Vandelay

Curious if anyone here in the B9 allroad forum owned - or currently owns - a first generation Q5? If so, what do you miss about it and what do you prefer on the B9? I had a B8.5 A4 sedan prior to my two allroads. I can tell you I miss the seats from that car, and the better handling...wish we got the standard avant here rather than the overly floaty allroad. I traded it for the B9 to get more back seat room for a car seat.The things I love about the allroad are the looks of a wagon, power, brakes, and cargo room in the back. I don’t think the CarPlay is all that wonderful (I’ve been having connection issues) and frankly I'm not in love with the car.

I’m thinking about downgrading to a Q5 for comfort and financial reasons. Among other things, I'm trying to lower insurance and registration costs - I have a baby and trying to buy a new house. Plus the height of the q5 will make loading the baby into his car seat easier for me. I’m a tall dude and the allroad requires a lot of bending to get the kid in his seat. Probably looking at a 2016 or 2017 2.0t premium plus with tech package. In the Denver area, these things are a dime a dozen and the CPO prices are pretty good. I’ve been to the dealer and they are willing to give me a good trade in such that I could probably walk away with a $10k check and a reasonably new q5. I’ve driven the mk2 q5 a few times as a loaner and I’m not the biggest fan. It seems like a slightly lower quality allroad. And even though I love the way the B8.5 allroad looks, it's simply too small and too expensive to consider trading my B9 for.

Has anyone in this forum moved on from their B9 allroad? If so, what did you move to and why? I'm all ears! Thanks!

4Rook

We had an '09 Q5 which served us well with two boys. The Q5 saw mixed use of front and rear facing seats as well as boosters. The Q5's roof height will definitely be better for loading / unloading an infant or pulling a sleepy kiddo out of a car seat. IMO, the Q5 handled our forward facing car seats better. In the Allroad, my youngest is still in a Recaro booster and there is some interference when lowering the center arm rest with his seat in place. Its only an issue if he's sitting in the seat when trying to lower it. Keep in mind, this is a wide booster that looks like a sport seat, as opposed to the low back boosters that can be used, so ymmv. Not a deal-breaker but they like to use the arm rest for their water bottles when on long trips.

Whatever you decide, I'd recommend finding one with the rear sunshades. Keeping the sun out of their eyes makes for peaceful traveling!

Vandelay

Thanks for the reply! At this point, my little guy is in a rear-facing convertible seat on the passenger side of the car. The AR handled the infant bucket seat just fine, but once the convertible was in the picture it's another story. The shape and height of the door opening in concert with the side protection of the car seat makes for a less than ideal situation trying to get my kid in and out of the car. My wife's Mk 7 Golf is far more accommodating due to its more square shaped doors and roofline.

We have both the Britax Boulevard Clicktight and the Maxi-Cosi Pria 85 Max. I've used both in my car but the kid is only in mine on the weekends so I have the slightly lower end Maxi-Cosi seat installed. Front seat room is OK for my wife (she's 5'-6") and I've squeezed myself in there once or twice for 15 minutes. With the Britax seat, front seat had to be moved up a little more but was still doable. I too have a slight interference issue with the center armrest and the car seat. I solved this by lower the armrest first and then installing the seat. It is stuck there for now!

For anyone reading this in the future, the Britax Boulevard Clicktight seat is way, way better from an install and ease of use perspective. It is, however, a huge seat with a wide footprint.

bob m

I had the 2008 or 2009 Q5 - which ever the first year it was introduced, that's what I bought. I was looking at other SUV's and one 5 minute drive in the Q5 and I knew I wanted it. Since then I had other cars including a 2014 Q5. I think my 2017 AR Prestige handle way better - is more nimble, better acceleration as well as better gas mileage. However if I had young children it would be the Q5 in a heartbeat - just way more room as well as ease of entry and exiting.