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Location: The "moderately less" corrupt state of Illinois
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2800 mile drive in the Q
Took the TDI on vacation the past couple weeks. Chicago to Naples FL.
MPG
2 people w/ stuff for two weeks on the beach, I averaged 35.1 mpg (miles driven / gallons used) down and back for the 2800 mile round trip. Cruise set to 75-76, up over 80MPH passing when needed. Outstanding mileage without even trying.
Note that the car computer was consistently optimistic, reporting I was getting 39.2MPG for a 550 leg of the trip twice, however when calculating miles driven / gallons used, reported a more accurate 36.5.
POWER
Great power going through the steep grades in the Chattanooga area. Losing momentum in the passing lane while climbing some of the steeper grades meant you weren't passing anyone in all of my previous vehicles - not with the TDI. Once the passing lane opened it was easy to drive away mid incline with plenty of power on tap.
NAV
Interstate 65 north of Louisville KY has a ton of construction. Twice the Nav routed me off the interstate on to rural roads running parallel to the interstate. I could see the traffic completely stopped on the interstate while I was moving at a 55mph clip. Rejoined the highway after the stopped traffic and it was all seamless. I estimate it saved me about 90 minutes between the two times it rerouted me.
COMFORT/ROOM
A perfect cruising vehicle to take on vacation. The more miles the better.
FUEL
Stopped for fuel twice, 525 miles on 14.4 gallons is no problem. With a 19.8 gallon tank, figuring you won't run it dry, another 128 miles before filling up is easily attainable with a couple gallons remaining in the tank.
With the amount of diesel available on the highway, it's not an issue finding diesel fuel. It CAN be an issue to find diesel with the smaller (car) fuel filler and not those larger used in trucks. (I have a adaptor in case of emergency, but never felt it was needed). One of the two stops I ran into the truck nozzle issue and needed to go to the next exit, finding diesel with no problems.
OVERALL
This was my first real trip of any length with the Q TDI and I couldn't be happier with it. As I've said before, the combination of MPG, room, comfort, and power is unbeatable.
Before my wife bought her A3 TDI she had a Prius. We got 47MPG round trip in the Prius making the same trip - 12MPG better than this trip with the Q. Clearly there is a huge difference between the Q TDI and the Prius, but the difference in room, power, comfort, as well as a vastly superior Nav makes the trip in the Q immensely more enjoyable to drive, while still getting very respectable MPG.
If anyone is on the fence about buying a Q5, or more specifically the TDI Q5, I hope this helps in your decision making.
Similiar trip recently IA to AZ and back. Averaged over 30mpg, mostly 4 lane but some 2 lane in western KS and OK-TEX. Impressed with power doing some quick passing on busy 2 lane. Paddles handy for quicker downshifts. Getting out of the GT3, hard to get used to 4500 redline!!
Very comfortable, sport seats easy to adjust for 13-14 hours in the saddle...
My only complaint- wish it sat about 2-3" lower- I don't plan on offroading and would be easier to wash the roof when cleaning!! I know Audi does it for classification needs, but still a pain!
The more I drive it around town, the more I like the overall size, and low end torque!!!
Note that the car computer was consistently optimistic, reporting I was getting 39.2MPG for a 550 leg of the trip twice, however when calculating miles driven / gallons used, reported a more accurate 36.5.
39.2/36.5 = 1.07, so the "standard" 7% computer offset should get you pretty accurate if you have access to VAG-COM and care at all.
Before my wife bought her A3 TDI she had a Prius. We got 47MPG round trip in the Prius making the same trip - 12MPG better than this trip with the Q. Clearly there is a huge difference between the Q TDI and the Prius, but the difference in room, power, comfort, as well as a vastly superior Nav makes the trip in the Q immensely more enjoyable to drive, while still getting very respectable MPG.
Definitely a huge difference between a Prius and a Q5: a Prius is trying hard to be fuel-efficient, and the Q5's a powerful brick. Given the power and weight and not being particularly aerodynamic, it's almost surprising that the Prius would only use 23% less fuel. And of course, the A3 should be able to put up a similar figure as the Prius -- not that I'd care to take an A3 on a long road trip over a Q5. (My wife has a Golf, so similar deal. Though hers is a 2004 so she's only getting around 32mpg for commutes and 38-42 for tanks involving more highway travel.)
06-18-2014, 11:31 AM
2800 mile drive in the Q
Given the power and weight and not being particularly aerodynamic, it's almost surprising that the Prius would only use 23% less fuel. And of course, the A3 should be able to put up a similar figure as the Prius -- not that I'd care to take an A3 on a long road trip over a Q5. 
(My wife has a Golf, so similar deal. Though hers is a 2004 so she's only getting around 32mpg for commutes and 38-42 for tanks involving more highway travel.)
