Snow driving 18 SQ5 with Cross Climate tires
 

I just returned from a Tahoe ski trip and 3 days of severe snow driving on mountain 2 lane roads. I replaced the tires prior to the trip and chose the Michelin cross climate 2's wanting to be prepared for bad weather. The weather snowed constantly over 3 days W - F with high winds and low visibility. Temps were from 8 degrees to 30 F. All the roads had chain control or 4 wheel drive with snow tires.

The Audi did very well and no real worries of getting stuck. Snow was probably up to 6 inches and higher in the drifts. The roads were steep 2 lane mountain roads with tight switch backs(431 in Nevada and 50 in CA). The car rarely lost traction. A few times there was slight skidding on braking or on turns but traction came back after I released the accelerator. There were several sections of white out conditions were you could not see the car in front or the depth poles on the side. I have driven Jeep Cherokee's and Grand Cherokees previously and the Audi is better. In particular it handles down shifts, slowing down and steep uphills much better than my grand Cherokee. There were quite a few cars/suvs that were stuck but it was difficult to tell what brands. Tesla's were notably getting stuck. Many of the vehicles on the road were serious setups F series truck with snow tires and various SUV's with several Q5's.

For drive modes I used Allroad in the worst conditions and comfort the rest of the time. I also almost always kept the car in manual mode. In auto the transmission shifts too much and it's not great to have the gears always changing. I found 4th, 3rd and second to be the best gears. I also used the hill decent control extensively. It's really nice you can just leave it on and it will kick below 20 MPH. I found it really helps reduce/elimnates braking and helped keep control. I also used both the front and rear fog lights. It was nice to use some of the features I had never used before. Turn off the lane control assist. If you aren't going to have dedicated winter wheels get the 20 inch wheels not the 21's, tires are hard to find for the 21's and the extra rubber on the profile helps.

I found the cross climates to be excellent tires and I highly recommend them as the best all season for snow. In the past I used Pirelli scorpions on my jeeps and the Michelin's are better. The car originally came with the continentals and I never drove them in the snow(I doubt they would be close the cross climates though). The only issues is the front defroster did not keep up with the heavy snow in the single digit temps and ice accumulated on the side of the wind shield and the wipers themselves. This is a common issue in most cars in these conditions. Remember, to put the wipers in up position just push the wiper stalk down after you turn the car off. This is useful if you have to clean ice off the blades.

All in all you should feel confident in taking your Audi SQ/Q5 in extreme snow conditions.

Pics are heading out on Wednesday and then the Agriculture check on 50 in CA.

2018 SQ5 Prestige
20 inch wheels - Michelin Cross climate 2's
S Sport
Driver Assistance
Cold Weather Package
Warm Weather Package
Carbon trim
Trailer hitch
Moonlight Blue
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...fe94342ab8.jpg
Wednesday heading out not to bad yet
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...923b59ea23.jpg
Friday on 50 in CA at Ag check. Terrible conditions. 7 hours Tahoe to San Mateo.

Good to know, I put on CC2 after 500 miles of the stock Kumhos on the Q5, because of concerns about snow. Funnily, since I did that in Dec, it has not snowed in NYC for me to see if they do well or not.

Great information. I plan to get the Cross Climate 2 tires (or a newer version if they're out when I need tires) once my summer tires wear down on my SQ5, which should be this fall in time for winter. I'm not worried about performance since I don't drive it like a race car.

Tell me more about the hill descent mode. Do I have that on my SQ5? If so, how's it initiated?

It’s on same line of buttons where parking sensors and traction control buttons are. Once engaged on a downhill it will hold speed under 20 just use accelerator or brake and it will hold speed if you leave it on and go above 20 it will re-engage below 20. Here is a write up
Hill descent

Thanks!

Good to know! Looks like fun :)

Dealer put on new Michelin ATX's when we got the q5, and they get a bad rap online. I carry chains but haven't had to use them yet. There's just something about the Q5 dynamics that just works well in the snow!

That does look fun! and great review of both the CC2 and the Audi itself. I am considering CC2 for my next tire as well, not that we will ever get snow here again in PA, but hey, maybe I'll drive further north from time to time.

I can vouch for the CC2's - my son has an '18Q5 and just spend the last month in Tahoe with CC2's. Lots of new snow. He said he was able to go up roads that all the other Tesla's and Euro cars could not. He was pretty amazed at how they performed.
I have the Michelin LTX Premier on my '18SQ5 and have not had any issues getting around in the snow here in Iowa, but I plan to put the CC2's on when they need replaced.