Audi SQ5

Like the original version of this sports SUV, the new one promises frugality as well as performance On sale Now Price from £75,525

- STEVE HUNTINGFORD

OVER THE YEARS, the Audi SQ5 has been doing the automotive equivalent of the Hokey Cokey. Or, more specifically, its engine bay has.

You see, when this performance version of Audi's Q5 family SUV was first introduced in 2012, its USP was that it used a diesel engine, so it could be frugal as well as fast. But then when the second-generation SQ5 arrived in 2017, diesel power was out and petrol was in.

By 2019, the petrol was gone and a diesel was back under the bonnet. And now, for the all-new, third-generation car, Audi has once again shaken things all about and gone with a petrol engine: a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6.

In an effort to ensure that you still get the efficiency that was key to the appeal of diesel SQ5s, the new engine features mild hybrid electrical assistance - with the added bonus that this boosts power to a healthy 362bhp.