Audi Q5 at Beijing

A decade after rival BMW, Audi is finally joining the mid-sized SUV party. The new Q5, unveiled at this weekend's Beijing motor show, is Ingolstadt's answer to its hometown rival the X3, and is based on the oily bits from the A4. Which speaks volumes about its intent.

Unsurprisingly, that means it's aimed squarely at on-road performance, where it will shuttle five occupants around in - you'd imagine - saloon car comfort. It also means it's not really supposed to go off-road. But then you knew that already.

Every model is four-wheel drive; there's no namby-pamby FWD sop here. And as the Q5 uses the latest A4 underpinnings, that means that 60 percent of torque is sent to the rear wheels. Hell, it might even handle.

Naturally, most buyers will plump for one of the popular diesel engines. The 170bhp 2.0 TDI will sell best and with a stout 258lb ft of twist, it can hit 62mph in 9.5sec yet still average 35.1mpg. You probably won't need the 3.0 TDI, unless you insist on showing off at the traffic light grand prix with a 6.5sec sprint to the benchmark.

Few will pick the Golf GTI's 2.0-litre TFSI, but it's there for anyone with a derv aversion. It produces 211bhp in the Q5, suggesting the VW hot hatch could be in for a power upgrade soon.

Launching in late 2008 and going up against the Volvo XC60, Saab 9-4X and BMW X3, the Q5 will have serious rivals, but its lines are clean and its sloping roofline and small coupe-style windows creates a genuinely ‘crossover’ rather than ‘SUV’ profile.