Audi Q5 vs Infiniti QX50: which is more reliable?
The Infiniti QX50 is ahead of the Audi Q5 on the federal record, 79/100 against 69/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Audi Q5
- 11 model years scored
- 976 owner complaints on record
- about 11 complaints per year on the road
- 62 recall campaigns, 31 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (87/100) · worst 2021 (33/100)
Infiniti QX50
- 11 model years scored
- 273 owner complaints on record
- about 4 complaints per year on the road
- 11 recall campaigns, 3 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (94/100) · worst 2019 (45/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Q5 against QX50
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Audi Q5
- Engine — 272 complaints
- Electrical System — 182 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 115 complaints
Infiniti QX50
- Engine — 100 complaints
- Engine And Engine Cooling — 42 complaints
- Electrical System — 42 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Infiniti QX50 — avoid: 2019.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Audi Q5 prices at about $29,900 and a Infiniti QX50 at about $41,600 — the Audi Q5 is roughly $11,700 less, and they return 25.0 against 26.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Audi Q5 or the Infiniti QX50 more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Infiniti QX50 scores 79/100 against the Audi Q5's 69/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Audi Q5 and Infiniti QX50 years should I avoid?
Audi Q5: 2018, 2021. Infiniti QX50: 2019. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Audi Q5 and the Infiniti QX50?
The largest complaint group on the Audi Q5 is Engine (272 complaints); on the Infiniti QX50 it is Engine (100).
Is the Audi Q5 or the Infiniti QX50 cheaper to own?
A recent used Audi Q5 prices at about $29,900 and a Infiniti QX50 at about $41,600, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.