The basic cabin layout is unchanged from the regular Q5. It fulfills all the luxury requirements expected from a premium German brand, and adds a surprisingly un-Teutonic abundance of well-designed cupholders. There's even one that keeps the driver's java hot, or his Slurpee cold.
Since the lithium-ion battery pack is located beneath the floor, there are no bulky protrusions compromising the rear cargo space. The overall volume is 460 litres, increasing to 1,460 with the rear seats folded flat. Those seats have adjustable backs, and slide fore and aft too. Front-seat passengers can choose to have their buns toasted or chilled, since the seat base contains a six-setting climate control system.
As with the regular Q5, there are several interior design packages available with a range of cloth and leather upholstery as well as metal or wood trim.
The view from the driver's seat remains much the same, with the exception of the instrument cluster. The traditional tachometer has been replaced with a "power meter" divided into green (electric) and orange (gas) sections indicating the total output of the hybrid system. Drive frugally, and the needle stays in the green (that’s good); tromp on the gas and it soars up into the orange (that’s bad).
Between the power metre and speedometer, the driver's information display features a colourful graphic that perfectly illustrates the hybrid's current operation status. Green arrows flowing to the wheels show that they're being driven by electric power, while those flowing back to the battery pack indicate replenishment by the regenerative braking.
Heavy acceleration causes the gasoline engine to light up in orange, showing it's the primary power source; releasing the pedal causes the electric motor to act as a generator, reclaiming kinetic energy from axles and braking, channelling it back to the battery.
This same display can be repeated on the large centre stack-located graphics screen (MMI) accompanied by bar graphs defining total energy usage. This makes it really easy to monitor your driving practices—not only are you rewarded with fuel-sipping frugality, but the challenge of gas-free driving becomes rather compelling.
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| The overall volume is 460 litres, increasing to 1,460 with the rear seats folded flat. (photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com) |
Since the lithium-ion battery pack is located beneath the floor, there are no bulky protrusions compromising the rear cargo space. The overall volume is 460 litres, increasing to 1,460 with the rear seats folded flat. Those seats have adjustable backs, and slide fore and aft too. Front-seat passengers can choose to have their buns toasted or chilled, since the seat base contains a six-setting climate control system.
As with the regular Q5, there are several interior design packages available with a range of cloth and leather upholstery as well as metal or wood trim.
The view from the driver's seat remains much the same, with the exception of the instrument cluster. The traditional tachometer has been replaced with a "power meter" divided into green (electric) and orange (gas) sections indicating the total output of the hybrid system. Drive frugally, and the needle stays in the green (that’s good); tromp on the gas and it soars up into the orange (that’s bad).
Between the power metre and speedometer, the driver's information display features a colourful graphic that perfectly illustrates the hybrid's current operation status. Green arrows flowing to the wheels show that they're being driven by electric power, while those flowing back to the battery pack indicate replenishment by the regenerative braking.
Heavy acceleration causes the gasoline engine to light up in orange, showing it's the primary power source; releasing the pedal causes the electric motor to act as a generator, reclaiming kinetic energy from axles and braking, channelling it back to the battery.
This same display can be repeated on the large centre stack-located graphics screen (MMI) accompanied by bar graphs defining total energy usage. This makes it really easy to monitor your driving practices—not only are you rewarded with fuel-sipping frugality, but the challenge of gas-free driving becomes rather compelling.
 |
| The driver's information display features a colourful graphic that perfectly illustrates the hybrid's current operation status. (photo: Lesley Wimbush/Auto123.com) |