface also brings Apple CarPlay and Android Auto into the new Q5.

The new Audi Q5 is launching in the UK with a selection of powertrains including the powerful 2.0 TDI engine producing 187bhp. Fuel consumption for this model has been significantly reduced. The also intensively revised 3.0 TDI, coming at a later date, increases output to 282bhp with 457lbft of torque.

The drivetrain of the mid-size SUV has been redeveloped from the ground up – this also applies to the six-speed manual transmission and seven-speed S tronic.

The new Audi Q5 is manufactured at a newly constructed plant in Mexico. It will arrive at Audi Centres in the UK in the spring of 2017.