Audi wants to be the world’s number-one luxury brand, and it’s launched a major product surge to get there. SUVs are a must, so the big Q7 is getting a little brother. Audi is gunning for BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz like never before, aiming to become the world’s most prestigious and profitable luxury brand by 2015. Its battle plan relies heavily on a legion of new vehicles for market segments where Audi has been missing in action. We’ve already seen incursions with the compact A3, the exotic mid-engine R8 sports car, and especially the big Q7 SUV. The 2009 Audi Q5 will assault the fast growing market for premium midsize SUVs, taking on the Acura RDX, BMW X3, and pioneering Lexus RX. Audi’s first midsize SUV will be a five-passenger wagon with the company’s quattro all-wheel drive standard. The design template is the 2006 Roadjet concept, which is sized close to the RDX and X3. The Q5 should have similar dimensions, but will look more conservative–think “junior Q7″–and be stripped of gee-whiz concept gizmos like a car-to-car communication system. The 2009 Audi Q5 will be available with three engines: a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with some 200 horsepower; a 3.2-liter V-6 with around 260; and an expected 3.0-liter turbocharged diesel V6 making 233 horsepower and a V-8-like 369 pound-feet of torque. The diesel is new for Audi in North America, and its “Bluetec” emissions-cleanup system will permit sale in all 50 states. The Roadjet featured a new seven-speed version of Audi’s sequential manual transmission. This, too, might transfer to the 2009 Audi Q5, but we’ll have to wait and see. A conventional six-speed manual and/or automatic may also be offered. Another question mark concerns the Roadjet’s “driver assist” system. It’s basically a one-touch setting for tailoring steering and throttle response, shift points and shock-absorber firmness to “dynamic” (normal), “comfort” and “sporty” driving. This, too, may be in the Q5 catalog, but again we can’t be sure. Otherwise, the 2009 Audi Q5 should mostly mirror the company’s A4 line in standard and optional features. We’d look for 18-inch wheels to be standard but 19s and possibly 20s (as on the concept) should be available.

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