Currently, women account for half of the buyers of the large Q7 SUV. Audi is expecting the same figure when the Q5 goes on sale on the stateside in the first quarter of 2009 said Frank Hermann, head of product marketing for the Q5 and Q7.

That’s all fine and dandy, but we were more interested in other things Hermann pointed out. He said that next year, Audi will launch a Q7 gasoline-electric hybrid variant next year but will not build a Q5 hybrid until later down the road. Audi will first offer diesel variants of the Q5 in the U.S. before going hybrid.

“We think our clean diesel engines are the most suitable solution for cutting CO2 emissions on the Q5,” Herman said.

The U.S. will get a 3.2L V6 FSI direct-injection unit that will produce 265-hp and 243 lb-ft of torque. 0-60 will come in at 6.8 seconds. Check out the original 2009 Audi Q5 post.

2009 Audi Q5:

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