At 2 months in at just 900 miles, and as a 1st time Audi owner coming from Lexus and Alfa, I thought I'd post my thoughts on how the Audi and SQ5 experience is going - will be a long post......
A long time ago, when I was much more junior, I was taken out by a supplier in his V6 TDI A6 saloon, I enjoyed the car more than the lunch I think and vowed that a big Audi was something I wanted at some point in the future. Father in law has 3 Audi's and I like the brand, almost bought a A6 Avant in the past but the deal didn't align and I bought another Lexus, then ticked off an Alfa, but now find myself in a SQ5 TDI Vorsprung Edition.
I didn't intend buying one so quickly, but following a trip to Scotland in the Alfa Stelvio and my wife complaining again about the rather busy ride on 20's with non-adaptive dampers, I started trawling through Autotrader and found that there were deals to be done on Q5 stock cars at the local dealers.
Cue a trip to my local Audi dealer in Tyneside and they had a stock new SQ5 Vorprung Ed on the forecourt with a very good initial discount and more importantly, all the toys and features I wanted. It needed to have adaptive, ideally air suspension, pano roof, adaptive cruise, and a 6 cylinder engine, heated electric seats and anything else was a bonus. Buoyed by a favourable price for the Alfa through WBAC, and a good deal from Audi, with additional man maths, a deal was struck. As a Vorsprung Ed, it has virtually every option available, including some that were options even on the Vorsprung spec, but it does have some noticeable omissions, more later.
Good:
Comfort - ride quality after the Alfa is night and day, even with larger 21's, the air suspension is brilliant at reducing the crashes and bangs of our pock-marked roads, it is so much more composed. Tyre roar and general quietness in the cabin is great too. The seats are super comfortable, being electrically adjustable, with heat and massage, the wife was sold as soon as she sat in, given she was very lukewarm leading up to the test drive!
Toys - don't want for anything really ( well a couple of things maybe!) and after I've read the manual and spent a few hours working out the systems, I think I have the hang of it all now. The active cruise with Lane keep assist, sign recognition and traffic jam detection, means the car virtually drives itself on motorways, and it is sensible with it too, without too much sensor drama and odd detections that I had on the Lexus from a few years ago. The Pano roof is great, don't think I'd have a car without now, 360 camera's likewise and the matrix lights seem great too, but haven't had much time night driving to really test them. I am also really liking the virtual cockpit, and I'm glad I have the older model with the pad/wheel/button combinations rather than the touch screen - hate finger prints on the screen!
Performance etc - plenty, more than plenty, almost too quick in some instances. The wall of torque that the V6 produces is awesome - 550lbft/700NM - just glad it has quattro! This car has the quattro sport diff as well. I haven't driven a normal car, but understanding now what it is meant to do and having tried in the dry, some enthusiastic driving on empty Northumberland roads, it does seem to match the marketing material, where it still delivers that rear biased, line tightening feeling. I also quite like the sound it makes (I know it is artificial) and a few people have commented - subtle, understated, but undoubtedly a bigger motor. And MPG even with Covid short journeys is great I think for what it is.
Annoying - but not bad yet:
Gearbox - sometimes its brilliant, other times it is so slow to make up its mind or engage a gear it is infuriating. Arriving at junctions and then not quite stopping is its worst. Its like the clutch is slipping, then woooooff a big thud of power. It is something I will be mentioning to the dealer in a while, hoping there is a SW update for it like some of the A4/5/6/7 models. Also while on the gearbox - the nasty plastic gearshift paddles on the back of the lovely steering wheel. Having come from the Alfa with its wonderfully tactile, large aluminium paddles, fixed to the column, Ferrari style, with such a satisfying mechanism, the Audi is an afterthought, just horrible.
Missing toys, I thought this was the Vorspung spec? - Spent hours looking for the heated steering wheel button, till eventually worked out you couldn't ever have one. Eh?!? Also, one of the few options mine didn't get is the Storage pack. This is still an option on the Vorsprung edition, mine doesn't have it and to say the interior of the Q5 has an abundance of storage is quite the understatement. Should be standard on every model! I won't mention the lack of external exhaust tips either, ho-hum......
CarPlay and Audi infotainment system - the way Audi have added Carplay is like an afterthought, its a bolt on, just not integrated into the car. In the Alfa, which also had Carplay and isn't universally loved, the whole system flowed and worked seamlessly, you could use the inbuilt sat-nav or the carplay one, the inbuilt phone interface or the carplay one, music too, all great. Audi, plug in the phone for carplay, disables the Audi phone display on the dash, WTF! I've got to say its almost too complicated - there are so many options for playing music - Bluetooth, Wifi, SD1 SD2, Phone 1, Phone 2, Audi Connect, Audi Phone - its a bit silly. I'm also not a fan of the B&O stereo so far. 19 speakers, and it is so woolly in the midrange. I keep adjusting settings and very occasionally 1 track will sound amazing, but most are pretty average. I'm hoping it needs more time, but not a fan so far.
So - I am loving the car, last couple have been kept for 18 and 24mths, but think this one will be a long termer. Have already started looking for a set of black badges to complete the black pack look and carbon mirror covers - one of the final missing options. Just waiting to get back to being able to drive it properly and at distance again!
A long time ago, when I was much more junior, I was taken out by a supplier in his V6 TDI A6 saloon, I enjoyed the car more than the lunch I think and vowed that a big Audi was something I wanted at some point in the future. Father in law has 3 Audi's and I like the brand, almost bought a A6 Avant in the past but the deal didn't align and I bought another Lexus, then ticked off an Alfa, but now find myself in a SQ5 TDI Vorsprung Edition.
I didn't intend buying one so quickly, but following a trip to Scotland in the Alfa Stelvio and my wife complaining again about the rather busy ride on 20's with non-adaptive dampers, I started trawling through Autotrader and found that there were deals to be done on Q5 stock cars at the local dealers.
Cue a trip to my local Audi dealer in Tyneside and they had a stock new SQ5 Vorprung Ed on the forecourt with a very good initial discount and more importantly, all the toys and features I wanted. It needed to have adaptive, ideally air suspension, pano roof, adaptive cruise, and a 6 cylinder engine, heated electric seats and anything else was a bonus. Buoyed by a favourable price for the Alfa through WBAC, and a good deal from Audi, with additional man maths, a deal was struck. As a Vorsprung Ed, it has virtually every option available, including some that were options even on the Vorsprung spec, but it does have some noticeable omissions, more later.
Good:
Comfort - ride quality after the Alfa is night and day, even with larger 21's, the air suspension is brilliant at reducing the crashes and bangs of our pock-marked roads, it is so much more composed. Tyre roar and general quietness in the cabin is great too. The seats are super comfortable, being electrically adjustable, with heat and massage, the wife was sold as soon as she sat in, given she was very lukewarm leading up to the test drive!
Toys - don't want for anything really ( well a couple of things maybe!) and after I've read the manual and spent a few hours working out the systems, I think I have the hang of it all now. The active cruise with Lane keep assist, sign recognition and traffic jam detection, means the car virtually drives itself on motorways, and it is sensible with it too, without too much sensor drama and odd detections that I had on the Lexus from a few years ago. The Pano roof is great, don't think I'd have a car without now, 360 camera's likewise and the matrix lights seem great too, but haven't had much time night driving to really test them. I am also really liking the virtual cockpit, and I'm glad I have the older model with the pad/wheel/button combinations rather than the touch screen - hate finger prints on the screen!
Performance etc - plenty, more than plenty, almost too quick in some instances. The wall of torque that the V6 produces is awesome - 550lbft/700NM - just glad it has quattro! This car has the quattro sport diff as well. I haven't driven a normal car, but understanding now what it is meant to do and having tried in the dry, some enthusiastic driving on empty Northumberland roads, it does seem to match the marketing material, where it still delivers that rear biased, line tightening feeling. I also quite like the sound it makes (I know it is artificial) and a few people have commented - subtle, understated, but undoubtedly a bigger motor. And MPG even with Covid short journeys is great I think for what it is.
Annoying - but not bad yet:
Gearbox - sometimes its brilliant, other times it is so slow to make up its mind or engage a gear it is infuriating. Arriving at junctions and then not quite stopping is its worst. Its like the clutch is slipping, then woooooff a big thud of power. It is something I will be mentioning to the dealer in a while, hoping there is a SW update for it like some of the A4/5/6/7 models. Also while on the gearbox - the nasty plastic gearshift paddles on the back of the lovely steering wheel. Having come from the Alfa with its wonderfully tactile, large aluminium paddles, fixed to the column, Ferrari style, with such a satisfying mechanism, the Audi is an afterthought, just horrible.
Missing toys, I thought this was the Vorspung spec? - Spent hours looking for the heated steering wheel button, till eventually worked out you couldn't ever have one. Eh?!? Also, one of the few options mine didn't get is the Storage pack. This is still an option on the Vorsprung edition, mine doesn't have it and to say the interior of the Q5 has an abundance of storage is quite the understatement. Should be standard on every model! I won't mention the lack of external exhaust tips either, ho-hum......
CarPlay and Audi infotainment system - the way Audi have added Carplay is like an afterthought, its a bolt on, just not integrated into the car. In the Alfa, which also had Carplay and isn't universally loved, the whole system flowed and worked seamlessly, you could use the inbuilt sat-nav or the carplay one, the inbuilt phone interface or the carplay one, music too, all great. Audi, plug in the phone for carplay, disables the Audi phone display on the dash, WTF! I've got to say its almost too complicated - there are so many options for playing music - Bluetooth, Wifi, SD1 SD2, Phone 1, Phone 2, Audi Connect, Audi Phone - its a bit silly. I'm also not a fan of the B&O stereo so far. 19 speakers, and it is so woolly in the midrange. I keep adjusting settings and very occasionally 1 track will sound amazing, but most are pretty average. I'm hoping it needs more time, but not a fan so far.
So - I am loving the car, last couple have been kept for 18 and 24mths, but think this one will be a long termer. Have already started looking for a set of black badges to complete the black pack look and carbon mirror covers - one of the final missing options. Just waiting to get back to being able to drive it properly and at distance again!
