Where each one leads
Audi Q5
- Against cars of the same year, the Audi Q5 comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 39% less often than average) than the Toyota Highlander (fails 28% more often than average).
- Fewer Audi Q5 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (3.8% against 5.8%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Audi Q5 uses 9.7 l/100 km, the 2026 Toyota Highlander 9.9.
- New Audi Q5 cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 146 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 156 for the Toyota Highlander in 2022.
Toyota Highlander
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol hybrid Toyota Highlander uses 8.0 l/100 km on the road, the Audi Q5 9.4.
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Audi Q5 | Toyota Highlander | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2008–2026 | 1997–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 640,208 (2010–2022) | 11,164 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 133,905 | 1,227 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 22,844 | 563 |
| In traffic in Finland | 1,958 | — |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Audi Q5 | Toyota Highlander | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 84% | — |
| … against cars of the same age | +9% | — |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.8% | 2.0% |
| … against cars of the same year | −39% | +28% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 3.8% | 5.8% |
| US owner complaints | 1,351 | 5,777 |
| Most complaints about | Engine | Power train |
| Model year with most complaints | 2018 (208) | 2021 (531) |
| US recall campaigns | 33 | 51 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 14,321 | 5,262 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | — | 20 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Audi Q5 | Toyota Highlander | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2025) | 5★ (2026) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Audi Q5 | Toyota Highlander | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 9.7 l/100 km (2026) | 9.9 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | 7.4 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 9.4 l/100 km | 8.0 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 7.4 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 146 g/km | 156 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 160 kW (215 hp) | 140 kW (188 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,927 kg | 2,136 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €79,574 | €81,945 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 138,000 km | — |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).