herypderp

I'm looking at used Q5s, mainly the TDI and 3.0t models. It seems these were built with three different suspensions, the standard, sport, and adjustable. Is there a way I can tell which suspension a vehicle has? The typical used car dealerships are pretty clueless on this. Do the s-line variants automatically have the sport suspension in the US? It seems in Europe you could choose the standard even on the s-line trim. I got one dealership to get me the window sticker from a 2015 3.0t s-line and it mentions nothing about the suspension.

On a related note, how is the sport suspension compared to the SQ5 suspension? I was hoping for something in-between the standard Q5 and SQ5, as the SQ5 suspension is definitely too firm to haul the family around in. There's currently no inventory available that specifically mentions the adjustable suspension which is ideally what I want.

simplesez

Adaptive suspension
Great question! I went through this exercise myself. Finding a Q5 with the adaptive suspension is difficult as they didn't sell that package very well. The only way to truly determine a used car has it is to get the original window sticker from the VIN number. You will have zero visual clues from the standard dealership photos. ZERO.

Considering that the VIN - window sticker tool online is not very reliable here are some more tips. 2014 was the first year the adaptive suspension was offered and it was bundled in the S-LINE PLUS package. 2015 to 2017 it was offered as a stand alone option ($1000) and was rarely ordered by dealerships or individuals.

Good luck finding one. I spent considerable time finding one and I love having it. I dread the day that I have to replace a strut as they cost twice as much as the standard Q5 strut but oh well. BTW I don't think there are 3 options for suspension between 2014-2017, just the two. Correct me if I am wrong.

herypderp

Great info, thanks! So if a window sticker for an s-line doesn't mention anything about the suspension should I assume it has the same standard suspension as a regular Q5, or does it automatically have the non-adjustable sport suspension?

herypderp

I'm still no closer to figuring this out. If you google s-line suspension you find people complaining that they test drove a regular q5, then ordered an s-line without ADS, and they find the ride way too stiff. I'm looking at buying an s-line, but I don't want the stiff suspension, or ADS for that matter, I just want the regular q5 suspension.

simplesez

Then just get the standard Q5 without S-line which includes the sport suspension. The hybrid Q5 always came with the standard soft suspension.

If by chance the S-line badges are removed you can look for the 1BE option code on the sticker in the trunk of the car. 1BE is the sport suspension.

MurrayA4

I've been driving a 14 S-Line for a lot of miles on tough roads (northern Quebec) it's excellent No idea if it's calibrated differently from the non-S but it's great.I don't like a harsh ride.

motoguy128

We have the standard suspension but with the sport PKG with the 20" wheels and summer tires. I think it's a descent compromise. A little firm, but not jarring. But better road feel with the wider rubber and stiffer low profile sidewalls. Will be interesting when I jump all the way down to 17" with our winter wheels late next month. The Adaptive Suspension would be nice sometimes, but then again, it's another very, very expensive part to replace when it fails. But worst roads are in winter and cool early spring, so it works out.

heymatey

Look for the "Drive Select" button in the center stack. If it's not there, the car doesn't have adjustable suspension.

That said, just having Drive Select does NOT mean the car has an adjustable suspension. They way to tell is to press the Drive Select button, then select "Set Individual" (bottom right hand button of the four surrounding the MMI selector ****). If the car has adjustable suspension, that choice will be part of the resulting Individual menu. On more mundane Drive Select-equipped Q5s, it only adjusts steering and (I believe) transmission.

simplesez

Drive Select adjusts even more than steering and transmission settings. It can change the A/C as well. Try COMFORT setting sometime and see what it does. If you added EFFICIENCY it also changes the A/C to be completely off.

Audi engineers love to tweak the *****.

MurrayA4

simplesez I have a vision of this gang of young German engineers sitting around a table downing good beer and "skunkworking" this stuff.None of it is necessary but these guys/gals thrive on pushing the code out there.Kinda cool.