SQive

Careful Dennis...you're showing your age.

ELEVENS

Bloomberg did a piece on Hybrids, specifically the Prius. It cautioned potential Prius buyers NOT to get our their calculators. The payback was 30 years when compared to an equivalent gasoline car. Diesels are in a completely different league of course and bring some very compelling features, but don't get your calculator out, at least not with oil at $55 a barrel.

Q5 Bob

Amen. There is no right or wrong choice. Just enjoy what you have.

idale

Here in Texas, both have been falling. Petrol a bit faster, but as I'd mentioned before petrol is much more volatile than diesel prices. If you're in parts of the Midwest that use heating oil (something we have none of down here), then that would likely be the sole reason why your diesel is rising and is independent of any changes in crude pricing.

They're both top-notch engines, and I expect off the line the TDI would beat out the 3.0T and possibly the SQ5. Of course that lead wouldn't last too long (especially against the S), but to normal surface speeds diesel is likely quickest. And keep in mind the RoW S is a diesel and is even faster than the petrol version (by a whole 0.2 seconds, but still)... though it cheats a bit in having two turbos so it's able to extend the peak torque range even more.

And I would say that the TDI just doesn't agree with your concepts of what "performance" should be, not that it doesn't operate on a similar level (or god forbid is just like a truck where a lot of those have tons of torque but not in a usable range). You get your torque early, and on the TDI even D will keep you in your power band for the most part, unlike the 3.0T where to get into all the torque you might need to downshift or be in S to keep the revs up.

The 3.0T will be able to rev more, and a lot of people like that (though VAG buyers rarely overlap with the Honda crowd of wanting obscene redlines, and VAG's turbo tuning is very diesel-like in the power band setup), so that's where the TDI wouldn't necessarily align.

The fun doesn't stop as such on the TDI, you just fail to upshift and fall off the edge of the curve -- you just keep bumping the gear up and the engine will keep giving you power until you're in 8th and have fallen off then end. If you do it right, you'll probably feel constant acceleration while you're able to keep it up, instead of feeling some fluctuation. At least for me, my fun only stops because I don't want to exceed the speed limits too much. But everyone's different.

Doesn't hold for all parts of the country, however, as places like here in Texas don't use heating oil and we have no swings in diesel pricing between summer and winter. It's definitely something for people to be expecting in areas that do use heating oil (which I believe is No. 1 diesel vs. the No. 2 highway diesel -- it's supposedly possible to run a diesel engine on heating oil, but it's not legal because the heating oil hasn't had road taxes applied).

Prius doesn't really get any better mileage than a comparable subcompact, it's a pretty bad buy, yeah.....

Definitely the moral of the story here.

gojones

In Alabama Diesel and Premium run neck and neck. That considered, I didn't by the 2015 Q5 TDI for economy. Nothing I have ever driven compares to the power band you get with this diesel. I was sold the very first time I test drove. I think Audi builds one of the best turbo diesels around. I was not worried about the cost of gas when I made this purchase, it just made it nice to have both power and mileage and diesel was virtually the same cost as premium.

perlfather

Do not forget one of the main advantages of the TDI- far fewer stops to refuel. So all things being similar you fill up about 40% less frequently. For some of us this is a big advantage!

ferenc

so, let me get your math straight here:
the tdi gets 24/31 mpg
the hybrid gets 24/30 mpg.

so just how many 'far fewer stops to refuel?'

actually, considering the relative unavailability of diesel, i'd think you'd fill up a lot more often out of fear of running out !

enjoy,
ferenc
ps also, diesel costs 30% more here than premium ...

tisi_03

I bought an Audi Q5 TDI because IMO it's the best diesel engine available here in the U.S. If an Audi owner is so preoccupied with gas mileage, why are you buying such an expensive vehicle. If you can afford the vehicle, you can't afford the fuel? Buy the engine that you like the most. It's nice to get 33 mpg on the highway, but I bought the TDI for the engine characteristics.

acadianbob

Buy the TDI if you like its drive characteristics. But the 3.0T outperforms it. Considering the extra purchase price and the fact that diesel is $1.00 a gallon more than premium here right now, there is no economic benefit. TDI owners, I'm not knocking your car; it's wonderful.

tisi_03

I agree acadianbob, my point is you can't go wrong with any of the engine choices. This is my first diesel in any vehicle I've bought and I like everything about the engine. Almost bought a Passat TDI last year but I didn't like the way the drivers seat adjusted. Something as simple as that. We're all driving Q5s so we know what the vehicle is like. My Altima 3.5L gives me all the speed I need if I need to go faster than the TDI.