Had a BMW 535i with 3 fuel pump failures. BMW bought it back under lemon law. I guess I could say I am happy with the Q5 and would buy it again, since I'm already on my second one. LOL. Yes, I love it and would never go back to BMW after all the issues I had (many more above the HPFP problems)

 

Yes and yes.

Less than 3K on the clock so no long-term experience, but so far it's been great.

 

So, what happened to your 2009 Q5?

 

I am happy. After a bad experience with a dealer, I think I can say that the first 15k miles have been good. it has taken my family and I all around Europe without fail. Always good looking, excellent ride, great performance, and one helluva sound system (thank you B&O).

Next trip: Switzerland in the summer! Ah, the Alps and the Q meet once again....

 

If I were in the market for another SUV, I wouldn't even bother comparison shopping. There is nothing I would even look at other than another Q5. It is my daily driver and I LOVE it. 14 months and 13,000 miles and all I've had go wrong is one set of LED's 9 months ago, which was fixed quickly by my dealer.

That being said, I bought a new BMW yesterday. Completely different vehicle though. I got my wife a 2011 128i coupe so there wasn't really anything Audi had to offer in comparison.

On a side note, a co-worker bought a brand new 2010 335i coupe 2 months ago and it was in the shop before he hit 1000 miles on it for the HPFP. That, and similar issues I read online, was a major factor in me getting the wife a 128i over the 135i.

phxflyboy

 

Hated the tan interior so traded it for 2010 black interior. Yes, I know it's crazy! I am a bit crazy that way.

 

Really liked the Q5. It is a very good looking car in pictures but even better looking in person.

Went there focused on Black and loved that color, but also really liked the dark blue.

Plenty of space in the interior and second row has more legroom than my 335. Did find the rear middle seat to be tough on legroom due to the large center console. Loved the way the 2nd row can slide forward and back as well as tilt. Very nice.

Found the electronics/air conditioning to be a little confusing. Had to hit the fan button, then turn the **** to pick a fan speed. With the BMW you just keep hitting the fan button and it rotates through the fan power.

The NAV was very nice and had more detail than my car (which I consider to be very good).

There are a lot of buttons around the MMI joystick and that was a little confusing.

As for the comparison, the 2.0 accelerated more quickly and at much higher RPMs. It seemed to have just as much oomph as the 3.2 but it was working much harder. The 3.2 sounded much more reserved and almost never went over 3000 RPMs while the 2.0 went to 4000 RPMs several times.

Found the steering to be tighter on the 3.2. Of note, all the 3.2s had "s-line" badging and aero kits even though they weren't "S-line" cars. Not sure why. They were P+ Q5s.

The conclusion is that the car is very attractive, the interior is very nice (although the mesh airdam for the sunroof seems very flimsy). I think the 2.0 has more than enough power (and this is from someone coming from a 335) so I wouldn't be afraid to go that route if you wanted to save some money and get a little better mileage.

Handling was exceptional. I was very surprised how well it cornered at speed.

Will head back tomorrow to talk price/availability an options.

View this is the understated luxury SUV and that is a very good thing to me.

Thanks again to everyone for their comments. Extremely helpful.

Now just need to decide whether or not I want to trade in a 1 year old car and suffer the wrath and ridicule of my friends and co-workers.

 

No crazier than I am. Being sick of my tan interior was a big reason I wanted to sell my A6.

 

After debating: a) dumping the 335 after such a short time, b) the 3.2L vs 2.0L engine issue, and c) the color combo; decided to put down a deposit on an inbound 2.0L, P+, Nav, 19" (no B&O unfortunately), Dark Blue/light grey Q5.

Really like the exterior look/shape, the passenger room, the gas mileage, and the beautiful interior.

Dealer was nice enough to let me drive the 2.0 for the entire day so that I could put it through the real world of: errands, sports games, highways, stop/go traffic, loading/unloading....the Q5 is fantastic all around.

Thank you so much to all of you who posted your opinions of the car. The overwhelming owner positivity (as opposed to the rampant anger on the BMW boards about the HPFP issue) pushed me over the edge.

Supposed to arrive at end of August.

Thanks again. And if I can figure out how to post pictures I will do so when it arrives.

 

cavman, thanks for all of your feedback! good to know. we're still debating about the 2.0T vs 3.2.

btw, what a nice dealer to let you borrow one for a day!