Top 10 Best Tires for Audi Q5: Recommendations & Reviews

The Audi Q5 is one of the nicest crossovers on the market. It has a very spacious interior with excellent fit and finish, great for covering long distances. It is also very comfortable on the road – the ride quality is plush and noise is well suppressed. Furthermore, the Q5 has excellent driving dynamics for a crossover – it almost drives like a normal car on the road.

As you can see, we are quite the fans of the Audi Q5. However, to get the most out of this crossover, you will still need a good set of tires. Put bad tires on the Audi Q5, and all you’re left with is the nice interior – every other quality will disappear. The best Audi Q5 tires should give the driver excellent driving performance wherever he drives, but also massage the passengers with a soft ride and quiet rolling.

Audi tires should also be durable and reliable. Drivers of these vehicles cover a lot of highway miles annually, so a tire with a long treadwear warranty is nice to have. Nobody wants to replace tires every two years, especially on vehicles like the Q5, which has 18, 19, or 20-inch rims. These tires are certainly expensive, but there are some interesting budget alternatives.

The thing is, there are a lot of options on the market today. To make things even worse for buyers, they are separated into several different categories. When buying tires, you first need to choose models that will apply to the weather in your area.

That’s something that most people know nowadays – that’s what all-season tires are for. However, just installing all-season tires on your car and call it a day may be dangerous – they aren’t designed for every type of weather. On top of that, you also need to think about your driving. People that drive more slowly will need different types of tires than people that drive more aggressively.

To help you find the best tires for Audi Q5, we created a Top 10 list. In that list, we will include every type of tire that we think applies to Q5 drivers. That’s why we recommend going through the list carefully – don’t just jump and purchase the first one.

And if you don’t know what type of tires you need for the Q5, why not reading through our buying guide? There we will explain every detail you need to know about various types of Audi Q5 tires and how they affect your driving. Things like driving style and climate will be included but also driving on various surfaces. Let’s dig in.

The 10 Best Tires for Audi Q5 You Can Buy

1. Continental CrossContact LX25 with EcoPlus+ Technology

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Audi Q5

The CrossContact LX25’s are the best tires for Audi Q5 drivers that want a dependable and comfortable solution. Thanks to the Comfort Ride Technology, these tires have the softest possible ride quality. Noise is not an issue as well, even on some rough tarmac.

The LX25 is excellent in the handling department, too. Dry traction and grip are the best in its class, and the tires are very responsive. Wet performance is improved compared to the already excellent LX20 predecessor, both in terms of traction and braking. Snow performance is pretty good for an all-season tire as well.

The CrossContact LX25 comes with a 70,000-mile treadwear warranty, which is very good, but some rivals offer 80,000 or even 90,000-miles. On the positive side, the next-gen EcoPlus+ Technology will save you fuel down the road.

2. Michelin Premier LTX

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Audi Q5

The Premier LTX is an impressive tire in terms of wet traction. Not only it provides one of the best results in the category when it rains, but it keeps being good throughout the years. Thanks to the EverGrip technology, the Premier LTX keeps its wet traction even when the tread is worn down.

On top of that, dry handling and responsiveness are among the best in the category. Highway stability is excellent as well, and we were even pleasantly surprised by the good snow traction and braking. Comfort, like in most Michelin tires, is excellent.

That said, the Premier LTX is expensive, and it only comes with a 60,000-mile treadwear warranty.

3. Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus II

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Audi Q5

Pirelli’s new addition to their touring lineup brings several benefits that make it an instant success. Thanks to the updated tread compound, the Scorpion Verde All Season Plus II has much better wet traction and braking. As a matter of fact, it is probably the best in its class right now.

On dry tarmac, the Scorpion Verde compares favorably to most tires, especially in terms of responsiveness and steering feel. Like its predecessor, the new model is very quiet and comfortable and provides the driver with excellent highway stability.

With that said, Pirelli didn’t manage to provide its buyers with extra treadwear warranty – the new model still comes with 65,000-miles.

4. Cooper CS5 Ultra Touring

Best All-Season Touring Tires for Audi Q5

The CS5 Ultra Touring is a budget-oriented grand-touring tire. However, don’t let the price fool you – it is still very capable in most conditions.

On the street, the CS5 Ultra Touring is very responsive, has high levels of grip, and excellent traction. The tire works on wet pavement excellently as well, and brakes strongly. The snow traction isn’t its forte, but this is still only an all-season tire.

The CS5 Ultra Touring is also very comfortable and quiet and comes with an outstanding 70,000-mile treadwear warranty given its price point.

5. Michelin CrossClimate SUV

Best All-Weather Touring Tires for Audi Q5

If you want tires that will truly work in every climate, look no further than the CrossClimate SUV. Michelin’s all-weather tire is responsive and grippy on dry and wet tarmac, stops very well, and accelerates swiftly.

The best thing about this tire is that it provides the driver with better snow traction than all-season tires, and it even works on ice and slush. That said, the 50,000-mile treadwear warranty is worse than the all-season alternatives.

6. Goodyear Assurance WeatherReady

Best All-Weather Touring Tires for Audi Q5

Goodyear offers a better treadwear warranty for its all-weather tire – at 60,000-miles, this tire is the best in its class. However, the tire is also noisier than the CrossClimate SUV, which might bother some drivers.

Performance is good throughout, though. The Assurance WeatherReady is capable of very good handling on dry and wet surfaces, and excellent braking. Snow traction is better than all-season tires, too, and the tire even works over ice and slush.

7. Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport

Best High-Performance Tires for Audi Q5

The Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport is our favorite summer Street/Sport tire right now. With a set of these tires on your Audi Q5, you will immediately feel the performance benefits.

Bridgestone’s sporty tire is super responsive and has very high levels of grip in the corners. Traction is excellent as well, both on dry and wet surfaces.

Surprisingly, the Dueler H/P Sport is very quiet and comfortable for a performance tire, but Bridgestone doesn’t provide any treadwear warranty.

8. Continental CrossContact UHP

Best High-Performance Tires for Audi Q5

The CrossContact UHP is an excellent alternative if the Bridgestone isn’t available in your area. Performance-wise, the Continental performance tire is close to the Bridgestone.

Responsiveness is top-notch, the grip is excellent, and there is ample traction during hard acceleration. The CrossContact UHP is outstanding in wet conditions as well, especially on damp surfaces. The ride quality is very good for a performance tire as well.

That said, like the Bridgestone, the Continental doesn’t come with any treadwear warranty.

9. Michelin Latitude X-Ice Xi2

Best Winter Tires for Audi Q5

The Latitude X-Ice Xi2’s are the best tires for Audi Q5 when it comes to winter performance. Michelin’s gem has outstanding grip and traction in freezing conditions, both on dry and wet surfaces.

On top of that, snow performance is among the best in the category, and the same can be said for ice and slush traction.

The best thing about the Latitude X-Ice Xi2 is the 40,000-mile treadwear warranty – most competitors don’t even offer one.

10. Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2

Best Winter Tires for Audi Q5

The Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 compares very well to the Michelin in terms of performance in the winter. As a matter of fact, it brakes better in snow and accelerates as quickly. Ice and slush traction and braking are outstanding as well.

That said, Bridgestone still doesn’t provide any treadwear warranty for their Blizzak family of winter tires, which is a shame given the price. We hope they follow Michelin and finally give buyers one more reason to buy their excellent winter tires.

Best Tires for Audi Q5: Buyer’s Guide

1. Touring Tires are the Best Choice for Most Audi Q5 Owners

When it comes to normal everyday driving, there is no better choice than touring tires. As their name suggests, these tires are designed to cover long road distances. Consequently, they are an excellent choice for Audi Q5 drivers that use their vehicles a lot.

The best thing about touring tires is that they are cheap. Sure, some touring Audi Q5 tires from premium manufacturers will still cost a pretty penny, but they are still cheaper than other types of tires. Despite the fact that the Q5 is a premium vehicle, buyers still want to save as much money as they can on tires. And spend them on something they like, of course.

Then, touring tires are also very, very durable. That is especially true for the treadlife, which is better than any other Audi Q5 tires. The best touring tires today come with up to 90,000-mile treadwear warranty, which is amazing, to say the least. Paired with the lower price, this means that touring tires are also much more cost-effective in the long run.

Comfort is another well-known quality of touring tires. Tire manufacturers today employ several technologies and design choices to give these tires a better ride and less noise. In most models, the result is excellent.

The highest-quality touring tires are supremely comfortable over bumps. Pair them with an air suspension (available on the Q5), and you’ll feel like floating on a magic carpet. On top of that, touring tires are very quiet, even at very high speeds, making the already serene Q5 even quieter.

Okay, but what about handling? That is perhaps the most important question, but also one that can’t be easily answered. If you measure outright grip and traction, touring tires aren’t outstanding. Enter a corner too fast, and the tires won’t give you enough bite to keep the vehicle steady. In other words, they aren’t made for very aggressive driving, especially on a twisty road.

That said, for everyday driving, the best touring tires will suffice. If you don’t care about super-responsive handling and very high levels of grip, touring tires will get you covered. They offer reliable traction and grip, and very short braking distances. Touring tires are also known for excellent highway stability – they will keep you safe even if you are well above the speed limit.

The best thing about these models is that they don’t care if the surface is wet. Thanks to the deep tread and wide circumferential grooves, touring tires have excellent hydroplaning resistance. In other words, they will give you reliable traction and grip even when it rains heavily. For the average driver, that is very important – most accidents happen when the roads are covered with water.

2. But What If I Still Want More Responsive Audi Tires?

If you are the kind of driver that wants to attack corners on a twisty road, then we recommend Street/Sport Truck or high-performance tires. Basically, both types are similar – the former is designed for SUVs and crossovers, while the latter is designed for sedans and coupes.

These tires are specifically designed to give you better responsiveness and steering feel, as well as better handling. With a set of Street/Sport tires on your Audi Q5, the car will immediately feel more alive. The front wheels will turn immediately into a corner, while the back ones will follow without too much fuss.

More importantly, Street/Sport tires have much higher levels of traction and grip. In layman’s terms, this means that your vehicle will maintain higher velocities throughout the corner and accelerate more quickly out of a corner. These sporty tires also stop much better and provide the driver with better high-speed stability.

With that said, Street/Sport tires aren’t really focused on comfort. On bumpy roads, the ride will be less compliant, which is a consequence of the stiffer sidewalls. On top of that, the sticky rubber of Street/Sport tires is audible at higher speeds. Some modern premium tires are much better in the comfort department nowadays, but still far from touring tires.

Street/Sport tires are worse when it comes to durability as well. Even the mightiest tires in this category come with 20,000 to 30,000-miles less treadwear warranty, which isn’t insignificant. On top of that, these tires are much more expensive than touring tires and only come in larger sizes. Expect to pay more throughout the years if you want the added performance of Street/Sport tires.

3. Should I Buy Off-Road Tires?

You might be into off-roading, but your Audi Q5 might be not. Audi’s crossover sits on a car-based architecture and is primarily designed for driving on the road. Sure, some versions are available with the famous Quattro 4WD system, but even those aren’t that great for off-roading. Furthermore, we won’t know many Q5 owners that are into this thing, too.

If you don’t care about all of this and still want off-road tires, we recommend all-terrain tires. These models have a nice balance between off-road and on-road performance and are pretty durable. Be prepared for more noise, though – all-terrain tires are audible at higher speeds.

4. What About the Climate? Does it Make a Difference?

It certainly does! Choosing a set of tires that will suit the climate in your area is not only required; it’s a must! The reason behind this is very simple – every tire is designed to operate in a certain temperature range and certain weather conditions. When you drive on tires that aren’t designed for that temperature, bad things can happen.

For example, when you use warm-weather tires in the winter, the tread compound becomes too hard and brittle. When that happens, the tire doesn’t grip the road very well, especially on wet pavement. Moreover, small cracks might appear on the tread, which shortens the longevity of the tire.

On the other hand, tires that were designed for cold weather become too soft and squishy in warm environments. When that happens, the tread starts to wear quickly, but even worse, the tire becomes unresponsive and has less grip and traction.

With that said, some of these issues can be mitigated with all-season tires. They are the best Audi Q5 tires for drivers that want safe and reliable handling throughout the year. In other words, these tires have a tread compound that works in a wider temperature range.

However, there is a caveat here. While all-season tires are certainly better than their summer counterparts in the winter, they are still not the best choice for harsh wintry weather. Despite the increased number of sipes, all-season tires still lack proper traction over snow.

Furthermore, while all-season tires are excellent in warmer weather, they are still no match for summer tires. Still, all-season tires will provide you with outstanding hydroplaning resistance and wet traction, which makes them very safe on the road.

All-weather tires are a new type of all-season tires geared more toward winter driving. These tires are made from a softer and more pliable tread compound and have a more aggressive tread pattern with more sipes. All-weather tires are a much better choice for harsh wintry weather than all-season tires, but slightly worse for hot conditions.

If you want the best possible performance in the winter, the best choice is winter tires. These tires are designed to operate in freezing conditions. The tread compound of winter tires stays pliable in the winter, while the tread has enough sipes to give you traction over snow, ice, and slush.

At last, summer tires are the best choice for drivers interested in performance. When the temperatures outside are warm, summer tires will provide you with the best possible grip and traction. Due to these qualities, many Street/Sport and high-performance tires are offered with a summer tread compound. That said, summer tires also wear faster, which is why you won’t find many touring tires with that compound.

Final Words

You might have noticed that we didn’t include very cheap tires on the list above. We have very important reasons for that, the first one being safety. Very cheap tires from manufacturers that just started producing tires don’t provide the driver with safe handling, especially on wet surfaces.

On top of that, these cheap tires don’t last nearly as long as premium tires and might be more expensive in the long run. Finally, your Audi Q5 is a premium vehicle, and putting very cheap tires on it might be unreasonable.

Suffice to say, we strongly suggest always going for a high-quality set of tires from manufacturers that you fully trust.