Audi Q5 refreshed for 2013, new engines added

For a mid-cycle refresh, Ingolstadt hasn't lavished a whole passel of aesthetic rearrangement upon the Audi Q5. There's some fiddling in the interior, some minor meddling with the face and, really, that's about that.

The company did, however, go a bit zany in the engine bay. Not every powerplant will be available in every market, but the machine now comes with six different options for motivation. Four of the engine choices involve some sort of 2.0-liter turbo four.

The diesel four-bangers make either 143 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque or 177 hp and 280 lb-ft, while the gasoline versions offer 225 hp and 258 lb-ft or 211 hp and 258 lb-ft. The 211-hp version, however, comes with a boost from an electric motor. Faith and begorrah! The Q5 will now feature a hybrid option, no doubt developed with Yankees in mind. Total powertrain output for the gas-electric version is 245 hp and 345 lb-ft of torque.

Audi also is offering two six-cylinder options, a 3.0-liter diesel churning out 245 hp and a genuinely stonking 428 lb-ft of twist, and a version of the supercharged gasoline six we love so much in the A6 and the A7. It's detuned slightly from executive sedan and S4 duty, making 272 hp and 295 lb-ft. Audi claims that car will get to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds and top out at a shade more than 145 mph.

Not bad for a cute-ute in business-casual togs. While Audi hasn't announced which models will be available stateside, we expect the 2.0T gasoline engine, the hybrid, perhaps the V6 diesel and definitely the blown gasoline six to cross the pond.

By Davey G. Johnson