Motor Trend Comparison Test: Audi SQ5 vs. BMW X4 xDrive35i vs. Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG vs. Porsche Macan Turbo

Sport/utility vehicle. Is there a bigger misnomer than that? Sure, SUVs are vehicles, and they do usually have some sort of utilitarian function, but sport? Nuh-uh. Take a look at the most popular SUVs in the United States last year, led by the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Toyota RAV4. I don't think any of you would argue with me if I said sportiness is the last reason anyone's buying these.

I suspect somewhere along the SUV development timeline someone -- probably the same person who said a four-door could be labeled a coupe—forgot to tell the Germans that SUVs don't need to be sporty. And what a wunderbar mistake that turned out to be. The small SUVs atop the U.S. sales charts lack any pretense of sportiness, but these four compact-ish Germans ooze it. This Teutonic quartet represents the sportiest small crossovers Germany makes. From Ingolstadt comes the 354-hp 2015 Audi SQ5. Munich is home to the fastback-styled 2015 BMW X4 xDrive35i. Stuttgart has two entrants: the 355-hp 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG, which comes courtesy of Affalterbach, and the 400-hp 2015 Porsche Macan Turbo. Each contender features all-wheel drive and some form of forced induction.


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GermanNut - 4/13/2015 9:44:14 PM

+1 Boost

It comes as no surprise that the BMW X4 finished in last place. In addition to its ungainly looks, it has lost its sporty driving dynamics. The end result is an ugly car that doesn't drive well and that combination spells disaster.

tattedtwice - 4/14/2015 4:59:47 PM

+1 Boost

Excellent deflection there; gloss over the fact that the Hyundai Tucson look-alike from the company whose nuts you're suffocating on was at the bottom too. But you have nothing to say about that huh? It's ok, we'll say it for you: the vw....err audi came in 3rd place!!

Car4Life - 4/13/2015 10:22:47 PM

+2 Boost

Merc is turning out some serious performance vehicles hats off to AMG.
I knew the GLA AMG would be fun to drive but to be Porsche at its own game is quite impressive!

nguyenvuminh - 4/14/2015 12:49:41 AM

+1 Boost

Personally I am not interested in this segment but the GLA is surprising a lot of people. I saw another GLA vs Macan video comparison 2-3 weeks ago and the result was similar, GLA narrowly edged out Macan to the surprise of the test driver.

cidflekken - 4/14/2015 1:44:22 AM

+1 Boost

This GLA45 vs Macan Turbo comparison has been pretty entertaining. I think I've seen 4 of these comparisons and it's currently 2-2. The smarter money would go to the GLA45 despite its capacity disadvantages. Same performance as the Macan with a $20K coupon.

carsnyc - 4/14/2015 1:11:18 PM

0 Boost

Save for their interiors, the Bimmer is fugly while the Q5 is boring to look at.

Kudos to Mercedes!

tattedtwice - 4/14/2015 5:02:58 PM

-1 Boost

Sorry but the gla is the ugliest here. It's nothing but a cla with a hatch glued on.

BMWm4 - 4/14/2015 6:02:44 PM

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pssst. The GLA is the smallest of the group. By a big margin.
GLA45 AMG is 173.1" long ... That is a good foot shorter than either the Sq5 & X4. SHouldnt it being compared to the Audi Sq3 or the BMW X1 3.5i?

GLA45 AMG 173" long x 60" high x 71" wide x 106.3" wheelbase
X4 184" long x 64" high x 74" wide x 110.6" wheelbase
X1 176.5" long x 60.8" high x 70.8" wide x 108.7" wheelbase ..

The Mercedes is Tiny. It is smaller than the X1..

cidflekken - 4/15/2015 12:18:02 AM

+1 Boost

It's about price. X1 starts about $10k cheaper than the GLA45, the X4 is more comparably priced and "should" be sportier to drive. There is no SQ3 or RS Q3 in the US, at least not yet.

dayday - 4/16/2015 4:48:25 AM

+1 Boost

I don't really understand why they have X4 there. All the other cars are the high performance models. Its not surprising that the X4 finishes last. GLA45AMG vs Macan TURBO is more interesting here.