mafpolo

Should I buy a Q5? My wife drives an Audi A8. We've had it a while (2005 model), and it has been great. Just a couple of problems, which were taken care of by CPO. They didn't seem like much - replacement of rear sunshade, and trunk motor, but if I had t pay for them, they would have been expensive. We are both creatures of habit....I wanted to buy her an A8 Diesel (CPO) this year. I found two that were perfect for her, but she said she still likes her car.

I have a 2002 Lexus LS430 Ultra Luxury that is in incredible condition (nobody believes me when I say it is twelve years old. I have 87,000 on mine, and the 90k service is $2,000. I would like to get back into an SUV. I like the Q5 (if the Q7 did not have air suspension I would consider it too), but I want to know how reliable they are?

Thoughts and opinions please. I will probably buy a 2013 CPO
Thanks

Q5 Bob

From their Owner Surveys, Consumer Reports says the Reliability of the Q5 is up to Average. Previously was Below Average. Ours is 2 years old (low mileage) with no problems.

davey001

'14TDI here and humbly submitting a complete 6 months of fault free most pleasurable driving. I inherited a window operation issue at delivery which was fixed rapidly at the first service from my stealer-ship. Looking forward to the Thanksgiving snow and handling in it now.

idale

There hasn't seemed to be much in the way of real problems on the Q5 (with the exception of any carbon buildup issues on the 3.2, which going for 2013 you wouldn't have a choice of anyway). There's a few people who've had issues over the years but nothing particularly widespread. Having an A8 then you're already familiar with maintaining a German car (keep on top of things and you shouldn't have much in the way of trouble), so there shouldn't be much issue there in swapping over from your LS.

There's always the odd vehicle out there with more issues than is typical, but usually you'd expect problems to come up within the warranty period, especially if you go CPO with the extended warranty. By and large the Q5 seems to be a reliable vehicle, so that shouldn't be a concern for making the switch. More an issue of how they drive/feel to you and if they fill your needs adequately.

Are you looking to go SUV/CUV just to try and get a higher driving position back? More cargo room? Hauling? Just tired of the sedan look? The Q5 is effectively the CUV version of the A4 allroad (raised A4 Avant, a little taller, and shorter in length). I think it's a great size personally, big enough to have some room inside but not so big it's hard to deal with parking. And the Q5 has a number of options the A4 variants don't have (non-2.0T engines and some of the features), so that's nice. For me, my Q5 TDI was the only vehicle that was able to really hit all the priorities I was aiming for, so it's good that getting one worked out for me otherwise I don't know what I would've had to compromise on.

Dalancroft

I say go for it! Great vehicle. I bought a 2011 CPO late last year with 36K miles. 45K now, absolutely zero issues.

Hockeymonkey

I also bought my wife a '15 Q5 TDI and we love it. On the reliability front, I think "average" reliability is fair and while my current Q5 has had no issues (it is still very new).
Just remember that while Lexus is usually bullet-proof, at some point all cars will need major service and parts replacements. Lexus is just as expensive as Audi/BMW/Mercedes when it comes to this.
Probably the biggest selling point for me is design (inside and out) and the TDI engine for its awesome combo of power and incredible efficiency. Lexus does not have that unless you go hybrid and that comes with another whole host of issues.
Go for the TDI....just my two cents.

uberwgn

The newest surveys I've seen place Audi (USA) close to the top of the heap...even Consumers Distort shows them at the #4 or #5 slot.

hitchens97

I did some research on CR before - I have a subscription.

For 2015 the predicted reliability was

Q5 2.0 - Average
Q5 TDI - Above Average
Q5 3.0T - Way Above Average

uberwgn

My mention is just generic "Audi USA", not Q5 specific.

Q5 Bob

That's what I saw too.

As a brand, Audi is ranked #5 (down one spot from last year) in the Annual Reliability Survey by CR.