Reggie

No offense to anyone with a TDI but I love gas powered cars - the less response with diesel engines and the sounds just are a turnoff to me. That said the Audi cars with diesel are amazing. The mpg a car gets has never been a criteria that played into my choice of car nor do I tow anything.

ferenc

Money is a factor, but not the only one when it comes to a car purchase. There are safety, comfort, reliability, personal taste, and features/options factors in choosing a car.

MPG can be a financial factor, but for many, such as my family, a gas guzzler goes against our grain - it is not ecologically sound and responsible.

Enjoy,
Ferenc

Sugadaddy

I drove and enjoyed both, I actually wanted a TDI at first since they're so close in performance and it has better mpg. But I did the math and they cost about the same in the end as the TDI's higher price canceled the fuel savings for my usage.

Anyways, your "butt dyno" might tell you otherwise because the TDI has so much torque, but the 3.0T is slightly faster. I also prefer a supercharger over a turbo engine. They're both great cars, buy what you like...

DimaA6_ABC_Kiev

I would not trust hybrid numbers. If you drive on a highway without applying brakes, it will burn as much as regular gas car or even more, considering extra weigth. Only real plug-in hybrid could burn less fuel at a cost of time for charging the batteries and ability to be plugged in for many hours.

Coolieman1220

the hybrid gets combined 26, the diesel combined of 27. The combined number is much more accurate for real world use. my signature alone will show you my mileage numbers. and diesel is readily available at most stations so that's not too much of a worry.

Not sure where you live but here in NJ where I fill up diesel and premium are almost the same.

imdakine1

I live in CA which is notorious for high gas prices but over the past several months have seen the decline in gas just like the rest of the US. I love my 2014 Q5 TDI and would definitely buy it again. I live in Santa Cruz where subarus, VW sportwagons, and VW TDIs are very popular. I can't think of a better combination an AWD car with TDI!

ferenc

it's healthy to be suspect.

i can let you know once we fill up for the first time - it's about half way through the first tank, expecting a range of 662 miles (if i read it correctly). this includes extensive sitting in the driveway and playing with the buttons.

the driving has been 2/3 highway.

just a single point of information,
ferenc

Q5 Bob

It's interesting to note that the Lexus RXh AWD is rated at 30/28/29.

It's larger and has a V6 vs. the Q5 Hybrid 24/30/26 w/4 cyl. turbo.

DennisMitchell

Prior to the 2010 Q5 we had a 2006 Lexus RX400h. The best MPG was during the summer of about 27 mpg. During the winter it dropped to 21 mpg. So disappointing that we went with the 2010 Q5 3.2 and didn't do much worse on mpg.

Perhaps Lexus is doing much better these days, or maybe the EPA is overstated.

I love the TDI, especially the driving range of a fuel up.

RobC

I don't know the reason, but but I find the EPA numbers for diesels typically are pessimistic while gasoline tends to be optimistic. My highway fuel mileage tends to be in the 33-35 MPG range when behaving, and closer to 30-31 when I'm pushing it. But I don't do a lot of highway driving and I'm averaging 27 MPG for mostly city driving and the Q5 typically isn't driven sedately. The S6 on the other hand is rated 17/27 and I tend to run closer to 16 MPG for most tanks.

I've always been a spirited driver and the Q5 TDI is the first vehicle I've owned whose fuel mileage tipped towards the high side of EPA ratings for a given driving style.