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<\/p>\n<\/div>Alphanumeric luxury SUV nameplates have me baffled. There\u2019s the BMW X3 and X4 and X5 and X6, with the even numbers connoting a coupe-like roof (or is it the other way around?). Lincoln\u2019s SUVs start at MKC and are followed by the MKX and MKT (but doesn\u2019t X come after T in the alphabet?). And Mercedes\u2019 new lineup features the GLA, GLC, GLE, and GLS (which is at least\u00a0an improvement over the previous alphabet soup<\/a>\u00a0of GLK, ML and GL). When Alfa Romeo bucked the trend to name its new SUV the Stelvio, I hugged it.<\/p>\n But Audi\u2019s alphanumeric Q system hasn\u2019t bothered me.<\/p>\n Maybe because, beginning with the flagship, three-row Q7 in 2007, the badges haven\u2019t changed. Or because Q is sufficiently different from A \u2014 the letter that connotes Audi sedans. Or because the nomenclature is logical \u2014 Q3, Q5, Q7 \u2014 in ascending order from compact to full-size.<\/p>\n But Q also makes sense because it represents these very good SUVs. Take the second-generation, 2018 Q5 I\u2019ve been testing across Metro Detroit the last few months.<\/p>\n Q is for \u201cquick.\u201d Common to Audis (and their VW Golf GTI and Golf R cousins), the turbo 4-banger at the heart of the Q5 is a pepper pot. Mated to a snappy dual-clutch, 7-speed tranny, the 252-horse\/272 pound-feet of torque turbo-4 calls on deep reserves on grunt for quick acceleration. That power \u2014 a gain of 32 ponies and 15 torques over the last generation \u2014 vaults the Q5 from 0-60 miles per hour in a class-best 5.9 seconds.<\/p>\n Want more quick? Then opt for the SQ5 (OK, the alphanumerics are making my head hurt again, but at least S is literally for \u201cSport\u201d) performance grade, which gains two cylinders and a whopping 40 percent more torque (to 389 pound-feet). I\u2019d call it a rocket ship \u2014 but I think that\u2019s what the \u201cRS\u201d in RS Q5 denotes. That meteor \u2014 with a redonkulus 442 pound-feet of torque \u2014 is rumored to flash across our skies next year.<\/p>\n Connecting 389 torques to the ground in a high-riding, 4,200-pound SUV might seem a recipe for disaster. But Q also stands for \u201cQuattro\u201d: Audi\u2019s signature all-wheel-drive system that is standard on all Q5s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With all four paws churning, I stomped the gas pedal with my size 15s and the SQ5 took off like Secretariat slapped with a two-by-four. The grip was sensational, keeping the beast poised through the twisting, undulating roads of Washtenaw County near Hell.<\/p>\n Quattro comes in two flavors for the Q5 and SQ5. The former brakes the inside wheel for better cornering, while the performance-oriented SQ5 opts for full outside-wheel-accelerating torque-vectoring \u2014 its electronically sophisticated traction control optimized to aggressively rotate the ute around, say, 180-degree cloverleafs.<\/p>\n Sound crazy? Consider that I\u2019ve already tested the three-row Dodge Durango SRT and Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk on racetracks this year.<\/p>\n Shaving some 200 pounds from the first-gen Q5, the Audi\u2019s diet has made it more manageable in turns. The same electronics that allow the modern coach-wagon to handle like a sedan, however, can also slap your hand. Audi\u2019s safety systems are among the industry\u2019s most advanced and the nannies intervened hard to break my momentum when I really leaned on the door handles in the Q5. Similarly equipped BMW X3s and Alfa Stelvios are less quick to judge. Don\u2019t say that your crazed, race car-driving, ute-flogging reviewer never tested the limits for you.<\/p>\n More importantly, the Quattro system will be crucial when Hell freezes over in Michigan\u2019s legendary winter.<\/p>\n Which leads me to another reason to remember Q: IQ. Audi\u2019s intelligence quotient is off the charts these days. Thank its electronics quotient.<\/p>\n The Q5 gains 3 mpg in fuel efficiency on the previous generation thanks to its ability to sense when AWD is needed. Running around town, the system gives the rear wheels a rest for better fuel economy \u2014 but when it senses the need for something more, all-wheel drive activates in milliseconds.<\/p>\n It\u2019s inside where Q5 really leads the pack. The Audi\u2019s exterior is an evolution over Q5 1.0, but hardly threatening to the dramatic, curvy BMW X3 and Mercedes GLC. Open the door however, and the Audi\u2019s Virtual Cockpit is in a different league.\u00a0I first experienced VC in the Audi Q7<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0sensational Audi TT<\/a>, and now it is tucked into each model in the lineup including the Q5.<\/p>\n Standard on the $45,000 Premium Plus trim, VR\u2019s gorgeous, Google Earth-rendered vistas are addictive. It\u2019s the best system this side of a Tesla Model S \u2014 a car that costs double the Q5. And it\u2019s right in front of you in the Q5\u2019s big, 12-inch instrument display, helping keeping your eyes where they belong: on the road.<\/p>\n Augmented by steering-wheel buttons and wheels easily within a thumb\u2019s reach, VR allows you to configure and scroll through its multiple features with ease. Take a bow, engineers.<\/p>\n But sometimes (like the AWD nannies) they go too far. Audi\u2019s simple, elegant interiors are widely copied (looking at you Kia and Honda Accord). But Audi jumps the shark when it comes to consoles. The Q5 clogs the center with a mouse touch-pad that is redundant at best and a space hog at worst. Zipping around town, I had no place to store simple items like a smartphone and side of fries. I yearned for the simple cubbies of a Mazda CX-5 or Chevy Equinox.<\/p>\n