Three things about the Chinese Q5 are worth knowing before you look at a single listing, and two of them are good news.
Every engine is 1,984 cc
Not most of them. All of them. Whatever the boot badge says, whatever the trim is called, every Q5 engine sold in the Chinese market is 1,984 cc.
The green tax surcharge that began on 1 July 2026 applies from 2,000 cc. Below that, nothing. So no Chinese-market Q5, in any trim, attracts the surcharge.
That is worth stating plainly because Audi’s Chinese badging misleads people constantly in the other direction on the Q7, where a 45 TFSI is the 3.0 V6 and does pay. On the Q5 there is no such trap. Full duty picture here.
The L is 88 mm, and all of it is rear legroom
The Q5L is stretched 88 millimetres between the axles compared with the standard car, and that space goes into the back seat.
On a compact premium SUV, where the rear bench is usually the compromise, 88 mm is the difference between a back seat adults tolerate and one they are comfortable in. If the car will regularly carry people in the rear, or if you are being driven, this is a materially better vehicle than the standard-wheelbase version for the same money.
The oil-burning reputation, and where it actually comes from
Search this car and you will find people warning about Audi 2.0 engines consuming oil. That reputation is real, it is well documented, and it belongs to an older engine generation.
It is worth being precise rather than either dismissing the concern or repeating it as though it applied to every 2.0 Audi ever built. The engine with the notorious consumption problem is not the engine in the cars we are sourcing, and treating a general internet reputation as a specific fact about a specific VIN is how people talk themselves out of good cars and into bad ones.
What to do instead of worrying about a forum: check the service record on the actual unit, ask when the oil was last changed and at what interval, and have the engine inspected. That tells you about the car in front of you, which is the only thing that matters.
Specification
| Body | Five-door premium compact SUV, long wheelbase |
|---|---|
| Engine | 1,984 cc, on every Chinese-market trim |
| Wheelbase | 88 mm longer than the standard Q5, into rear legroom |
| Green tax | None, on any engine in the range |
| Steering | Left hand drive as built |
| Age rule | Twelve years from manufacture. 2014 is the oldest for a 2026 import. |
| Minimum order | One unit |
| Lead time | Six to eight weeks quay to quay, plus one to two weeks pre-shipment |
Against the X3
The BMW X3 is the direct competitor and it is also under the threshold, at 1,998 cc. Neither pays green tax, so the tax argument is a draw and you can choose on the car itself.
The Q5L gives you the 88 mm of extra rear space. The X3 gives you 216 mm of published ground clearance and a chassis most drivers find more engaging. If the car carries passengers, take the Audi. If it carries you over bad roads, take the BMW.
Against a CR-V, both German cars cost considerably more to keep on the road, and that gap does not close over time. Buy premium because you want it, not because you expect it to be cheap.
What we check
VIN, mileage, service record and the exact engine and trim. On this car specifically we check the oil service history properly, because that is the question everybody has and it deserves an answer about the actual vehicle rather than a general reassurance.
Then the landed figure in naira with every line itemised, and with no green tax line, because there is not one. Full detail on the Q5L product page.
Tell us the year and the budget
How new it needs to be and roughly what you want to spend. We will find units that match, send the VIN, mileage, service record and oil service history on each, and give you the delivered naira figure with every line itemised.
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