ShareThisIn a recession economy, the operative principle is to move down, as in cutting down purchases of luxury items like expensive clothing, jewelry and restaurant meals.
Even among the moneyed classes, the principle applies as upscale shops and designer stores adjust inventories to carry less expensive items.
In the upscale automotive realm, it frequently -- though not always -- involves downsizing. The customer who might have looked only at a Cadillac Escalade, Range Rover or Mercedes-Benz GL sport utility vehicle now is casting a wider net.
It's why smaller luxury crossover utility vehicles constitute a rare bright spot in a motor vehicle market that has been mostly dismal.
There are a number of these car-based machines available, including three that are new this year: the Mercedes-Benz GLK, Volvo XC60 and the Audi Q5 reviewed here. Other competitors are the Lincoln MKX, BMW X3, Infiniti EX, Lexus RX 350 and Acura RDX.
They are car-based, which means they have unit-body construction and are designated as crossovers, as opposed to sport utility vehicles, which usually are truck-based. Unlike some of their bigger brethren, they eschew a third row of seats in favor of a five-passenger, two-row configuration.
Most have front-wheel drive standard, with all-wheel drive available, and the power is delivered by six-cylinder engines except for the Acura. Some are turbocharged.
All provide station wagon utility without the stigma. For some unknown reason, American motorists love wagons if they're jacked up to look like SUVs but hate them if they have a conventional passenger-car profile.
The 2009 Audi Q5 nicely finesses this divide. It has a stylish, hunky look about it with a driving position that is only slightly higher than that of a sedan or station wagon, which means it's a whole lot easier for creaky older folks to get in and out.
One neat design feature, which is starting to show up on Fords and some other cars as well, stretches the doors vertically so they cover the rocker panels. It means that on a sloppy day you can get in and out without smudging your lower legs or whatever is covering them.
The Q5 is unquestionably a luxury crossover, with an elegant interior accentuated by tasteful chrome and wood trim, and seats upholstered in soft leather. The only jarring negative note is a cheesy perforated cloth shade over the panoramic sunroof that lets too much sunlight poke through. If you're going to have a sunroof shade, it should be opaque to block the sun.
The front seats, though they have minimal lateral support, are firm and comfortable with adjustable lumbar support for the driver. In back, the seats are similarly comfortable in the outboard positions. They offer six inches of fore-and-aft adjustment to divide between knee room and cargo space out back. The center-rear seating position, however, is suitable mainly for watermelons or backpacks, although a human can perch there with feet splayed on both sides of a huge floor hump.
With the back seats all the way forward, the cargo area delivers a generous 29 cubic feet of space. Fold the seatbacks and the stowage area nearly doubles to 57 cubic feet, all carpeted and cozy.
Power comes from a 270-horsepower, 3.2-liter V6 engine hooked to a six-speed automatic transmission with a Tiptronic manual-shift mode. It gets the power to the pavement through Audi's famed Quattro all-wheel drive system. City/highway fuel consumption of 18/23 miles per gallon is about average for this class of luxury crossovers.
The test car also had a $2,950 "drive select" controller that electronically adjusts shift points, shock absorber damping, throttle response and steering effort. The driver can choose among four settings: auto, comfort, individual and dynamic. Likely only diehard enthusiasts will want to bother; the automatic setting works fine. Better yet, skip the option and save almost three grand.
The Q5 had an unusual pushbutton starting system. You insert the remote key fob into a hole in the dash and press it to start the engine. Then you press it again to stop the engine and it pops out. You don't get the advantage of other pushbutton systems of being able to keep the key fob in pocket or purse.
On the road, the Q5 exhibits its luxury persona with a comfortable, though not cushy, ride and precise handling. It's quick off the line, with a zero-to-60 acceleration time in the six-second range.
The interior is quiet, with little intrusion of mechanical, wind or road noise. Giant outside mirrors eliminate blind spots -- but only if you adjust them properly to view the rear-quarter areas not covered by the inside mirror.
Other options, including the panoramic sunroof, navigation system, power tailgate, xenon headlights, heated front seats, memory driver's seat and a garage-door opener kicked the delivered price up to $48,275 from the base price of $38,025.
The Q5 comes with electronic traction and stability control, antilock brakes, side air bags, side-curtain air bags and tire-pressure monitoring. Resist the options and it looks like a recession luxury bargain.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service. For more columns, go to scrippsnews.com)
DriveWays with AUDIQ5-SPECS
