opus360

Please help us decide if the Q5/compact SUV is the right size for our use or if a mid-size SUV (Q7, Acura MDX size) is a better choice. We keep our cars for a long time, 10-20 years, so more planning is needed than usual.


Wife and I are planning to have kids soon, mostly likely two, three max. She drives a small crossover and I drive a family sedan. This SUV will become the main family car, and will be driven by the wife. Initially, we thought a Q5 size/compact size will be perfect due to ease of parking. She likes smaller cars as well. Then, we were wondering if the Q5 offers enough space for two kids (two teens down the road) and two adults. To those with two or three kids/teens, what is your experience with the Q5 as a family hauler?

hmn4858

I debated between the q5 and the q7. I really didn't care for the 3rd row in the q7 and when up there's not much storage space. I decided on the Q5 when i only had one child and was planning on having one more. I love the q5 and am trying everything to stay in the car. I have a 3 year old and two one year olds. Current set up, have a sunshine in the center and two chicco infant carriers on the outboards. I still want the little ones rear facing so I'm currently having an issue with either the car seat is too wide (Britax) or it leans back to far (sunshine). Sunshine makes an angle adjuster so I'll find out wed if it's doable or if I need to get a shorter seat or worst case a different car.

Besides having issues with seats I can't complain about the storage. I took the rear cover out and keep a bob duelle in the back permanently. Going shopping at bjs/target/grocery and have yet to have an issue with storage. As far as long term, it would probably be a bit tight though for teens. I doubt they'd want to be that squished together if you have three. I see a minivan in my future but I'm going to put it off as long as possible. If I had to do it over with three kids, I wouldn't have purchased it.

kleinbus

Q5 is roomy enough for two adults and kiddo. Plenty room on backseat for adult and baby seat.

Two adults and two baby seats doesn't work as backseat doesn't have enough room for two baby seats and one adult.

Like hmn wrote, with 3 kids you better start looking minivan....

opus360

In the backseat, 3 car seats are too tight, but two would be fine.

I am a little confuse here. Does two baby seats in the back work well?

HotRodW

I'm impressed you've been able to hold on to the Q5 with three little ones. Although I'm an empty nester myself, I have several friends and family members that purchased a two-row SUV/CUV thinking that's all they needed. Only one couple has managed to make that work for them (Grand Cherokee), but then they are a little too image-conscious for their own good. Even with the sizable cargo area in the GC, they still find it a challenge to haul all their stuff. All the others have all gone to a minivan or three-row utility vehicle. One of my oldest friends - a self-proclaimed minivan hater - just gave in and purchased an Odyssey . . . and he has just one toddler. Traveling with young ones today requires lots of cargo capacity. You need room for strollers, playpens, diaper bags, etc. With no more than two children, I think most can probably get by with a bigger two-row utility if it has a sizable cargo area, but it's hard to be the convenience of a minivan.

johncaravello

My word of advice is to before you buy anything put a rear facing seat in the back and then get in the front seat and make sure you can move the seat back far enough to be comfortable. Make sure you test both drivers and passengers side in the event of two (anything is possible). Check front legroom for all possible drivers.Those seats take up much more room than you think they do.

kleinbus

It depends the age as with infant one adult usually sits next to kiddo (often it's the mother) and no way my tiny wife would try to squeeze herself between two carseats as the backseat is too narrow for that.

Maybe there is spot for 10 minute drive to go to groceries but our "drive" is often more than 2 hours so just an tiny spot is not that comfortable for long distance trip....

alatsacto

I think this is a good test. I am a self-proclaimed hater of the minivans. I've driven my parents' minivan too many times. We'll see how it goes, but for now I refuse to purchase a minivan. For now, I've only considered SUVs. We currently don't have any kids, but these were the exact questions we had when trying to decide which car to get to eventually start a family. We're aiming for 2 kids in a few years, so I'm thinking it should be okay with the Q5. Luckily my fiance and I are not that tall (5' and 5'8" respectively), so there seems to be plenty of leg room in the back when I've tried adjusting the seats to our needs.

So from the sounds of others, fitting two car seats and an adult in the back is not very comfortable? We LOVE the Q5 and think the Q7 is too big, so we're aiming to get the 2013 Q5 in September, so I hope this will work.

The G Man

Too bad Audi doesnt make a minivan

cptkloss

We're in the same situation right now (2 adults + 2 young children - 3 and 1 year old). Q5 is sufficient for everything but the long (i mean like in vacations, where you have to pack a lot of stuff) trips. 30 qft of storage with seats up can only go so far. Stroller + playpen and a couple of bags fits just fine. it's a tough one. In our situation, that means it's perfect for 98% of the time. Is it worth getting a bigger vehicle for that 2%? For us it wasnt. You can get some external storage if needed (roof, trailer hitch mounted...there are options)

We are looking for another vehicle (mainly for my commute - around 20k miles of highways a year) that is inexpensive, AWD, fuel efficient and safe. And at the same time roomier than Q5 - Tested KIA Sorento and Honda CR-V... Sorento is big, 4-cyl is bad on fuel, CR-V is quintessential no frill car, but got everything one need to drive, and is getting 30+ mpg on highway and surprisingly roomy cargo space (37qft)