Compared: 2023 Audi Q5 vs. 2023 Porsche Macan

Audi lures buyers with a wider range of powertrains, whereas Porsche boasts more à la carte options.

Mark Elias | 

Apr 19, 2024 | 3 min read

Audi | Porsche

The 2023 Porsche Macan and the 2023 Audi Q5 duke it out in the luxury compact SUV segment, each boasting four doors and cozy seating for five. The pair are corporate cousins, sharing a platform, but they go about their business in different ways.

The Porsche is geared more toward the enthusiast, who, due to a growing family or other life circumstances, finds the need for an SUV rather than a sports car. The Audi, meanwhile, leans heavily on luxury and tech.

Audi

The Porsche Macan Costs a Lot More Than the Audi Q5

Pricing for the base Macan, powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 261 horsepower, begins at $59,000. Porsche slots that engine into the new-for-2023 Macan T, too, and justifies the model's $5,600 upcharge mostly with a more engaging suspension.

Power seekers may wish to consider the $70,000 Macan S, with its 375-hp twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6. Or if money isn't as much of a concern, there's the $88,000 top-shelf Macan GTS, which uses an uprated version of the 2.9-liter, delivering 434 horsepower.

Porsche

The cost of admission for the Q5 is about $45,000, or some 14 grand less than the Macan. That price buys you the 40 TFSI powertrain: a 201-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. The more comparable model to the base Macan is the 261-hp Q5 45 TFSI, which requires $48,000.

Above that, Audi offers a couple of more powerful models — the $57,000 362-hp plug-in hybrid and the 349-hp V6-powered SQ5 at $58,000 — but neither comes close to the Macan GTS's grunt. Buyers can also get the shapely Q5 Sportback with the 45 TFSI engine for $52,000 as well as in SQ5 spec for $61,000.

Audi

The Porsche Gives You More Freedom With Features

When it comes to features, the differences between the two models are negligible. Both come standard with all-wheel drive, adaptive cruise control, three-zone automatic climate control, heated front seats, partial leather seating, lane-departure warning, and a power liftgate.

The Audi has a larger gauge-cluster display (7.0 inches to Porsche's 4.8), but its touchscreen is smaller (10.1 inches versus 10.9). Both models support wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity, but the Q5 has Android Auto integration, too. That said, the base Macan has built-in navigation, which Audi reserves for mid- and high-level trims.

As is typical for Porsche, buyers can spec all kinds of standalone options from ventilated seats to a sport exhaust to fancy brake rotors. Audi doesn't offer as much freedom in configuring its models, but luxury equipment such as a head-up display, panoramic moonroof, and a Bang & Olufsen sound system are available.

Porsche

The Audi Uses Less Fuel Than the Porsche

Both vehicles require premium fuel. The Macan and Macan T return 19/25/21 mpg city/highway/combined, according to the EPA. Macan models with the V6 see 17/23/19 mpg, except the GTS, which gets 22 mpg in city driving.

The Q5 is more efficient, achieving 23/29/25 mpg with the base four-cylinder. Models with the 261-hp engine in either body style return 22/29/25 mpg. The plug-in hybrid model has the ability to go 23 miles on electric power alone, and returns 60 MPGe. When relying on both gasoline and electricity, it achieves 26 mpg combined.

The sporty SQ5 sees fuel economy of 19/24/21 mpg whether you choose the regular or Sportback body.

All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.

Mark Elias

Mark Elias is an award-winning automotive journalist and photographer who has covered the industry for the past 20 years. Along the way, he has photographed for news agencies, car manufacturers, and Fortune 500 companies. He loves playing and building guitars — but his wife will only let him have five at any one time.