2025 Audi Q5 vs 2024 Toyota Sienna

The 2024 Toyota Sienna was available in several trim levels, including LE, XLE, XSE, Woodland Edition, Limited, and Platinum, each offering a distinctive look. Despite the absence of the "swagger wagon" commercials, the Sienna maintained its stylish appeal with sleek front and rear fascias and a variety of cool colors like deep blue, red, or green. LED lighting was standard, with upper trims featuring Bi-LED projector headlamps. The XSE trim, known for its sporty appearance, included a black metallic mesh front grille, black heated side mirrors, and 20-inch dark wheels. The Woodland Edition, available in exclusive Cement or Midnight Black Metallic colors, was designed for off-road readiness with roof rails, a tow hitch, and slightly increased ground clearance.

Inside, the Sienna offered standard cloth seats, three-zone climate control, and seating for eight. The XSE trim with the optional Premium package replaced the second-row bench with captain’s chairs and added leather-trimmed heated and cooled front seats. The interior featured horizontal design lines, a fixed center console with satin accents, and easily accessible cup holders and shifter. While not luxurious, the interior was practical for families, with upper trims offering a built-in vacuum cleaner for convenience.

The 2025 Audi Q5 embraced SUV toughness with a large, textured grille, prominent side air intakes, and high-mounted headlights, giving it an imposing front-end look. The body featured well-defined lines, creating a muscular appearance. Despite the new styling elements, the Q5's design felt more evolutionary than revolutionary. Trim levels included Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige, with LED Headlights Plus and programmable OLED taillights available on higher trims. The Q5 was offered in standard crossover SUV and coupe-like Q5 Sportback body styles, with the latter sacrificing cargo space and rear-seat headroom for a sleeker profile.

The SQ5 performance grade added power and sport suspension, along with matte chrome trim, larger air intakes, a prominent rear diffuser, and quad exhaust tips. It came standard with 20-inch wheels on all-season run-flat tires, while the Q5 and Q5 Sportback had 18-inch and 19-inch wheels, respectively. The interior featured a distinctive design with a mix of silver and black trim pieces, leather seating surfaces, and a red interior option with Alcantara trim for the SQ5. However, the design was somewhat discordant, and the SQ5 seats lacked adequate bolstering for enthusiastic driving.

The 2024 Toyota Sienna was a hybrid minivan, combining a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with two electric motors for a total of 245 horsepower. All-wheel drive models had an additional electric motor for the rear wheels. Despite a sport-tuned suspension and Sport mode, the Sienna's performance was not particularly exciting, feeling sluggish off the line with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that contributed to a smooth but slow acceleration. The CVT could also be loud, especially during highway merging or climbing mountain passes. Around town, the Sienna offered a pleasant driving experience with light and accurate steering and excellent visibility, although the brakes could be grabby.

The 2025 Audi Q5 featured a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and Quattro all-wheel drive. The base model's 2.0-liter turbo-four produced 268 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, while the SQ5's 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 delivered 362 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. The Q5's performance was competitive, with a manufacturer-estimated zero to 60 mph time of 5.8 seconds for the standard model and 4.6 seconds for the SQ5. However, both models experienced turbo lag and rough shifts, detracting from the sporty feel. The air suspension with adaptive damping provided capable handling, but the precise steering lacked liveliness, making it less engaging on twisty roads.

The 2024 Toyota Sienna excelled in interior space, with a lower storage pass-through for bulkier items and multiple cupholders. The second-row captain’s chairs could slide fore and aft 25 inches, offering up to 40 inches of legroom. However, the slide function was complicated, and the seats couldn't be removed, limiting cargo space. The third row was accessible for adults and offered 39 inches of legroom when the second row was pushed forward. The Sienna featured tri-zone climate control, with an additional zone for the front passenger in the XSE trim. The rear liftgate revealed 33.5 cubic feet of cargo space, expandable to 101 cubic feet with the second row folded.

The 2025 Audi Q5 maintained similar dimensions to the previous model, with adequate headroom and legroom. The sliding and reclining 40/20/40 split-folding second-row bench seat was standard, with cargo-area buttons for easy adjustment. The Q5 offered 27.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row and 56.9 cubic feet behind the first row, surpassing some rivals but falling short of others. A power tailgate and heated front seats were standard, with additional features like a heated steering wheel and panoramic sunroof available on higher trims. The Q5 also boasted a towing capacity of up to 4,400 pounds.

The 2024 Toyota Sienna was equipped with an older infotainment system featuring a nine-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. While the system included physical buttons for common menus, the backup camera's grainy view was disappointing. The Sienna offered a standard Wi-Fi hotspot, SiriusXM satellite radio, and an optional 12-speaker JBL stereo system. USB ports were plentiful, and a 1500-watt inverter with a 120-volt outlet was available. Optional features included an 11.6-inch rear-seat entertainment system and a 10-inch color head-up display.

The 2025 Audi Q5 featured an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.5-inch central touchscreen, with a 10.9-inch touchscreen for the front passenger on the Prestige trim. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto were standard, along with a cooled wireless charging pad. The Premium Plus trim added USB-C ports and a 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system. The Q5's infotainment system was based on the Android Automotive OS, with a built-in voice assistant for some vehicle functions. An available head-up display provided additional information, and the Q5 included digital key connectivity and a built-in toll transponder.

The 2024 Toyota Sienna came standard with the Toyota Safety Sense suite, including lane departure alert, automatic emergency braking, road sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, and automatic high beams. Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert were also standard. The Sienna received four out of five stars from the NHTSA for frontal crash and rollover protection and five stars for side crash protection. The IIHS rated it "Good" in crashworthiness but "Average" in front crash prevention.

The 2025 Audi Q5 included standard driver-assist features like adaptive cruise control, active front assist, lane departure warning, parking sensors, automatic high beams, blind spot monitoring, and traffic sign recognition. Premium Plus models added a 360-degree camera system and adaptive cruise assist. Safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available at the time of release, but Audi aimed to match the previous model's five-star overall safety rating from the NHTSA.