sid369

Hi All,

I am new to the forum and to Audi as well. I planning to buy a new car and doing my research and wanted to get some info from the owners of Q5 and audi experts.

I have a BMW 3 series which is what my wife drives, I drive a RAV4 V6 and want to trade that in for a different car. I was all set either to buy a BMW X3 or the Lexus RX350. Didn't even look at audi because of a bad experiecne at a Audi dealership, in my state there is only one dealership. It put us off and though we would not buy an Audi, coz maybe all Audi dealerships are snobs.

Anyways, we want to try another dealership and give it a chance. I am in Delaware, so if any of you know of any good dealership in Philadelphia or surrounding areas, please do give some recommendations.

Ok, so last week went to the test drive the lexus RX350 first and I loved the seats, soft and comfortable, something that is important to me since I have a long commute and need a comfortable car. but the driving was just Lexus driving nothing exciting or fun. But it was good and quiet and comfortable with plenty of leg room in front and back and plenty of storage space in the trunk.


Next we decided to test drive the X3 and immediately felt that it was smaller than the rx350 and again one thing that I don't like about bmw are the seats. the seats feel thin and not comfortable.
It drove pretty good, fun to drive, but felt almost like a 3 series and wife made the comment that its the 3 series just a little bigger with higher seats and I agreed with her comments. so thats off the list.

So now I though what other cars interest me. I don't like infinities for some reason and the X% is too expensive so is the Porsche.

So I though lets look at Audi, always have loved the styling, but not sure if the seats are the same as the BMW. I hope Audi is a compromise between sports and Comfort, whereas the lexus is pure comfort and bmw is pure sport.

So i have a couple of questions -

Are the seats comfortable?

I was thinking of getting the diesel, but the 2.0 is also pretty good in terms of MPG and also keeps the cost down, what is the real world numbers that you guys get? My rav4 gives around 23 mpg, so anything similar would be fine with me.

I am thinking of not getting the nag, as I like using my iPhone for navigation.
The features that I am interested in are heated seats, and steering wheels, backup cam, comfort door access memory seats.

Also, could you guys help me understand what kind of price you have paid for the 2.0, and leasing rates.

Kobi's Q

Audi has both comfort (standard) and a sport seat upgrade, to me both are comfortable but your buttocks will tell you the truth which ones you like. I get 19-20 mpgs in stop in go - 22-25 mpgs in mixed and 28-33 mpg all highway so far in my first 8K of driving - I also live at over a mile high - might make a bit of difference.

I'm not sure how Audi has re-arranged their options for 2014, but on the 2013 you couldn't get the back up cam without the nav, and personally I would have had huge buyer remorse if I didn't pay for the Nav. Not that I wanted the Nav but the whole MMI controls that come with it is crucial for me at this price point. My first loaner was a Q5 without that I seriously thought I was driving a cheap car with really nice seats. Also a heating steering wheel wasn't an option for the P+ 2.0, not sure if that changed this year.

I didn't lease so can't add any input on that, I paid fairly close to MSRP as I didn't have any loyality discounts to offer them. Turned in a great running Ford though.

sid369

Thanks for your response. Do you find the seats comfortable? Are they the regular seats or did you get the Sport seat upgrade?

I see on the BMW forums they talk a lot of leasing and prices paid, but I haven't seen that in this forum? Don't Audi's have similar aggressive lease programs like BMW?

Any other comment by owners would be helpful.

soonerfan

My previous Q5 had the standard seats and I found them to be comfortable, even on some 10 hour drives. My 2014 has the sport seats and they are even better because of the thigh extension. Both seat heaters worked very well, but this new 2014 bun warmer is practically unbearable on the highest setting….I keep it turned down to 1 after the initial warm-up.
I think you'll be missing much if you skip the MMI/Nav. It was a no-brainer for me on the older Q, mainly due to the back-up camera and proximity sensors.
If you'll go to the Audi website, I believe you'll see some lease information.
Lastly, the 2.0/8-speed tranny with quattro is a fantastic drivetrain. Power is more than adequate and the mileage is very good.
Good hunting!

fsufan6000

I got the sport seats because I found they hug the body a little more. If you're doing a lot of short trips to and from work, the sport seats might not be that important. I got the sport seats because I'll be taking some longer trips.

I bought mine. You may want to check out the Edmunds Audi Q5 forum. http://forums.edmunds.com/discussions/tagged/audi/q5.

MP4.2+6.0

Seats: There are actually three: standard, sport and comfort. Comfort and standard/base aren't the same. I think the construction is probably similar, but the comfort ones are buried in the Comfort package--gets you ventilated seats and nicer leather seat wise. I have the Sport ones, and at 6'1" like the thigh extension. I have that on the A8, albeit there it is motorized. The thigh extension bridges from my height to my wife at 8" or so less. Don't be fooled by the term "Sport" either; these are no tight fitting Recaro's. Think Sport after more than a few "Supersizes." FWIW, while the Sport are functionally good, if I did it again I would actually search out the Comfort package and take a good look at it. The seat construction is all good but the leather quality/finish no better than what I would expect for the entry luxury class; probably not meaningfully different on an X3. When I looked, Comfort package equipped cars basically didn't exist on the lots so I couldn't find one to check it out.

Seat heating: in the US you get front but not back. There is no heated wheel in this whole class of Audi's--the Q5 and it's cousins in the smaller bodies. Have had seat heating all the way back to my 85 5000 (also Autobahn driven), and always nice to have.

MPG's: I have a Hybrid so not your straight 2.0T spec. Don't expect a regular 2.0T to match of a RAV 4 though, unless maybe you have a Toyota V6 there. The Audi is a heavier vehicle and has a real/permanent AWD system instead of a part time type like most any car based Toyota or Lexus. Those systems are adequate for basic snow traction and I had it on my Sienna AWD for plenty of years, but it isn't Quattro in terms of a high quality permanent system. They don't bear the same weight and drive friction penalties that Quattro does though either. Besides that drivetrain delta, frankly without an average speed and driving conditions comparable, you will get all kinds of answers on MPG's from low to high, and ones that will sometimes even be higher on a V6 and lower on a 4. Constant highway at mid speeds or open suburban is way different than urban or highly built up suburban. Few posts on MPGs or claims ever give this kind of info to get it more to the "does this sound like my world of driving?" At a more subtle level, if you get your MPG data off a display on the Toyota, my experience is they were laughably optimistic. Most are somewhat, but both my Toyota and Chrysler seemed almost intentionally overstated to increase the "feel good" factor even with mileage mediocrity.

One real world thing to watch: the 2.0T (and the Hybrid) should avoid being classed as a "performance vehicle" for insurance purposes. That costs real $ annually, especially if you have tickets or accidents on the record, so check it carefully if you start to wander up motor, at least on the Audi.

FWIW, we thought about the Lexus too (in Hybrid), and the X3. Lexus got knockd out early. It's clearly the longest of the bunch. Look at it; most of that space is behind the second seat in the cargo area. We didn't need that, nor want the extra length and overhang. We are no quasi empty nesters. And having driven the Sienna AWD for years (which underneath is essentially a quasi twin of the RX, and together with the Highlander stretched to 3 rows), I knew it was no Audi. Having had the Q5 all the way up speed wise on the Autobahns last summer over decent distances, there was no way in the world I could see (or want to do) that on the Sienna/RX platform. That puts aside that at 100K miles on the Sienna I saw some pretty disappointing and potentially dangerous stuff in the suspension wear I just would not put up with in an Audi. The current RX is also way long on the design lifecycle; feels like it a bit when I get in at the car shows. The Q5 has a couple more years to run, but I expect a revised RX sooner.

sid369

I just have to now test drive and see how the ride and comfort is on this car. I love the looks, wife also said that the moonroof looks amazing. Now does the size of the tire 18 vs 19 matter in the overall ride quality.

My RAV4 v6 actually had run flats and I think thats one of the reasons for a stiff ride. I don't want the same kinda ride from and Q5.

SeaBlue

Before I bought I drove a few Q5"s with 18"s and 19"s and I didn't feel much of a difference in ride. I ended up with Q that has 19"s because it was a color and interior we wanted.

MP4.2+6.0

Tire diameters also vary all over the map. I doubt a RAV4 would have a 29" diameter tire set up like the Q5 does. Thus at 19's, a Q5 is 235/55 19. A 55 is something like a performance minivan in this era to be honest. My A8 is on 35's and my old A6 was on 40's. The Mini S we own is on 45's. If your RAV4 is on something like 60's or 65's, that's akin to many regular minivan sorts of set ups, though RAV4 should be a fair amount lighter.

Run flats--yep, terrible ride. Well known for that. Sienna minivan had them (in about 225/60-17 IIRC). Having weighed the wheel assembly once, they were almost 20 pounds heavier than a non run flat Chrysler minivan in similar sizing. The 2010 Mini came with both run flats and a sport suspension, also in 17's; in 45's. Way less sidewa BMW's are infamous for lousy rides with run flats OE. Those went immediately (very expensive tires BTW), and ride improved a lot even with high performance summers (Michelin PS2's) and a sport suspension light years stiffer than a Q5.

Net, basically expect a nice ride in the Q5, albeit with a better performance feel than a Toyota product. The Toyota is really a class/quality level down anyway, so it will be a step up just from that. In my case, I've even moved from 19's to 20s, which took me from 55 series to 45 series with the width step up at the same time. Still a nice ride, just somewhat more controlled when you drive it at a more spirited level. And at 45's, these are really still at a "base" level of my more recent Audis of similar weight and size.

Q5 Bob

Same here. The dealer had a color combo and equipment we liked so we bought it with the 19's. We're satisfied with the ride of the 19's but that's subjective.