kitsVA

Sounds like a smart plan. All the cool technology does add some fun to the vehicle. I test drove almost all small to mid-size SUVS from Mini Countryman to GLA-250 except Toyota's and only Tiguan, CX-5 and the 2017 Tuscon and the coming soon Kia Sportage interested me. Eventually decided to get Q3 in spite the lack of simple USB port and for some strange reason ended up buying CPO Q5 as it costed less than Q3 similarly loaded and with only 6K miles and extra 2-year warranty. I already hate little things Q5 lacks like no track skipping from steering wheel which even my 2009 Routan and 2013 Passat's have, no place to put cell phone (using cup-holder for now), the charger is located inside arm rest storage which has no grove for cable to run outside. Fortunately, everything else is awesome and I hope to get over the lack 'tech' conveniences overtime.

rbradleysd

I so agree. The slow BT drives me insane. I'm in rentals a lot and can't believe how much faster literally every other car. It's a minor issue thou to me because I'm rarely on my phone when I walk into the car. I'd like to see a heated steering wheel as well because it seems like an easy feature to include as even some micro cars include it. The biggest thing I want in my next car thou is tech. I want auto braking, blind zone assist, full automatic cruise control down to low speeds (big deal here in LA) and rear cross path detection.

Speedooooo

If it weren't for rear view camera I wouldn't have gotten the tech package. The nav system is horrendous, and BT as stated earlier takes forever to pair. No USB is a real inconvenience. Rear view camera and USB should come standard. I'm sure it will be for 2017.

In saying all of that I bought the Q5 because of everything else. It was the most fun to drive, lots of power, love the look, great interior, and enough room for a family. We test drove the new GLC 300 and RX 350 as a replacement vehicle for my wife, and loved both of them. I wouldn't have picked either for myself because of the lack of power, but both have much better options.

DennisMitchell

Having owned several Audi MMI variants, probably the worst aspect is actual slowness (2014 Q5 and earlier models), and perceived slowness in the 2015 A3/S3 version. The A3/S3 is actually pretty peppy, but the OP point still makes sense. The vehicle doesn't initialize the navigation system until the ignition is turned on. There are other choices Audi could make. Retain the prior current location and be in standby mode, rather that what seems to be hibernation (using Windows PC terms). Even starting the system when a door unlock occurs would start the process sooner.

Audi does shoot itself in the foot a lot.

superswiss

The MMI 3G+ is certainly not a spring chicken anymore, but IMO it gets the job done fairly well. The slowness bothered me a bit at the beginning, but subsequent firmware updates made things faster. The latest firmware K0814 is pretty good and my iPhone pairs fairly quickly after starting the car. The system does start initializing the moment I open a door or the trunk, so not sure what's going on with other cars. I've also learned to be patient in my life. Not everything has to happen right away I guess. Usually by the time I'm pulling out of my garage, the system is initialized and pretty much ready to use as far as the main functions go and once I'm out of my neighborhood, I can usually pull up the online destinations, so I can enter the destination that I sent to the car earlier and have it start navigating.

I much prefer the MMI Nav on the easy to read bigger screen over the small phone screen dangling from my windshield or an unsightly mount, and there are still things the MMI nav does that Google Maps etc. don't. My favorite is seeing the next three upcoming exits/maneuvers on the left along with lodging/gas/food info or the automatic street view of the destination once I'm getting close, so I know which building to look for. I've yet to see a smartphone app that provides useful information beyond the next maneuver and it's surprising that Google Maps doesn't incorporate street view the way the MMI does. The MMI also does a much better job at auto zooming. Going from a birds eye view when driving on the Interstate to zooming in for the next maneuver and anywhere in between. It seems to select just the right level of detail depending on the road I'm driving on. I miss this a lot whenever I use something else.

Those cars that you mention, do they have features such as sending a calendar appointment for navigation from your phone to the car, or sending online destinations in general, or do a Google Local Voice search from the car or have Google Earth satellite images instead of drawn maps? The MMI has quite a bit of functionality compared to other cars I've been in. Most of these other cheaper cars have very basic Infotainment systems that don't have to start up as many subsystems as the MMI does, so it has to be put in perspective somewhat.

But agreed, there are things that other cars have that ours don't and it will always be like that. It's a balance between the car itself and the tech. I'm looking forward to the Virtual Cockpit and faster better MMIs in the newer generation cars with better smartphone integration, but so far I'm still pretty happy with what I got. It gets me where I need to go and it keeps me entertained.

Speedooooo

When did you get your update? My Q5 is about 4 months old and the MMI takes a long time to initialize. Is your nav actually accurate? The Audi nav takes me on weird routes that take longer when compared to Google maps on my iPhone. I got a cell phone mount that inserts into the DVD player, and is very accessible more so than trying to use the MMI interface. Btw Google maps just updated their maps to include pit stops such as gas stations, restaurants, etc.

If I were to get a new car I would not get a nav system. Navs on phones are much more accurate. Also no reason to pay a lot of money for a nav, and then update every now and then for $500.

EDIT: IMHO the GLC and RX both have better nav screens and interfaces.

DennisMitchell

Check your settings for routing. Make sure you are using the "fast" setting rather than shortest or mixed.

superswiss

It's been a while since I got the latest firmware update to K0814. With a 2016 I would expect you have an even newer firmware. The K0814 update came out last summer if I remember correctly. Yes, my nav is very accurate. I generally check the times and route on Google Maps before I leave and the travel times end up being what Google estimated. Definitely make sure your route options are set correctly. Traffic in my area is also very accurate and the MMI reroutes me when there is actually a significantly faster route.

Yes, Google Maps just got the pitstop feature, but it requires one to mess with the phone while driving. Really not very convenient. The MMI nav constantly shows the upcoming gas stations with the brand logo and the distance to travel, so on a road trip I can just exit the highway based on miles to empty and the travel distance to the next gas station and since I prefer to fill up at a Shell station I can see with one quick glance if there is an upcoming Shell station.

There are many things to like about Google Maps etc., but for me the integrated nature of the MMI just trumps it all. The integration with the steering wheel controls, the very accurate voice recognition with button on the steering wheel, the larger display with additional information on the DIS between the gauges and easy to read font sizes, etc. is just a more optimized car interface. A smartphone just requires too much concentration because it doesn't have a UI optimized for operation while driving. Android Auto and Apple Car Play will change that, but so far with Apple Car Play you can't use Google Maps, nor Waze, so it's really kinda pointless if the only option is Apple Maps. If you want to use Google Maps you have to switch to an Android phone for Android Auto, but Waze is also not available on Android Auto yet. Until we have true smartphone integration with lots of optimized third-party apps and Apple comes off their high horse and allows third-party mapping apps through CarPlay, the usefulness is rather limited. Third party apps today are mostly limited to music apps and I can already stream those over Bluetooth today. Another issue I have with smartphones is that I'm often traveling in areas w/o cell reception and if I didn't download an offline map in advance, Google Maps falls flat on its face or stops giving me traffic information. I do have other apps for those cases such as HERE Maps which has much better offline support. Very useful when travelling internationally as it allows entire countries to be downloaded to the phone ahead of time, but w/o a data connection there is no traffic information.

Convenience is really a big factor why I like the MMI. For example I keep it on the map screen pretty much all the time, so I see what's going on around me. No need to fiddle with my phone, making sure it's plugged in so the GPS doesn't drain my battery etc. The other problem is that frequently when I use Google Maps the battery drains despite plugged into the official car charger that Apple sells in their stores. This is actually a big annoyance. It happens mostly during the day when the display brightness adjusts to very bright to combat glare from the sun. The car chargers just can't keep up.

We can criticize Audi and other car manufacturers for their behind the times nav systems, but there really wasn't a way to better integrate smartphones before Android Auto and Apple Car Play and both of these systems are at best version 1 and have some serious limitations at the moment.

Speedooooo

That was a really good read superswiss. Sounds like I really need to give the Audi MMI a chance. I'll report back with the my settings.

AUDIIOS

I should have articulated this in my response as well, I see what you are getting at. I agree, if you just want tech look to other manufacturers. I expected to pay a premium really for the the things that make Audi great -- fantastic powertrains, best-in-class real AWD, and best in class interior. It's been a disappointment that to get anywhere close on features you have to spend an additional premium for things like navigation and a rearview camera as they become not just available but standard on much cheaper vehicles, that was my main point for responding earlier.