leftfield

Long time lurker here ... we looked at and drove a Q5 tdi about a month ago and was impressed with the car and VERY impressed with the motor . My wifes concern was that we are country folks who have a 2 mile gravel driveway ( a very nice , smooth and well maintained driveway ) , and the Q5 was just too nice a rig to use in that fashion .

We are folks that put a ton of miles on our rigs ... her Duramax averages about 28,000 mi per year , being used as a truck and a family ' do it all' . The TDI motor is what did it for me and admittedly it is packaged in a much nicer vehicle than we really needed , but hey ... living well is the best revenge , right ?

I have spent many hours on this forum and it has made my first Audi purchase feel not nearly so 'blind' as it would've been without . I have had a new Benz and a new Beemer in the past , but this is my first Audi .

So when she arrived home tonite to find a Florett Silver , Black , Tech pkge , B & O with tow hitch ... she was more that surprised and plenty happy !! One thing is certain ... it is a good thing that I have a couple of teenagers to help us figure out how to operate it .

So with all of 151 miles of Audi ownership under my belt , I ( we ) are completely smitten by our ( her ) new ride .

I do wish that a factory remote starter was available ... both our trucks have them and we have grown very fond on getting in a rig that it toasty warm and ready to roll . To those that wonder why anyone would want one ... well , you just don't know what you just don't know ... :>)

Thank you to all who contribute !!!

- B -

Congrats on the new ride! Sounds like a nice surprise.

SamLV

Cool gift that keeps on giving. And when you borrow it, ahhhhh

Kfh5465

Keep us updated (or at least me!) on how things go with the Q. I posted a while back my questions/concerns about the a Q (or possibly SQ) in a very similar situation as yours (lots of miles and a decent amount of gravel roads - although mine sound a bit more daunting than yours). I very curious to see what you think after 20k miles, which would be about the time I'll be thinking about ordering.

leftfield

Hey thanks everyone !! Problem is ... I am gonna want one of my own now . KFH ... I will report back with the ' gravel road report ' from time to time ... you are welcome to pm me any time you want ( I assume that this forum allows it ) . Without seeing your road , my hunch is that you will be just fine and maybe slowing down a bit will feel appropriate . One thing is certain already ... the solidity of the rig certainly gives you a ' hell for stout ' impression . We actually considered a Subaru Outback , but after driving one we were both left with a ' this thing will be worn out in no time ' feeling . I am sure that our impression is not accurate as the Outback has a solid reputation for longevity ... but there was a light , nimble , skittery feel nonetheless . BTW ... we did get the mud guards which while I was afraid would be an eyesore and would look outta place ... They look fine ... if you aren't looking for them , you would never even notice them .

hilld

Congrats and I bet you scored some serious points with the much better half.

I used to have a 1/4 mile gravel road and keeping the rides clean during the summer months was a bit of a challenge. In order to help keep it clean, look into a coating such as OptiCoat Pro, or CQuartz and do some sort of XPel film especially near the wheels. Not sure if you have an S-line or 20" inch wheels, but then factory mudflaps are not possible, but some sort of aftermarket protection might come in handy.

Again, congrats and enjoy riding shotgun or borrowing the car from the wife.