Q7 questions
 

Hello,

Considering buying a 2018 Q7 with about 5K miles. It's a 6 month lease return. Love this car, but curious to see what you experience has been like on the following fronts

1) How expensive is the maintenance relative to Lexus or other luxe brands?
2) Do the tires (stanard 19" wheels) need more frequent change? are they tires exclusive to Audi or can it be changed at costco and such?
3) Can one operate google voice with the native voice command button on the steering wheel without the Audi Connect package?
4) How good is the android auto and apple carplay integration? I plan on using the voice commands (both Siri and Google Assistance/Voice) quite a bit. Is this as responsive as it is on the smartphone?

Thankshttps://www.audiworld.com/forums/ima...er_offline.gif

1) How expensive is the maintenance relative to Lexus or other luxe brands?

It's the same expensive situation as the two other german luxury brands. All of which are more expensive than Lexus

2) Do the tires (stanard 19" wheels) need more frequent change? are they tires exclusive to Audi or can it be changed at costco and such?

No, they're just tires. There are many manufacturers of suitable replacements.

3) Can one operate google voice with the native voice command button on the steering wheel without the Audi Connect package?

No

4) How good is the android auto and apple carplay integration? I plan on using the voice commands (both Siri and Google Assistance/Voice) quite a bit. Is this as responsive as it is on the smartphone?

I can't say. Apple Car Play "works", but then the entire display is consumed by Apple stuff, and I'm boned when I simply want to change radio stations. it's far too cumbersome to swap between Audi's ownership of the display and Car Play's ownership of the display. So, I don't use carplay.

1) I've never owned a Lexus, but will assume long-term maint is more. The first 4 years should be comparable as it's not much
2) No. And you can get them anywhere

I have owned a few Lexus/Acura cars/SUVs (8 in total) and do most maintenance works on my own. The Audi OEM parts cost a lot more than Lexus or Acura even when purchasing online.

I've recently owned all of these makes, and a few others, and have always had the maintenance and repair work done at the local dealerships where I've purchased the vehicles. From very reasonable to exorbitant, and taking inflation into account, I would rank them:

Acura (still own, dealer sends coupons for various services, typical oil change, inspections and wash/interior clean runs $40-$50)
Infiniti
Lexus
Audi (owned two in the past, cost for servicing our new Q7 is TBT)
Porsche (no longer own Macan. For the same service shown above on the Acura, the Porsche dealer charged $300 - $350!)

No, but with an iPhone connected, you can trigger Siri from the steering wheel button. Short press to talk to the car, long press to talk to Siri.

Same with Android Auto, long press steering wheel button to trigger Google Voice Assistant.

If you have enabled "OK, Google" on your phone, you don't even have to long press. Just say it. I think the phone microphone picks up the wake word and pass it on to Android Auto. It is very convenient.

I use Android auto (which similarly takes over the MMI display) and I get around this limitation by using the controls on the steering wheel to change radio stations.

Just a reminder, you don't have to enable universal OK Google on your phone, you can keep it disabled, but enable only when connected to Android Auto, and then it works even if someone else says "OK Google".
After getting used to AA on Audi, I can't believe BMW is still not including it in their vehicles, it's going to be a big minus when I am shopping for my next car. AA is extremely convenient.