Paris Motor Show: Audi shows new Q5 and creates ultimate 400hp RS3

The handsome new Audi Q5 SUV has been unveiled at the Paris motor show, and if recent sales results are anything to go by, it could soon be the best-selling car that Audi makes.

This is only the second generation Q5, and it moves to production on the MLB platform, which alos underpins the A4 saloon and the enormous Q7. That gives it a distinctively different mechanical makeup to its cousins, the VW Tiguan and the Skoda Kodiaq, and could be what gives Audi some much-needed justification for prices that will be more expensive than either of those two.

The new platform means a drop in weight compared to the old Q5, of around 100kg, and this is the first Q5 that will be offered without quattro all-wheel drive – basic versions will be front-drive only – which should have a beneficial effect on both emissions and consumption.

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Audi says that the exterior has been made to look more rugged and more obviously an SUV, and the Q5 gets a similar grille to that of the Q7 and the Q3 – a more pronounced hexagonal shape picked out in chrome or aluminium.

Inside, you can have all-digital instruments as an option and a choice of 7-inch or 8.3-inch central infotainment screens.

The 2.0-litre TDI diesel will continue to be the most popular engine for now, in 150hp and 190hp single-turbo forms and a twin-turbo 240hp version. V6 diesel versions will also be available (including, eventually,  powerful SQ5 and RSQ5 versions) and there will be a plugin hybrid e-Tron model as well – that will have a 2.0-litre petrol engine and a 50km electric-only range.

In a first for the segment, the Q5 can be ordered with optional air springs, borrowed from the larger Q7, which will allow for variable ride height and which should give quattro models some degree of serious off-roading ability.

Audi has also unveiled a 400hp RS3 version of the A3 hatchback and saloon in Paris. Long-rumoured, the RS3 will use the same 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine as found in the TT RS, and it will develop 400hp (100hp more than the existing S3) and 480Nm of torque.

It’s four-wheel drive, naturally, so power goes through the Haldex-based quattro system to all four wheels, and the only transmission option is the seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch automatic.

Outside there’s a muscular bodykit and bigger, bolder alloy wheels to give the RS3 some visual oomph compared to a standard A3 in S-Line trim, while inside, as an option, you can have a special RS version of the all-digital Audi Virtual Cockpit TFT instrument screen.