2021 Audi SQ5 Sportback: Bear luxury and style await!

At a starting price of $52,900 US, the 2021 Audi SQ5 (which is a sporty take on the Audi Q5, and some would say they are the exact same car) is a bit of a reach of most bears, just short of that Vegas jackpot or distant relative trust fund having paid out…

Or that big house in Boise, Idaho, having finally sold.

There is plenty of room inside for all your friends, always a top consideration whenever I get in a car and consider what is worthwhile. Add to it some great handling and an incredibly powerful 3.0-liter 349-horsepower V6 turbo engine -– well, you really have a racehorse mixed with a show pony that should serve you well wherever you go in your Bear World. (All-Wheel Drive standard.)

It’s a joy to drive, to be sure. Speed and elegance combine to give you … Well, it was a lot of fun. I took it to a few Pride festivities this summer. I enjoyed it.

Press materials proudly state that the Sportback “brings elevated design and increased sportiness over the SUV model.” Okay, sure. Just looking at it you will see that it is an SUV with a flair for being able to be, well, luxurious but also able to lug all your stuff and your friends.  And whatever your other obligations are.

The base trim is called Premium, and you will get a nice selection of standard items like heated front sport seats, 10-inch touchscreen, leather and faux suede upholstery, sport-tuned suspension, power liftgate, roof rails and heated front sport seats. Standard safety features include lane-departure warning, automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, forward collision mitigation, and front and rear parking sensors.

If you’ve got the money, honey, your friends probably have the time so you should check out this ‘S’porty and ‘S’uave Q5, better known as the Audi SQ5.

That said, the car market worldwide, especially for new cars, is still challenging – and that is at best an understatement. Do your homework.  Know what you want or what you think you would like before you start doing some serious shopping.  And don’t get discouraged.  It’s tough out there. 

Predictions are that manufacturing in 2022 will not pick up significantly. Yikes.  What else could possibly go wrong?

By comparison, the 2021 Audi Q5 Sportback starts at $47,800 US.  Some say you really cannot tell the difference, but you can.  So – just sayin’.