Originally Posted by Transfer

I'm mostly interested in the transmission and suspension. Those are my only complaints with my 2014 SQ5. Did you drive one with air suspension? How does the transmission programming compare to the 1st gen in D mode? Better downshift blips in manual?

Originally Posted by JasonJ

Love my '14 SQ5...

Love it!

Jason

Originally Posted by UHackenberg

I'm definitely with ya - posted this in the MK II section this morning:

Thread: 2018 SQ5 - not impressed

I think the originator touched on some important topics here so no need to flame. I had the pleasure of having a 2018 SQ5 for the weekend, and unfortunately I have to concur w/some of what was talked about. I've had 4 Generations of Audi's [not all Q's - my 14 SQ5 is my 1st Q5], and I have to say that this is the 1st time I've felt less than impressed w/this new generation overall - unlike prior were each new generation was a clear upgrade/improvement across the board.

Likes:
- MMI/Telematics integration - probably one of the best systems out there.
- B&O - great upgrade from the last system, that was great as well.
- The overall look is growing on me and that's good.
- Air suspension is fantastic and makes great work of the 21” rims.
- Assembly quality seems very Audi, but time will give a clearer picture on this.

Likes/Dislikes
- The floating screen is surprisingly effective and not as crappy feeling as when I 1st seen it, but what's with the large bezels ? Why not an edge-to-edge screen ? It looks outdated design wise already because of this.

Dislikes:
- What's three left to say about the exhaust pipes. I can see it on the standard but on the SQ5 ? [F] for effort and [F] for execution. Definitely feels and looks cheap/out of character.

- Outside door handle movement. This is an answer to a Q no one asked. I can see this working a lot better on the R8 and lower to the ground cars as it seems more intuitive to pull up on the handle when the car is lower. In this case it seems odd and counter-intuitive to a high riding vehicle. Same goes for the new moon roof controls. The older style multi-function wheel was way more intuitive and more “Audi”. Now it’s a set of low quality switches like Ford, et’ al. Even the MMI wheel and some of the other ***** now sounds and feels hollow. If you have owned a MB you know what I’m talking about here. The paddle shifters are absurdly cheap; why was this changed over the previous gen that are very nice.

- HARD plastic interior. Yes the plastics are of high quality and assembled correctly but nonetheless they are hard and all over. All Audi had to do was at least expand the optional leatherette surfaces to cover at least the lower part of the dash and the upper part of the door panels - and even the upper port of the dash would be nice but not needed. On my current 14 SQ5 the binnacle is covered in leatherette; but the new design it's one piece and it's not even a clean semi-circle. So the overall look seems odd and looks average. I've had other Audi vehicles with full [optional] leatherette surfaces, why not here? Even a Buick has leatherette all over now …

- New turbo v6: Not sure if it's just this vehicle but driving both my ‘14 SQ5 and the ‘18 SQ5, there is a distinct difference in drivability especially the lower revs around town. There is a surprising dead pedal [turbo lag] in the lower RPM range; surprising given it’s documented that full torques is available @ 1,400 rpm, but in real driving it definitely does not feel that way. Yes there are adv/disadv from supercharger to turbo, but the new motor feels so much different that I was not expecting – given the increase in torque. My '14 just seems to be "ready" at a moment’s notice and overall feels quicker regardless of the rpm range it’s in. I think if this new motor was bi-turbo it might feel much better. Both vehicles were set to Trans/Exhaust/Steering: Auto/Auto/Dynamic.

Nevertheless, I plan in letting the production cycle 1 full yr or so as I’m still interested in the mythical RSQ5, so perhaps some of these initial issues will be addressed later in the cycle. This is not a bad vehicle by any means, just less “Audi” than I was expecting and more corporate VW feeling; and not worth upgrading from my '14 a the moment. Audi used to be the best in executing the “details” – looks like perhaps the VW “diesel gate” is biting them harder than I realized –vs moving Q5 assembly to Mexico. "

Originally Posted by ZCD2.7T

Correct, and that's the engine's most endearing trait.

It's a shame that this trait is going away with the new turbo 3.0T...

On the upside, at least the engine's name will finally make sense!

Originally Posted by Cabal_san

Coming from a 14 Q5 3.0T perspective, I had some lag sub 5K miles many many yrs ago. I'm at 47K and no issues, fairly smooth and mash it ALL the time.

I'm betting that the SQ5 you test drove had less then 500 miles. The one I tested had 160ish. Noticeable lag in D. Using the Paddy shifters, not so much, IIRC on my limited runs. I did not want to run the engine up super high revs being so young, so nothing past 5000rpms. So kept it nice and easy off line on my tester and just played around in 2nd and 3rd gear runs.

Wait until post break-in is completed, then I bet the lags dissipate noticably.

Coming from your supercharger might be lil less than what you are used to, to but to say its a dog now is a bit early. Of course it is made in Mexico, so who knows, bark bark.