Used Audi Q5L SUV

A 1,984 cc turbo four with quattro, stretched 88 mm in the wheelbase for the Chinese market and sitting below the green tax threshold in every version ever sold there. Left hand drive as built, 2015 or newer. One unit is a normal order.

Description

The Q5 is the Audi Nigerians can most sensibly own, and the Chinese version is the most sensible Q5, for reasons that are countable rather than a matter of taste.

Every Q5 and Q5L that FAW-VW built for China uses the same 1,984 cc EA888 engine. Not one version crosses the 2,000 cc line. Since 1 July 2026 Nigeria's green tax has charged nothing below that line and two per cent above it, so every unit from this channel lands in the free band. On a vehicle of this value that is a straightforward saving with nothing to argue about.

From July 2018 the car became the Q5L, stretched 88 mm in the wheelbase to 2,908 mm against 2,819 mm for the car sold everywhere else, with the whole of it going into rear legroom. Audi quotes it as 23 per cent more space back there. The Chinese certificate says 2,908 mm and published European sources say 2,907. We give you both rather than picking one.

A word on the badges, because Audi's numbers mislead. On the Q5L, 45 TFSI and 40 TFSI are the same 1,984 cc engine in two states of tune, 252 PS and 190 PS. The badge here tells you about power, not displacement. On the Q7 the same badges do mean different engines. This is why we quote engine codes rather than trim badges.

The volume car is the Q5L 45 TFSI: 185 kW and 370 N.m through a seven speed wet dual clutch gearbox with quattro, 7.3 litres per 100 km on the Chinese cycle, with Chinese owners reporting around 9.4 in real driving. The older pre 2018 FAW-VW Q5 makes 224 PS and 350 N.m through a conventional eight speed automatic, which some buyers prefer and which is a fair preference.

Ground clearance is published on the certificate, which is unusual and useful: 179 mm on the Q5L, 185 mm on the older Q5. Both are lower than the Q7's 201 mm and the X3's 216 mm. That is a real difference on a bad road and we would rather you knew it now.

It is left hand drive as built. Under the twelve year rule 2014 is the oldest year that can legally land in 2026, and we work to 2015 and newer.

One reputation that is out of date, and one fault that is not

The oil burning story belongs to an older engine. Audi's reputation for excessive oil consumption comes from a piston ring defect in the second generation EA888, roughly the 2009 to 2012 Q5. The cars we source use the third generation engine and that defect does not apply to them. The reputation has outlived the fault by more than a decade, and if somebody uses it to talk your price down they are working from old information.

The gearbox is the live issue on the Q5L. The seven speed wet dual clutch shifts jerkily, engages late and shudders once the fluid has been left too long. It is described as having a lifetime fill. Change it every 60,000 to 80,000 km. A Q5L with no gearbox service record is a car whose price should reflect that.

Two ordinary wear items on this engine family. Carbon builds on the intake valves between 80,000 and 100,000 km because direct injection means no fuel washes them, and the remedy is walnut shell blasting with the manifold off. The plastic water pump and thermostat housing crack at roughly 130,000 to 160,000 km. Neither is a defect. Both belong in the price you agree.

And what Nigerian owners say about Audi generally. Nairaland is harder on Audi than on Mercedes or BMW, and the recurring warning is not to buy one without a mechanic who knows the marque. There is no official Audi distributor here to fall back on. We repeat this rather than bury it.

That said, of the three German SUVs on this site the Q5L is the cheapest to land, because every version of it clears the green tax threshold. If a German badge is what you want and the running cost is what worries you, this is the one to look at first.

Specification

Figures are Chinese-market homologation data for the model years we source. Badge numbers describe tune rather than displacement on this model, so we quote engine codes. The specific unit is checked against its own paperwork before we quote.

Body	Five door, five seat SUV. Long wheelbase from July 2018
Model years sourced	2015 and newer. 2014 sits at the legal edge of the twelve year rule and we stay clear of it
Engine, every version	1,984 cc turbocharged four, EA888 third generation. Codes DKU on the 40 TFSI and CWP on the 45 TFSI
Power and torque, Q5L 45 TFSI	185 kW, 252 PS, and 370 N.m
Power and torque, Q5L 40 TFSI	140 kW, 190 PS, and 320 N.m. Same engine, lower tune
Power and torque, pre 2018 Q5	165 kW, 224 PS, and 350 N.m from 1,500 to 4,200 rpm
Transmission	Seven speed wet dual clutch on the Q5L, quattro. The older Q5 used a conventional eight speed automatic
Wheelbase	2,908 mm on the Q5L, which is 88 mm longer than the car sold outside China. European sources give 2,907 mm. The older Q5 ran 2,807 mm
Ground clearance	179 mm on the Q5L and 185 mm on the older Q5, fully laden, published on the Chinese certificate. Lower than the Q7 at 201 mm and the BMW X3 at 216 mm
Fuel consumption	7.3 litres per 100 km on the Q5L 45 TFSI, 7.1 on the 40 TFSI, 8.4 on the older Q5, Chinese NEDC cycle. Owners report around 9.4 on the 45 TFSI
Dimensions	4,765 x 1,893 x 1,659 mm on the Q5L. The older Q5 was 4,629 x 1,898 x 1,655 mm
Green tax band	Nil, on every version. No Chinese Q5 or Q5L ever crossed the 2,000 cc threshold
Built by	FAW-VW Audi. This is a locally built car, not an import into China
Drive side	Left hand drive as built, which is what Nigeria registers

We do not publish prices, because the landed figure depends on the specification, the Customs valuation and the exchange rate on the day you pay.

Minimum order

One unit. Vehicles carry no minimum order quantity, so a single vehicle is a normal order and we handle it the same way as a fleet purchase.

Where you are buying several, consolidating into one shipment reduces the cost per unit. A forty foot container ships at a flat rate whatever is inside it, and that rate divides across the vehicles in it. Freight also forms part of the CIF value duty is calculated on, so the saving reaches the duty bill as well as the shipping invoice.

A mid size SUV packs better than a full size one, so the step from one unit to two is where the per unit figure moves most.

Lead time. About six to eight weeks quay to quay on the Lagos route, plus one to two weeks at origin for inspection, diagnostic scan, export paperwork and loading, and a further period for clearing and the drive out of the port. Where a gearbox fluid service is agreed before shipment, the workshop time is added and we tell you what it adds.

What decides the right one

The gearbox service record, first, on any Q5L. The wet dual clutch is a good gearbox that is unforgiving of neglect, and its history tells you more about the car than the mileage does.

Then the generation. Q5L for rear legroom and the newer cabin, older Q5 for the conventional automatic and 6 mm more ground clearance. Both are 1,984 cc and both pay no green tax.

Then the ground clearance against your actual routes. 179 mm is the lowest figure on this site's German SUVs and it is a published one. If your roads are worse than city roads, choose differently.

Then the mileage against the two wear points, carbon on the intake valves from around 80,000 km and the plastic water pump housing from around 130,000 km, and put those jobs into the price rather than into next year.

And know before you start that Audi has the thinnest support network of the three German marques here. That is not a reason to avoid the car. It is a reason to find your workshop first.

Common questions

What is the minimum order?

One unit. Vehicles carry no minimum order quantity, so a single vehicle is a normal order and we handle it the same way as a fleet purchase.

Does ordering more than one reduce the cost?

Yes, on freight and clearing. A forty foot container ships at a flat rate whatever is inside it, and that rate divides across the vehicles in it. Freight also forms part of the CIF value duty is calculated on, so the saving reaches the duty bill as well as the shipping invoice. A mid size SUV packs reasonably, so two fit.

What is the difference between 40 TFSI and 45 TFSI here?

Tune, not engine. Both are the same 1,984 cc unit, at 190 PS and 252 PS. On the Q7 those same badges mean genuinely different engines, which is exactly why we quote engine codes rather than badges.

Q5L or the older Q5?

The Q5L has 88 mm more rear legroom and a dual clutch gearbox that needs its fluid changed. The older Q5 is shorter, has a conventional eight speed automatic and slightly more ground clearance at 185 mm. If the back seat is used, take the Q5L. If you distrust dual clutch gearboxes, the older car is a fair answer and we will not argue you out of it.

Is 179 mm enough ground clearance?

It is the lowest of the German SUVs we list. It manages speed bumps, potholes and urban flooding. If your routes include unpaved roads in the wet season, the X3 at 216 mm or the Q7 at 201 mm is the better tool and we would rather say so than sell you this one.

Can a Nigerian workshop service it?

Some can, and Audi has no official distributor here to fall back on. Independent workshops advertising Audi diagnostics exist and vary. Establish who yours is before you buy, because that single decision determines what owning this car is like.

Which model years can actually land?

Used vehicles more than twelve years old from year of manufacture are prohibited, which makes 2014 the oldest legally importable year in 2026. We work to 2015 and newer.

I am looking at a different model

Send us the model, or a photograph, or a link. Tracing a specific vehicle, checking its record and telling you what it costs delivered in Naira is the service. This one is an example of it.

Tell us which generation and how bad your roads are

Q5L or the older Q5, which tune, how new the vehicle needs to be, the routes it will actually run, which workshop you use, and roughly your budget. We will find units that match, send you the VIN, engine code, mileage, gearbox service history, diagnostic scan and record on each, and tell you what the vehicle costs delivered in Naira with every line itemised.

There is no charge for it, and it commits you to nothing. If a different vehicle serves you better, we will say so.

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