kreativecid

This is NOT to poo on anyone's choice of vehicles or badmouth our great vehicles. Merely a slow morning at the office posting about this weekend's tire kicking and being a passenger in friends' new vehicles.

Took SQ5 for complimentary oil change, and sat in a 2016 TTS. Wow, that new-style dash is nice! I'm a big fan of HUD, but the TTS's dash was sexy, simple and good looking. Can't wait for the 5 to get one.

I've been an MMI user since 2013, and have grown to appreciate its quirks. Did not realize how SLOW our initializing was until riding shotgun in two friends' new cars (a $40,000 2015 American full size truck and a $26,000 Japanese cuv). They'd get in and within a second the phone would sync and be ready to use, and their music streaming was up and playing. Touchscreen and/or buttons that turned the "right way." The cuv owner was in my SQ last week and couldn't believe her new iphone had no USB or the glovebox plug was for older Apple. Took us a while to get Audi BT to recognize her phone and then it would not easily swap back to mine. Frustrating to say the least.

And the steering wheel (heated!) controls of theirs made me look forward to the redesigned controls in the likes of the A4. Scan, fwd, rwd, volume all without taking hands off.

Again, not deal breakers and not crapping on our beloved German rides. Simply "oh, wow, that'd be nice in mine" observations. They, too, had many more favorable takeaways from my car.

ex-quattro PETE

Yeah, the Q5 was designed in what, 2007? When it comes to technology, that is a very very long time ago.

What was the CUV? Mazda CX5?

kreativecid

Yep, a CX5 with AWD. Even the C&D review mentions Audi MMI...

There are two USBs and an auxiliary jack in an easily accessible open storage bin beneath the center stack. Another console cubby is right-sized for the car’s key fob (push-button start is standard) or other small items. But the big change is the adoption of the new Mazda Connect infotainment system on all but the base model. It uses an Audi MMI–like multifunction control wheel on the console, so there’s less need to lean forward to access some of the old infotainment display’s hard buttons. The touch screen itself grows from 5.8 to 7.0 inches this year, making everything easier to read.

bob m

Nope, I don't see this as poo -pooing anything,its an honest assessment. Fact of the matter is, that the Q5 has many tech features that are outdated at best and annoying at worst. I saw that recently up close and personal while looking at the MB CLS Macan and even the X3 to a certain extent. But to me, it the Q5's many other virtues that are making me choose another new Q5 over the others.

snagitseven

This is an old press release but it showcases the new MIB-2 MMI system already found in MY2016 C7s, TTs and MY2017 Q7. The MY2017 Q5 series should have this latest tech with the next year model.

https://www.audiusa.com/newsroom/new...ected-car-expo

Q5 Bob

This seems like an honest assessment. The Q5 is in its 8th model year which is a long time in the automotive world, and a REAL long time from a technology standpoint. As mentioned, it does have other virtues which have helped it to age gracefully and remain quite competitive in the segment.

kitsVA

VW Tiguan is also very old design(2008?) but their current US models have navigation upgraded to Android Auto and iPhone CarPlay. Tiguan dash design didn't change from it's introduction yet they were able to get USB port and Android Auto.

Comming to technologies, the 2017 Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage have amazing features with high resolution screens but the interior design and quality doesn't suit my taste.

JimVonBaden

Yeah, the Nav system is antiquated and slow. My $100 Garmin is FAR faster and easier to use, and yes, a heated steering wheel would be nice. But, for a 2016, in every other way, I really like the Q5.

Coolieman1220

A buddy of mine just bought a 2016 Mazda 3. It has some pretty cool feature. Now my 335d is a 2010 and it has had those features for many years prior. Also my 335d is worth 17k now while his Mazda 3 is worth 27k. It's all relative.

AUDIIOS

It's tempting, to be sure. We're a 2 Audi family at the moment, thinking our money is better allocated as a 1 Audi family, maybe an S4 or S5 plus something high utility like our Q5 but cheaper. It will likely be the Tucson or CX-5 but admittedly have driven neither. A fully optioned Tucson without AWD (who are we kidding that's not AWD) will likely be $13k less than my Q5, and add nav, backup camera, cooled seats, heated rear seats, and probably a few other things. We can flip that "equity" into a really nice Audi that will be an upgrade on our current A4 Quattro without spending more than we currently do. Admittedly, would also not even be thinking about selling my Q5 if it weren't about to exit the factory warranty. I've paid for Audi repairs on two previous vehicles and it's not where I want to spend my money. Tucson will be under warranty as long as I would want to own it.