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Twelfth Monkey

Q5 2.0 TDi Quattro (now with pictures, I'm afraid).

Non S-Line, which probably explains why it rides pretty well.

Pretty nice inside, not my cup of tea on the outside.  Feels extremely well screwed-together and is adequately fast for what it is.  Grip levels are pretty high, but while it can be hustled along b-roads at a fair rate it feels rather vague.  Neither hands nor arse have a precise idea about what's going on at gropund level.  Gearbox is short and precise in operation, and the brakes deserve a mention.  I didn't notice them until I deliberately set about assessing them, which I consider quite a compliment.  Quattro does make itself felt in comparison with fwd variations on the platform.  There is no perceptable tugging at the wheel under full throttle.

The dash contains a section which will advise you of the most economic gear in which to drive, but it's tiny and buried at the bottom where it's hardest to read and furthest from your line of sight. Why?

Electronic handbrakes.  Don't like, thank you.  

And as for the joys of the high driving position, it's rather lost on me, I'm afraid.

Nice to try something different, but not an experience I shall be desperate to repeat.  Piccies to follow if it actually makes it home!
Twelfth Monkey

The hippo:





Bright light makes it look less well-finished than it is:



Nasty key:



A tad optimistic, perhaps:



A couple of footwell gripes.  The pedals are offset in an irritating manner, and the footrest makes it almost impossible to depress the clutch all the way, or at least to do so without fouling the brake pedal.
Mark

An ugly looking thing – even worse than the BMW X3/X1. It doesn't even look the money which is something that Audi can often pull off. Can’t imagine why one would choose it over (for example) a Volvo XC60.
Martin

The pedal offset is terrible in the A4/S5, the clutch pedal is pretty much where the brake should be!  I only drove round the block and could tell that it would give me sore ankles very quickly.

Mark is right, it doesn't look anything special, but it looks like that is a very basic spec model.  Huge amount of buttons in the area around the gear lever that looks a bit of a mess and is that a coin holder?
Racing

Mark wrote:
An ugly looking thing – even worse than the BMW X3/X1. It doesn't even look the money which is something that Audi can often pull off. Can’t imagine why one would choose it over (for example) a Volvo XC60.


I very much can. The Q5 isn't particularly pretty, but it's nowhere near as peculiar-looking as the XC60, which is really only an oil painting if compared to the thoroughly fugly X1.
Mark

Racing wrote:
Mark wrote:
An ugly looking thing – even worse than the BMW X3/X1. It doesn't even look the money which is something that Audi can often pull off. Can’t imagine why one would choose it over (for example) a Volvo XC60.


I very much can. The Q5 isn't particularly pretty, but it's nowhere near as peculiar-looking as the XC60, which is really only an oil painting if compared to the thoroughly fugly X1.


Have to disagree - the Volvo is a work of art in comparison to the Audi pictured, in my opinion.
Parm

I'm in the minority here but I think the Q5 looks good, in an understated way. It's certainly a more cohesive design than the fugly Q7. I also like the XC60. as far as SUVs go.
Twelfth Monkey

I think the XC60 is less ugly than this or the X3, but the question still needs to be asked: why?

One of my partners has a first-gen X5, and this is all but as big, despite being Golf-based.

No-one in the family wanted a test-drive, funnily enough...
Racing

Well, taste is always subjective but I find the XC60 an unappetising mismash of styling cues. It's not actively ugly like the X1/X3 but I nevertheless couldn't ever buy one.
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Mark wrote:
Have to disagree - the Volvo is a work of art in comparison to the Audi pictured, in my opinion.

+1 emphatically
TimR

The Volvo is pretty unattractive wheras the Audi seems pretty anonymous on the road.
Possibly influenced by all the Audis being black or grey though.

It's interesting to read these comments about offset pedals and discomfort.
The magazines never think to mention anything like that.
Perhaps they're all still under the influence of the 'German is Flawless' wonderdrug.
Racing

Oddly you get used to it. When I first tried a 135i, I found myself fouling my left foot on the footrest when operating the clutch. I very quickly found that I got used to a different foot position and now never do it.
Twelfth Monkey

In the Q5, there just isn't enough space between the pedals.  This plus offset is something I wouldn't live with.  I wonder if the next RS4/5 will be similarly blighted.
TimR

I'm used to pedal offset - the Shogun and BMW both had the clutch pedal inline with the steering column but it was never a problem - it's just that actual discomfort is a major thing in a car and it seems to be a problem with the Audis yet is never mentioned.

Conversely the 'Italian' driving position was always mentioned but it's never been a particular problem (for me at least ).
Martin

Twelfth Monkey wrote:
In the Q5, there just isn't enough space between the pedals.  This plus offset is something I wouldn't live with.  I wonder if the next RS4/5 will be similarly blighted.


The standard A4/A5/S5 are all the same, with quite a serious offset, so I guess the RS4/5 will be similarly afflicted.

I did quite like the idea of a decent spec A4 Avant, but the offset pedals meant it didn't even get a proper test drive.  Mind you, that would probably have put me off anyway, it didn't do much for me on a quick trip around the block.

Tim - Autocar have mentioned it, but it obviously isn't such an issue when the car is an S-Tronic as most of the cars they drive seem to be.
TimR

Righto.
Don't read Autocar anymore so missed that one.
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Martin wrote:
The standard A4/A5/S5 are all the same, with quite a serious offset, so I guess the RS4/5 will be similarly afflicted.

I'd guess the next RS4/5 will be DSG-only.
ALF

TimR wrote:

Conversely the 'Italian' driving position was always mentioned but it's never been a particular problem (for me at least ).


Indeed - Autocar (and others) tend to gripe about "Italian" driving positions just on checking the badge of the car they are testing, but sister company "What Car" actually measures offset and the like, and rated the 156 as the most comfortable compact exec with far less offset than many (especially the A4).

My A4 has quite a lot of offset if you actually look at the pedals relative to the wheel, but I don't find it an issue at all - as Racing says you simply adapt. I'm now as comfortable in the A4 on a long haul as in any car I've had, lucky since I did 250 miles a day last week! The pedals are too widely spaced for me though - and if you manage the contortions required to heel and toe you are then reminded than all but the sportiest VAG products don't actually allow throttle activity when the brake us depressed. Which makes me depressed.

It's swings and roundabouts though - I can comfortably drive the A4 quickly with heavy walking shoes/boots on in a way I would not dare in the Alfa - so I have to grudgingly accept that it's germanic pedal spacing suits most people, I'm sure. Personally I've never driven a German car without huge pedals and immense gaps between them - I'll have to have a poke about in a new A4 some time if you lot reckon they are closer...
Twelfth Monkey

Having driven a huge number of VAG cars, I've never found one where depresisng the brake killed the throttle.  Intriguing.
Mark

[quote="ALF"]
TimR wrote:
Personally I've never driven a German car without huge pedals and immense gaps between them



I can't remember any (manual) BMW I have driven or owned being anything like that.
cbeaks1

Dr. Hfuhruhurr wrote:
Martin wrote:
The standard A4/A5/S5 are all the same, with quite a serious offset, so I guess the RS4/5 will be similarly afflicted.

I'd guess the next RS4/5 will be DSG-only.


According to Auto express, RS5 = twin turbo V8 with manual:

Audi's high-performance RS5 has stepped out of the shadows! Our photographers captured these shots of the upcoming performance coupe testing completely undisguised.

Powered by a 450bhp 4.2-litre twin-turbo V8, it’s more powerful than the 414bhp 4.0-litre V8-engined M3 and boasts a Quattro four-wheel drive system too, available with a choice of both six-speed manual and seven-speed twin-clutch gearboxes.

The choice of engine has come as a shock to many who believed that the V10 engine used in Audi's flagship R8 would power this latest performance model. However, high consumption figures from these large capacity engines have meant that manufacturers are reluctant to use them, opting instead for turbocharged, smaller engines.

Performance will be epic with 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds and a top speed electronically limited to 155mph. The RS5 will be a match for the M3 in the corners too with stiffened and lowered suspension, a wider track and stickier rubber.
In addition to four-wheel drive, it will also boast Audi’s new active rear differential – as used by the latest S4 – which helps distribute torque to different wheels, aiding agility and traction.

Audi is expected to announced the RS5 at next year's Geneva Motor Show. Prices will start at around £48,000

Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news...42482/audi_rs5.html#ixzz0SQZ495TA
Dr. Hfuhruhurr

cbeaks1 wrote:
According to Auto express, RS5 = twin turbo V8 with manual:

Audi's high-performance RS5 has stepped out of the shadows! Our photographers captured these shots of the upcoming performance coupe testing completely undisguised.

Powered by a 450bhp 4.2-litre twin-turbo V8, it’s more powerful than the 414bhp 4.0-litre V8-engined M3 and boasts a Quattro four-wheel drive system too, available with a choice of both six-speed manual and seven-speed twin-clutch gearboxes.

The choice of engine has come as a shock to many who believed that the V10 engine used in Audi's flagship R8 would power this latest performance model. However, high consumption figures from these large capacity engines have meant that manufacturers are reluctant to use them, opting instead for turbocharged, smaller engines.

Performance will be epic with 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds and a top speed electronically limited to 155mph. The RS5 will be a match for the M3 in the corners too with stiffened and lowered suspension, a wider track and stickier rubber.
In addition to four-wheel drive, it will also boast Audi’s new active rear differential – as used by the latest S4 – which helps distribute torque to different wheels, aiding agility and traction.

Audi is expected to announced the RS5 at next year's Geneva Motor Show. Prices will start at around £48,000

Read more: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news...42482/audi_rs5.html#ixzz0SQZ495TA

Note bold ...
cbeaks1

I know - I couldn't find a suitable smiley thing to represent the source.
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