A-B-H

I am about to be a first time Audi owner, and have been hot and cold on choosing the VC option. I have read extensively the love for VC and all the bells and whistles. It certainly is impressive!

At this time I am leaning toward not getting it and would like to know from those who didn't get VC; Do you have regrets?

I know some are asking; Why wouldn't I step up to VC. Well I tend to me more traditional liking more analog gauges, not a car flipper, something more to break/become obsolete, and of course there is an additional cost.

Thanks

Avneriko

I'm "Old-School" too (my previous car was stick-shift), so it was a big deal for me to do away with the analog gauges by going all the way with the technology.
All I can tell you is that I'm very happy with this choice. I got over the lack of the gauge-sweep at startup quickly, and the ability to customize the display and switch modes on the fly is very useful.
So the answer to your question is that I would have regrets not getting this option for sure, and I believe the extra cost is justified.

U-2

I am using CarPlay, so VC would have no added value for me, so no regrets. If CarPlay/AA was displayed on VC, that would be a different story.

Chawski

Im pretty torn...I was going to order my SQ5 without it. The only reason I have it is I ended up getting a showroom car that had it, however I paid less for mine than I would have if I ordered it bare bones.
If I was paying for it, I dont think its worth 2900. Yea I suppose its cool and all. I have it and I like it, because I have it. If I didnt have it, I dont think it would take anything away from my joy with the car

As expected, I played with it every time I got in the car for the first 2 weeks, and besides going between fuel and radio, I pretty much havnt messed with it since, and I assume those functions are on the normal cluster too. You really just have to see both and decide if its worth your $$ for it

ifeldman

The Virtual Cockpit was the main reason I went with the Q5. I use it all the time and enjoy Google earth (although I hear it may go away end of 2020). I use CarPlay, but I dont keep the display on my center display until I need to do something with it, then I can jump back to it pretty quickly. Im fine with it not working on the VC.

Wires

I like it: mainly for the ability of putting the giant tach in the center with the speedo in the middle (sport look). But if it didn't have it when I bought it, not a big deal. I use the MMI for my maps anyways.

I doubt it will go obsolete. But if it failed off warranty, I'm sure tears would be shed on the cost of replacement.

kakgungor

I only went with the virtual cockpit because it was a required option in order to order the HUD (at least in Canada). With the HUD I find that I rarely look at the virtual cockpit, and would have been totally happy with traditional gauges + HUD (if that was an option). Now, if CarPlay maps/navigation could be displayed on the VC that would be a totally different story and would make the added expense of the VC completely worthwhile in my opinion. CarPlay supports a second display so I believe it is just Audi holding up such a feature. I doubt they would make it backward compatible, but you may want to consider the VC just in case they decide to make that feature possible down the road.

Boink

I love the virtual cockpit... even if I'm otherwise old-school (and have classics). Here's hoping it has a long-term reliability.

superswiss

I like the VC in the S, RS and R8 because of the sport view and the sport displays, but in the regular A and Q models I don't care so much for the VC. The full screen Google Earth is nice, but the rest of it is kinda dull and ugly. The regular gauge view is actually rather unattractive and boring. But the rev counter in the center with speed and gear information and then configurable left and right panels is quite useful. The full size speedometer is the biggest waste of space in most gauge clusters, so I like that the VC lets you do away with it in the performance models.

Sport view (E.g. R8)


vs.


This view was kinda cool at first, but after a while you realize just how pointless the speedo is in this view and unless you are using the nav daily it's a rare view to see.

kubica

Great thread, as I've thought about this a lot...

I'm sure it's a very personal choice, but for me, it's just not worth it.

Every Audi review I read praises the technology, but aside from its visual uniqueness, I'm really not certain why.

Who needs an entire display of Google Earth in their gauges??? Again, for me, I know where I am and where I'm going 98% of the time I'm driving.

For those rare instances when I'm actually on a trip or not exactly sure how to get to my final destination, I still use my iPhone (ironically Google Maps) because your iPhone is 1000x times easier to use, manipulate, and make changes to while driving, as opposed to trying to interact w/ 12 non-intuitive sub menus in your car's navigation system.

I do like the ability to configure the display, and I do like the "wow" factor of the virtual display, but the parlor trick faded very quickly for me after a week or two of ownership.

Would I order it again? Yes, but only because of its ability to configure information that you determine is important for you as a driver. (I'm fairly certain however, that an analog gauge cluster with a good trip computer would be able to achieve the same, albeit less visually dynamic results).

Could I live without it??? Easily...