Q5 vs Q7
 

We are looking to order a Q5 soon. We are on vacation in New England and there is a local Audi dealer that we visited In Seattle, we have a big trip to the dealerships, so we thought that we'd check out a dealer here since they're nearby. So we stop in to look at Q5's (they have a 3.0T and hybrid in stock). BTW, they have EVERY model on the showroom floor and they are ALL white, including a $176K R8, which had me salivating.

My wife looks at the Q5 and thinks that it's a "little small." So we look at the Q7, which she falls in love with. My take is that if I am going with a Q7, I really want the 3.0 diesel and it would be nice to have the options that I wanted in the Q5.

I know that the Q7's are due for a noticable refresh soon. I also know that the '14 Q5's will offer a diesel. I'm in a quandry, and waiting really isn't an option.

I wanted a decked out Q5, but a decked out Q7 is much more pricey. Seriously.

On top of this, the dealer called on 11/30 and left a message saying that it is the last day of the month and that they would make us an "incredible deal" (they did not know that I could get a 6% supplier discount, though). I don't like to blow people off and she was kind enough to talk with us, so I returned the call telling her that I would prefer a Q7 in diesel.

Has anyone been in my situation? What did you do? I would like to get some feedback.

Thanks!

You should ask your wife a “little small” for what? If you have a large brood, by all means get the Q7, but my guess is the amount of times you would make use of that extra space over the 3-5 year period does not justify the added cost of a Q7. As you know the Q7 is much more expensive! When people look to buy a new car they often imagine fanciful scenarios wherein they will use every possible bell, whistle, and option a car has many times over. Obviously, that is rarely the case.

Does your wife really need to carry six or seven passengers daily? Do you need the cargo room of a Q7? You don’t need to justify your purchase to me, but you do need to be honest with youself.

I read in the paper yesterday that Mitt Romney was seen driving a new black Q7 around San Diego. Romney has a very large family (kids, grandkids) not to mention staff who assist him. And he is very wealthy. The Q7 makes sense for him. Does it make sense for you? I suspect not, but only you can answer that.

I agree. If you don't need the 7 passenger seating then you could get the Q5 and slap on a cargo carrier for the 3-4 times per year you need it to haul luggage while on vacation. Save yourself several thousand bucks up front and another few hundred per year on gas. Not to mention the Q5 handles more like a car than the Q7 which feels like a tank.

We are in the process of trading my 2012 Q5 in for a 2013 Glacier White S-line 3.0T Q7. We ordered the Q7 last month and hoping to get it sometime in January or February. I absolutely love, love, love the Q5, but we have two young kids (5 and 9 years of age - not a large family) and the Q5 turned out to be not enough for our needs on many occasions. We take at least 4-5 longer trips a year, and also have friends and family visiting a few times a year. Taking two cars everywhere is not very convenient. At first I tried to fight my husband on keeping the Q5, but I ended up giving in after test driving the S-line Q7. It drives very nice, but of course different, and has all the room we need. Well, the other reason I agreed to the trade-in is that my husband wants to get an RS5 next year, so I will still be able to enjoy a fun vehicle ... at least occasionally :D

Meanwhile I'm going to be going the opposite way, from an Odyssey with the people and cargo room to a Q5. We just don't use the extra room near enough to be worth it. As annoying as taking two cars places is, it's sadly more fuel efficient with how much gas my Odyssey takes (sure it's slightly better the few times more than one extra person rides with us, but the rest of the year I still have low mileage). When the kids were younger we needed a bunch of cargo room for baby stuff, but they're out of the phase where they need a whole bunch of stuff, so we should be fine with just the room in the Q5 these days (and there's the roof for the rare times it's not quite enough).

Obviously everyone's different and if the Q5's not enough in your situation then it's not enough, it's just funny that I'm coming from where you want to be because I don't need the room enough. :)

I love my Q7' it's just my wife, the dog and myself but we are constantly folding the seats down and hauling stuff like our Christmas tree tonight.

Glacier white 3.0 S-Line Prestige rocks and it sure doesn't drive like a tank.

Audi has a nice market for both the Q5 and Q7 depending on ones needs. Sales year to date thru November:

Q5 25,045/+11%
Q7 9,515/+17.8%

We traded a 2008 Odyssey in for the Q5. Actually I think the Q7 is somewhere between the Q5 and the Odyssey size wise. Not as huge as the Odyssey, but much more cargo space than the Q5's and extra seating room. The Q5's gas milage is just slightly better than the Odyssey's was, but that's probably because my Q5 is a 3.2. Calculate in the difference between the price of regular and premium, and I'm at the same figure. -Ooooh, I can see how people will start to get mad at us for comparing Audis and Odysseys! ;) - My kids are still in booster seats, so even when we want to take just one extra child with us we are bumping into problems. I think we are going to keep the Q7 for probably 3-5 years and then I might come back to a (S):D Q5.

Yeah, 3.2 wouldn't be much improvement (other than not being slow as crap :D) over the Odyssey mileage-wise. I'm looking at going TDI, so mileage should be fairly decent (as decent as one can expect from a vehicle like this, anyway). :) We've got two kids (2 and 5), and only typically have one long trip a year where we need to take stuff (Christmas at the in-laws'), other trips are shorter or we can pack light for. We've been able to get all the stuff packed behind the third row (just up the back of the seat, not to the ceiling), so I think we should manage in the Q5. And for a larger trip we can get a roof carrier if need be, and save the extra size and fuel and such the rest of the year. :)

I'd idly looked at the Q7 when trying to figure out three-row vehicles that might work, but just couldn't justify the type of premium I'd've been looking at for one (especially with what Audi wants for the TDI :( ). Sadly there's not really a whole lot of vehicle options when you want a three-row that will fit all adults (not one of those tiny "under 5yo" back seats) and have useful cargo room with all seats up and not drive like crap.

Hopefully the Q7 works out well for you guys and what you need in a car. :D

Thanks
 

Thanks for your feedback, everyone. I think that we're going to go with the Q5. I can't justify the price of a Q7 that I would be happy with.