It's junk
The vehicle is an electrical nightmare.
Dealer repair costs are outrageous.
Parts are very expensive.
We regret very much buying this computerized nightmare.
It's way over rated and we would never touch an Audi again.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 31st October, 2023
The leather interior is fine, but the car doesn't deliver much more luxury for its price tag
Nothing.
First of all, the Audi seats (leather) are not so comfortable, too much on the stiff side. The Q5 ride is also on the stiff side, yet it handles well road irregularities.
The Q5 is quite spacious. The visibility in the Q5 is poor, especially in the rear and driver's side.
The Q5 has a central command panel overly complex. In fact, it is so complicated, I prefer doing the adjustments when the car is at rest, so I can keep driving safely. The plastics on the dash board and the central panel also look quite cheap, especially the dash board looks like some Korean import, despite the red digital display.
Driving position is OK. The car handles quite well, it's not spectacular, but it feels like a smaller (sedan) car, which is a good point.
Where the Audi Q5 clearly lacks is the engine-transmission power. The automatic transmission simply doesn't match the engine. The automatic transmission hesitates at low speed. The engine also lacks power at low speed. The turbo is very powerful (and noisy), but kicks in way too late, only under strong acceleration.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 2nd June, 2011
A few months later.
Overall, this is a pleasant car without major issues, except the central radio/venting system, which like I said it's overly complex and not adapted to be used while driving, and the rather stiff ride over street bumps (my old Passat was much smoother in similar conditions).
The car gets very good mileage on the highway and it's generally very quiet. One note about the original Continental CrossContact LX tires. Those are low end tires, not worth using on a car this price. When the car was equipped for the winter with a different brand of quality winter tires, the steering was much more responsive and the car was more comfortable.
Finally, Audi should redesign the the rear luggage cover (it opens right on my head when the hatch is open) and the light switch located near the steering wheel; it gets kicked by the knees when getting inside the car.
The vehicle overall is nice, so far. The problem I have is with Audi
There is a design flaw in the cargo hatch area that allows water, snow, dirt and salt from roads to run into the cargo area. This makes the sides of the area dirty and stained. What occurs is, that when the hatch is opened, even when you brush the snow off, the water etc. comes over the hatch seal and hinges into the area. It even comes onto the cargo cover. It gets really messy. Especially for a vehicle of this, supposed, quality.
Audi will not do anything about it, stating that it is operating properly. I don't think so. I can't use the cargo area in wet weather, unless I want to clean the cargo area every time. When I had a problem with my BMW, even though it was out of warranty, they stood behind it. Audi better wake up and treat their customers better.
The car is quick.
It's roomy in the front seat.
Rides nice.
It's comfortable and pleasing to the eye.
The dash and controls take awhile to get used to.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 27th July, 2010
I'd like to add that the car is also roomy on the rear seat. Perhaps not enough for three adults, but the leg room is just fine. I'm 6'2" and even when the driver's seat is adjusted for my legs, I can still take place on the rear seat and have enough leg room with a few extra free inches.
I have had a number of rear hatch models, including crossovers. In bad weather I open the rear doors and load. It's easy and I fold the seats down if necessary and reset them up. Keeps snow and rain out of a huge rear opening. Don't know why you didn't consider this.
Great performance.. unmatched interior
The brakes on the car seem to be upgraded to reflect the performance you felt from the power train. Acceptable, but can be better..
This is a total performance car.. the engine, transmission and exterior/ interior are fantastic..
Turns heads everywhere with new LED nights.. It's a stand out on the road.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 5th December, 2009
The original review owner. Just want to add a few points.
The car has very poor rear visibility. If you don't feel comfortable with this when parking or in traffic, think twice.
After all this time, the central console controls are still a mystery. It is a pain to figure out just how to turn the vents down a little bit. Terrible engineering of rendering simple systems more and more complex at usage (I'm an engineer myself, and I think no matter how complex a system is, the user interface should always be the easiest possible. I just can't stand engineering departments who don't work together with some ergonomic designer).
The seats are relatively stiff, but you never feel tired on a long trip.
The car has very good traction in snow and is very stable on winter roads, assuming it is equipped with proper winter tires. Climbing snowy slopes is absolutely no issue. Braking in snow is not so great because the ABS takes forever to stop on slippery roads during an emergency braking. It is better to depress the braking pedal just before the ABS kicks in; the braking distances get shorter this way.
4th Nov 2023, 17:01
Audi have always been notoriously expensive to fix, just like BMW and Mercedes. You want a premium German car, you pay. I'm not defending them (they are a little overpriced and overrated to say the least) but they are nice cars when running correctly.