A Week With – GreatOldTrucks.com – Muscle Car Aficionado

A Week With: 2021 Audi SQ5

The SQ5 the sporty version of Audi’s compact crossover, gets a minor makeover.

Accounting for a quarter of its U.S. sales, Audi’s Q5 luxury compact crossover gets a makeover this year that may not please everyone – at least when it comes to the sporty SQ5 variant. Yet the Q5 retains the qualities that render it Audi’s top-selling vehicle stateside.

Overview

Given the Q5’s popularity, it’s no surprise it’s offered in three variants. The base Q5 is powered by a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine and 12-volt mild hybrid system that generates 261 horsepower and a 0-60 mph time of 5.7 seconds. That same engine is also offered in the Q5 plug-in electric hybrid, producing 362 horsepower and a 0-60 mph sprint of five seconds.

The top-of-the heap model remains the SQ5, with a turbocharged V-6 producing slightly less horsepower – 349 – but reaching 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Given the hybrid’s numbers nearly match it, it remains to be seen if the SQ5 will retain its popularity given the greater economy and nearly equal performance of the plug-in hybrid driveline.

The new SQ5 is pure Audi on the outside: tasteful and conservative.

Nevertheless, Audi provided the SQ5 for a weeklong evaluation.

Exterior

As you’d expect, the SQ5 gets a minor makeover that with a revised grille, side air intakes, side sills and rear trim details. The effect isn’t overly dramatic, merely maintaining the SQ5’s already handsome demeanor.

Its look is classic, conservative Audi. It’s tasteful, and sure to look good for years to come. Remarkably, the vehicle’s styling is deceptive, as it seems larger than it truly is. But its size also makes for great maneuverability in urban/suburban environs.

Interior

The Prestige Package that added most of the luxury touches you’d expect of a car in this class.

Climbing inside reveals a cabin that’s roomy for its class, with generous front seat space, and surprisingly good rear seats space given this vehicle’s length. Seats are all-day comfortable, with excellent support. The cabin is commendably quiet. The redesigned instrument panel is easy to use, while the center console features a decent amount of storage, along with heated and cooled cupholders that’s covered by a lid that doubles as a wireless charger. Neat.

The test car featured a $9,600 Prestige Package that added most of the luxury touches you’d expect of a car in this class, including small things like a heated steering wheel, memory driver’s seat, auto-dimming mirrors, navigation system, a panoramic sunroof and a whole lot more. Yet the overall ambience had a very spare feel, and some trim seemed beneath its station.

Pullout: “It remains to be seen if the SQ5 will retain its popularity given the greater economy and nearly equal performance of the plug-in hybrid driveline.”

Powertrain

The SQ5 employs a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 rated at 349 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque through an 8-speed automatic .

As mentioned, the SQ5 test car employed the turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 rated at 349 hp and 369 pound-feet of torque through an 8-speed automatic that allows the SQ5 to reach 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. The EPA rates the SQ5 at 20 mpg in combined city/highway driving, with the test model doing even better, at 22.3 mpg during the week of testing. Note that 4-cylinder models get a dual-clutch automatic, while the SQ5 gets a Tiptronic.

Safety and Technology

Driver assistance features include standard blind spot monitor, lane-departure warning, parking assist, rear cross-traffic alert, and optional adaptive cruise control and 360-degree cameras.

Thoughtfully, the SQ5 comes with standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Our car’s Prestige Package included Audi’s Virtual Cockpit, which minimizes the instrument cluster’s gauges while maximizing its Google Maps navigation screen in front of the driver, a boon for when you don’t know where you’re going.

The large 10.1-inch MMI touchscreen features the new MIB 3 infotainment system that’s intuitive to use and easy to read, a clear improvement. The test car also had a head-up display that proved easily read in all conditions.

Driving Impressions

What separates the SQ5 from its German competitors is its balance and refinement. While others go for a hard edged, vertebrae-cracking ride and whiplash-inducing acceleration, the SQ5 matches them with a bit more ride compliance and little drama.

There are no theatrics as this crossover responds to request for speed. It remains controlled at all times, resulting in a boy racer that’s uniquely relaxed, with well-controlled body movements and quick steering. Certainly, things are more exciting when in iSport driving mode rather than Comfort, the latter revealing more than a little turbo lag and an occasionally slow transmission. Thankfully, manual shift paddles make up for this.

Wrap Up

If some buyers will bemoan the hard-edged extremes exhibited by its competition, the rest of us will appreciate the SQ5 for what it is: a fast, comfortable executive shuttle. Fast and Furious types will have to look elsewhere, or appreciate the art of subtlety.

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A Week With: 2021 Ford F-150 Limited SuperCrew

The 2021 Ford F-150 Limited SuperCrew is the best iteration of the truck thus far.

Gawwwwddd I miss my truck.

Actually, I’ve had two in my lifetime a 1992 Ford Ranger “powered” by an anemic 4-cylinder engine that I bought not long after graduating from college and a 2004 Ford F-150 XLT motivated by the 5.4-liter V-8 engine that so many associate with the company’s full-size pickups.

My F-150 was a slight better than middle of the road model. It was an extended cab with shift-on-the-fly 4-wheel drive, power windows and locks, air conditioning and a bench set just big enough to haul my three children, who were then a teenager, a four-year-old and a toddler.

No leather. No satellite radio. No wi-fi. Just room for five to be comfortable inside and enough room to haul my son’s invisible motorcycle in the bed. Now that I’m old, er, older. I’ve gained an appreciation for things like … leather recliners, vehicles that are easy to get in and out of and technology that both entertains and makes my life easier.

Enter the 2021 Ford F-150 Limited SuperCrew.

The new F-150 is the most aerodynamic version of the truck ever offered.

Overview

The newest generation of Ford full-size truck is undoubtedly the best yet, especially from my perspective. It offers all of the functionality and capability that young me loved about my 2004 F-150 while catering to old, uh, older me and my admiration for a comfortable leather chair and impressive technology.

Exterior

The exterior of the 2021 F-150 is clearly an evolution from the one that rests fondly in my memory – but bigger. The new truck with its massive grille and boxy fenders and cab looks like it could take on a tank and win. Instead its taking on the Chevy Silverado and Ram 1500 and, in my mind, it wins that battle too – although the Ram should make Ford designers sweat a little.

The F-150 Limited provides capability and utility with three different size beds.

Despite its brick-on-wheel shape, it’s the most aerodynamic offering ever. The truck employs active grille shutters and automatic air dam to help reduce drag and improve fuel economy. More importantly, it’s big and brawny without looking over the top or gaudy – think Superman instead of Batman.

Interior

Climbing inside the new F-150 is easy and it’s almost like entering a different world. While today’s pickups are larger and more fuel efficient that the generations that precede them, it’s the interior cabin where the biggest difference is, and Ford may be the best of the group … and not just for trucks.

Since the first thing you touch when you get in the vehicle is likely the seat, let’s start there. The two-town leather is supple and comfortable. The front seats are both heated and cooled, while the back seats are just heated – talk about a first-world problem. Additionally, they recline nearly flat, in case you need to pull over for a nap. During an extended drive, I found them to be supportive without making you want to, well, pull over for a nap.

“… it’s big and brawny without looking over the top or gaudy – think Superman instead of Batman …”

The F-150 Limited’s driver cockpit is well designed with controls that are easily accessed and read.

Once seated, the next order of business is the dashboard, which features large gauges that are manipulated using steering wheel-mounted controls that are simple and intuitive. The eye catcher is the 12-inch touchscreen on the center console. It’s bright and clear, making it very usable without feeling like you need to put on a pair of sunglasses to cut down on the glare. The truck comes with Sync 4 and while I’d like to tell you all about it, it also comes with Apple CarPlay and I use it exclusively. That sald it paired nicely and worked as expected.

It also features a massive center console that not only offers cupholders and plenty of storage, it also offers wireless charging. I use an iPhone 12 Pro Max and it charged without problem. It’s not as fast as plugging it in, but it was pretty good.

However, Ford recognizes that while trucks are oftentimes the family vehicle, they are also at the same time someone’s work vehicle. The Limited makes it awfully convenient to get some work done in the vehicle. The center console folds flat while the gear-shift lever folds down flat as well giving the user a space big enough to hold a 15-inch laptop – or fast food for two.

Powertrain

The interior is comfortable and upscale without being gaudy. Perfect for a high-end pickup.

For the 2021 model year, the F-150 can be ordered with one of six engine offerings. The Limited comes with the 3.5-liter two-turbocharged EcoBoost V-6. It puts out 400 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque. Towing a boat? No problem. Need to merge with traffic? No problem. Need to merge with traffic while towing a boat? No problem.

Fuel economy isn’t bad considering it’s a nearly 5,000-pound vehicle with a powerful engine that encourages a bit of lead-footed driving. It gets 18 mpg city, 23 highway which is good for a combined 20 mpg. I found that to be a pretty accurate representation for my week in the truck. Overall, it’s pretty good for a full-size pickup and if you can afford to buy or lease an F-150 Limited, you’re likely not counting the change in the cupholder to put gas in it.

Technology and Safety

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