Cross shopping against B8.5 S4

[Hopperstien]

I just wanted to get a couple of opinions from the Q5/SQ5 family.

Breif back story:
Over the past 20 years of driving I have only owned 3 Vehicles (+ a motorcycle). A 4x4 Chevy S-10, then a Silverado, and now driving B7 A4 for the past 5 years and looking to move up/ change. As you can see i kinda hold on to cars.

Currently I have my mind and budget set on two nearly incidental (year/price/mileage/color/options) vehicles, 2014 S4 and a Q5. The vehicle will mostly just for carting myself to work each day, and my daughter to school in the mornings (approx. 17k miles a year). My wife has a Tahoe for carting the large type of objects or loads of people if needed, so getting a SUV is not a requirement at all.

My short list of pro's and con's:
Q5 3.0 - slightly worse gas mileage, but is certified so warranty till 2020 (but no carfax service history, trying to get the real story), would really want to do new wheels and slightly lower sooner than later
S4 - 1 year left on warranty, more fun to drive? dsg transmission failures? might be able to knock $2k off of price at dealer

OPINIONS AND THOUGHTS WANTED

Thanks
Chris

[goblues38]

I had an A6 from 2000 to 2008. Car fit 4 adults comfortable. That was my benchmark.

FFWD to 2016. My wife has a Ford Explorer Sport. It is our family hauler me, wife 2 kids 9 and 15. I was in a 2015 Mustang GT. It was my car and every now and then the wife would go. It was a pain in the ass if we had to squease a kid in the back seat. Enough of a pain I said fug it, I am getting a bigger car.

A6 was just a little out of my price range for the spec I wanted.

S3, way to small.

A4 / S4 firmly in the middle of the S3 and A6, but still small. Yes, it could fit a kid fine, but an adult will be cramped.

Ultimately I found CPO 2016 SQ5 with low miles. To me it is a S4+. Just enough extra size to fit 4 adults with no compromise. A Q5 would just not be "sporty" enough for me.

Advice is to go out and drive them all S3, A4, S4, Q5, SQ5, A6. Each car has it's own uniqueness. Make sure you spend time sitting in the back seat. Make sure the entire car fits.

Good luck.

[DocTJ]

sq5 CPO

the q5 wont cut it for you esp if comparing to s4.

[VroomVroom]

It sounds like you've got the cargo space covered with the Tahoe. I think I'd probably look long and hard at the S4, finding a reason not to go with a car. Good luck!

[DannyDeez]

I just wanted to get a couple of opinions from the Q5/SQ5 family.

Breif back story:
Over the past 20 years of driving I have only owned 3 Vehicles (+ a motorcycle). A 4x4 Chevy S-10, then a Silverado, and now driving B7 A4 for the past 5 years and looking to move up/ change. As you can see i kinda hold on to cars.

Currently I have my mind and budget set on two nearly incidental (year/price/mileage/color/options) vehicles, 2014 S4 and a Q5. The vehicle will mostly just for carting myself to work each day, and my daughter to school in the mornings (approx. 17k miles a year). My wife has a Tahoe for carting the large type of objects or loads of people if needed, so getting a SUV is not a requirement at all.

My short list of pro's and con's:
Q5 3.0 - slightly worse gas mileage, but is certified so warranty till 2020 (but no carfax service history, trying to get the real story), would really want to do new wheels and slightly lower sooner than later
S4 - 1 year left on warranty, more fun to drive? dsg transmission failures? might be able to knock $2k off of price at dealer

OPINIONS AND THOUGHTS WANTED

Thanks
Chris

I owned a B7 A4 for two years. Loved it. Great car and handled amazingly well, but being a 2.0T it was very slow.

I just sold it and picked up a B8 S4. Nothing really new to me as I had a B8.5 S5 before the A4, but it's leaps and bounds better than the B7. Power, comfort, handling are all amazing. Gas mileage is worse obviously, but I get about 21mpg average. It has a decent amount of cargo space. About the same if not more than the B7.

I also just picked up a 2.0 Q5 for my fiancé. It's nice. The interior is exactly the same as in my S4 so no matter which car you pick, you'll have the same interior lol. It doesn't handle or stop nearly as well as the S4(which is expected) but it's a nice comfortable everyday car.

Being that I've owned all 3 cars that you've mentioned, I believe that the S4 is the best choice. You already have one SUV in the family so no need for two. Plus if you enjoyed the B7, you'll really enjoy the upgrade of the S4.

Just my opinion. Good luck!

[LINDW4LL]

Assuming the Q's extra utility/space isn't needed (which is what it sounds like from your post), then the S4 is 100% the better and more enjoyable car. The Q5 is a nice vehicle for those who need the utility, but it's inherently compromised from a driving fun perspective compared to the lower and lighter sedan.

[tmoe]

Assuming the Q's extra utility/space isn't needed (which is what it sounds like from your post), then the S4 is 100% the better and more enjoyable car. The Q5 is a nice vehicle for those who need the utility, but it's inherently compromised from a driving fun perspective compared to the lower and lighter sedan.

Well said.

[Hopperstien]

Soooo, even though pretty much everyone said S4 or SQ5 (which is out of budge for me) I went Q5 anyways!!

oops.

2014 CPO 3.0 Sline

[BlackSVT]

Soooo, even though pretty much everyone said S4 or SQ5 (which is out of budge for me) I went Q5 anyways!!

oops.

Congrats! Now time to add a tune and unleash it's inner SQ5

[poncho@home]

Nice! I picked up a '13 Q5 3.0T just a few months ago. I recently added a Chipwerke piggy back tuner and increased power noticeably, so that's an option for you to bump the power up to SQ5 levels and not affect warranty.

Enjoy the Q5, both the wife and I are enjoying ours. Having said all that, I am thinking of selling my Subaru Legacy & BMW 330 convertible and getting either a S4 or S5 for myself as well.

[JonS4]

Soooo, even though pretty much everyone said S4 or SQ5 (which is out of budge for me) I went Q5 anyways!!

oops.

We've got one of those and an S4 in the garage, you'll be very happy with this vehicle. The 3.0T is well suited to the ZF 8spd and performs very well even in stock form but a tune would be the cherry on top.

[colby7]

Mod that bad boy and you will smoke stock S4s.

[Hopperstien]

There will be good times had as soon as the funds catch up, and definitely saving up for some AWE goodness. So slight drop, exhaust and some kind of tune, all probably next year

But it is all good.

[q5 dave]

congrats, good choice!! Do the tune first. will be ultimate sleeper car

[Reckon]

Congrats. We traded in our B8.5 S4 for an SQ5 and love it as much. While its not as much fun in the corners, its a beast everywhere else and is very reminiscent of the S4. Wife daily drives the SQ5 and loves it. I don't think I can get her into anything else in the future except a Porsche Macan or Cayenne, haha.

[DocTJ]

looks gorgeous, congrats