Best Tires for the Audi Q5

The best tires for your Audi Q5 will depend on a few key factors. Where you live, your driving style and your needs as an Audi owner, just to name a few. When Audi chose tires for the Q5, it aimed to strike a balance between cost, treadwear, fuel economy, and performance.

The factory tire has something for everyone, but that might not be the best tire for your needs. Are you driving on dirt trails in the rain every day? Are you strictly hitting the highway? How much winter weather are you likely to encounter each year? Whatever your needs, our overview on the best tire options for the Audi Q5 can help.

Have an older Audi Q5? See tire sizes for previous years.

Best 18” Tires for the Audi Q5 Premium and Premium Plus:

• Laufenn G Fit A/S - Best budget tire
• Michelin CrossClimate2 - Best mid-priced tire
• Michelin Primacy MXM4 - Best superior tire

Best 19” Tires for the Audi Q5 Premium and Premium Plus:

• General Grabber HTS 60 - Best budget tire
• Continental CrossContact UHP - Best mid-priced tire
• Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Best superior tire

Best 20” Tires for the Audi Q5 Premium Plus and Prestige:

• Laufenn S Fit AS - Best budget tire
• Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ - Best mid-priced tire
• Pirelli P Zero PZ4 - Best superior tire

Original Equipment Audi Q5 Tires

What tires are on my Audi Q5? The current generation Q5 is sold in three trims with three tire sizes:

• The Premium and Premium Plus with 18-inch wheels have 235/60R8 tires. The OEM tire on these two trims is a Hankook Ventus S1 EVO2 SUV, Continental CrossContact LX Sport, or Michelin Premier LTX.
• The Premium with 19-inch wheels has 235/55R19 tires. The OEM tire on this trim is a Continental CrossContact LX Sport, Continental ContiSportContact 5 SUV, Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport, Michelin Premier LTX, or Goodyear Eagle LS-2.
• The Premium Plus with 19-inch wheels has 235/55R19 tires. The OEM tire on this trim is a Continental CrossContact LX Sport, Continental ContiSportContact 5 SUV, or Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport.
• The Premium Plus with 20-inch wheels has 255/45R20 tires. The OEM tire on this trim is a Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season, Continental CrossContact LX Sport, Michelin Premier LTX, Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport, Goodyear Excellence, or Michelin Latitude Sport 3.
• The Premium Prestige with 20-inch wheels has 255/45R20 tires. The OEM tire on this trim is a Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season, Continental CrossContact LX Sport, Michelin Premier LTX, Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport, or Michelin Latitude Sport 3.

Top Replacement Tire Brands for Audi Q5

We’ve recommended three replacement tires in 18-, 19-, and and 20-inch sizes, in budget, moderately priced and cost-no-object varieties. Whether you have plenty of cash to spend or are watching every penny, don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. All these tires have ratings of four-stars or higher based on consumer surveys:

18-inch Tires for Audi Q5

• Budget: Laufenn S Fit AS - Your bargain choice at $111 this high performance all-season tire is designed for long wear with a comfortable ride.

• Moderately Priced: Michelin CrossClimate2 - Affordably priced at $201, this all-season tire gets high ratings in all conditions, including snow, and has a long treadlife.

• Cost-No-Object: Michelin Primacy MXM4 - Coming in at $266, this all-season grand touring tire does well on wet or dry roads and provides a smooth ride.

19-inch Tires for Audi Q5

• Budget: Laufenn S Fit AS - At $118 this high performance all-season tire combines a smooth ride with a long treadlife.

• Moderately Priced: Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus II - A price of $197 and high marks for comfort, treadwear, and a variety of road conditions make this tire a top pick.

• Cost-No-Object: Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady - Priced at $249, this all-season tire receives high marks for wet, dry, and snow and for its long treadlife.

20-inch Tires for Audi Q5

• Budget: Laufenn S Fit AS - With a price of only $128, this is a great option if you want a quality tire at a bargain price. It has high customer ratings with performance handling and all-season traction.

• Moderately Priced: Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ - Coming in at $224, this high performance all-season tire has a smooth ride, good treadwear and can even manage light snow.

• Cost-No-Object: Pirelli P Zero PZ4 - Priced at $324, this summer performance tire does exceptionally well in dry conditions and has a smooth ride.

When Should You Replace Tires?

There are two regular milestones that will suggest that it’s time to replace the tires, not only on your Q5, but any vehicle in your driveway: Time and mileage.

Considering most drivers cover between 12,000 and 15,000 miles per year, most Q5 owners will pass the miles their original equipment tires were intended to cover well before they’ll go past the tire’s usable age.

The life of your tire can be somewhat predicted by its UTQG (Uniform Tire Quality Grade) rating. Tire manufacturers apply their own grades to tires for treadwear, traction and temperature. When you’re researching tires online, a UTQG will come up next to the tire name in three digits and a number (ex. 500 A A).

You can glean a bit of info from the tires by reading this rating:

• 500 - The durability rating of a tire, compared to a control tire with a treadlife of 100. To obtain a grade, tires run on a 640 kilometer course for 11,520 km. Every 1,280 km, the tread depth is measured, to provide a projected tread life. The higher the number, the longer the predicted treadlife.
• A - This is the Traction rating of a tire, which indicates how well a tire stops in wet conditions. The highest letter grade is AA, followed by A, B and C.
• A - The second letter in the UTQG is the Temperature rating, which indicates how well a tire holds up to extreme heat. A is the highest, followed by B and C.

Original equipment Continental Crosscontact LX Sport tires on the Q5 earn a 480 A A UTQG rating. Unless they are damaged, these tires could last up to 48,000 miles before you need to replace them.

The other consideration is time. Each tire has a raised date code on the sidewall. The number begins with the letters “DOT” followed by 12 digits in three four-digit groups. The date code is the third group of four digits. To decipher the date of your tires, the first two digits represent the WEEK the tire was produced, and the second two digits represent the YEAR.

For example, if your tire’s date code is 3217, that indicates the tire was manufactured in the 37th week of 2017, or sometime between September 11 and 17th that year.

Once tires go beyond five years old, it’s time to consider replacing them. Tires are made up not just of rubber and steel or Kevlar belts, but chemicals that help the tires resist UV rays, temperature changes and a lot of other environmental hazards. Those chemicals start to break down after five years or so, and the tires aren’t doing the job that they need to do. At that point, it doesn’t matter how good they look. It’s time for replacements.

Why Not Replace with Original Equipment Tires?

There’s nothing wrong with putting on the same tires that were on your car when it came from the factory. Although they’re perfectly fine, you may be able to find a tire that’s better suited to your specific needs.

You only need to purchase ONE set of tires for your car every four years or so, depending on how much you drive. When an auto manufacturer purchases tires, they buy them by the hundreds of thousands. For the manufacturer, the decision to choose a supplier one brand or another comes down to a price point.

For you, your consideration may be completely different. If you could get a tire that stopped 20 feet shorter for an additional $10 per tire over the original equipment, you’d probably do it. Similarly, if there was a tire that made less road noise for a minimal investment over stock, you’d probably decide on the slightly more expensive tire (that is, unless you’re trying to drown out the conversation of your back-seat-driving spouse.)

Changing Audi Q5 Tire Sizes

Depending on the year and model, you may be shopping tires to fit anything between 18-inch to 20-inch wheels with various widths and sidewall sizes along the way. It is possible to change the wheel and tire sizes, but a general rule of thumb is to keep the total diameter of the wheel and tire the same. So, that means that downsizing an 18-inch wheel to a 17-inch wheel would include a proportionate upsizing of the tire sidewall to compensate.

Downsizing wheels has its advantages. Benefits include:

• Better ride quality – More rubber means more cushion for poor road conditions.
• Cost reduction – Big tires are expensive, so moving to a smaller wheel size will mean less costly tire purchases.
• Seasonal changes – Winter and snow tires are available for a larger selection of smaller wheel sizes and the narrower footprint will provide better traction.
• Off-road – Many people choose to downsize wheels for off-road use to increase the vehicle’s shock absorption capabilities and bump traction on loose surfaces.

On the other side of the coin, going up in wheel size has its benefits:

• Better handling – Slimmer profile tires makes for less rubber to move around.
• Better looks – This one’s subjective, but many people feel that larger wheels look better than smaller wheels with more rubber.
• Better braking – Larger, wider wheels provide a bigger patch of rubber on the ground to slow the vehicle, reducing braking distance.

How to Read Tire Sizes

When reading tire sizes, it’s important to understand what the numbers mean. The Audi Q5’s 18-inch wheels come with 235/60R18 103H all-season tires:

• 235 - indicates the width of the tire from one sidewall to the other in millimeters. This tire is 235 millimeters wide.
• 60 - indicates the aspect ratio, or sidewall height, as a percentage of the tire’s width. In this case, it’s 60 percent or of the tire’s width.
• R - means radial tires. Radials are the most common type of automotive tire and have fabric woven in at various angles with tread that is strengthened with additional layers of rubber
• 18 - indicates the wheel diameter.
• 103 - is the tire’s load rating.
• H - is the tire’s speed rating. H-rated tires have a maximum top speed of 130 mph.

You may have noticed that the Q5’s different tire sizes have different diameters and different aspect ratios. Generally, automakers choose tire and wheel combinations that have the same outer diameter. This eliminates issues with speedometer inaccuracy stemming from different tire diameters..

Now that you know what comes on a new Q5 and how to read the size numbers, let’s look at the different types of tires available to you. Depending on the type of driving you’re doing, where you live, and the weather, you have a variety of choices for tire types:

• Touring and All-season tires - provide a smooth ride, good wet and dry traction, decent winter traction, and longer tread life. These tires are acceptable for winter use but can’t be expected to provide the traction and stopping power that a dedicated winter tire can.
• Performance tires - are focused on providing confident handling, better wet and dry traction, and a sporty feel. Their higher grip and speed ratings come with a tradeoff of shortened tread life and reduced ride quality.
• All-terrain tires - are built to maximize off-road traction and provide good durability overall. Their construction means more noise and less comfort on the road, but winter traction and tread wear is acceptable.
• Winter and snow tires - are made with special rubber compounds that maintain grip and pliability when temperatures drop. They are also built with special tread patterns to maximize the vehicle’s ability to start and stop on very slippery roads.

Tire Sizes By Year

Read more on the Best Tire Deals available here

See our overall recommendations for Best Tires

See our recommendations for the 10 Best Tire Brands for 2024