[chaith.turbo]

In September of this year, I had to return my Company leased BMW 430i. So, I started searching for a new car and this time wanted to buy directly and not through my company.
In this blog I will be talking about why I went with Audi Q5 and I will only talk about few experiences on Q5. Since there are multiple threads on Q5 review, this is not a full-blown ownership review.

So living in Germany I always loved driving a Sedan over an SUV and the 430i was perfect for the Autobahns. And this time I thought of trying out something outside BMW and below are some cars I test drove/almost bought cars.

• Mercedes C300 – The new C class was just launched and I visited the showroom in April this year. The moment I saw this, it was an absolute stunner. The style and the interiors specially was two levels above the competition.
  Just looking at this, I almost decided, “Ok, this is it. I’m buying it”.
  But as soon as I sat in the rear seat, it felt like my Grand i10. It was a total disappointment, huge tunnel, leg space not enough even for my height (I’m not tall).
  So C class was out!

• Audi A6 – Having driven A4, I wanted to see how the A6 drives. So I got a half a day test drive of A6 from Audi Munich, the first thing that I noticed is that though interiors are superior compared to my BMW, it is no where close to Mercedes C class or E class. But Audi has granted more space and everything is very functional oriented over form oriented.
  The drive was very smooth, acceleration very linear. But is NOT a BMW, not even as exciting as 430i which is a segment lower.

• Alfa Romeo Giulia
  
  
  
  Alfa Romeo is not very common on roads here, but whenever I see one, it was a total head turner.
  And I always had a soft spot for the Giulia. So with lot of excitement we walked into the Alfa Romeo showroom, spoke to the sales person, saw the car. And it was “WOW”. That’s exactly what came into my mind, Alfa Romeo has speed in it’s DNA and this car flaunted it without shame. Giulia Veloce was a 280 Bhp 400 nm Torque beast.
  Sadly though there was not a single test drive car with any Alfa Romeo dealer in Munich. I however got a good quote and a delivery promise in three weeks.
  The only minus was, I wanted something that didn’t look like BMW and the interiors was almost exactly like BMW. Even the transmission was the same ZF box as 430i.
  But I was fine with that and almost decided to go for this till a new milestone happened in our family.

Now while all of this was happening around beginning of the year, just a couple of months before we had a new member in the family. We adopted a Black Labrador and she had grown up so much.
This made us realize that Sedan is probably not a good idea. So sadly I had to let go off the idea of the sedan and start looking for SUVs.

Below are the SUVs/Crossovers I test drove.

• Alfa Romeo Stelvio
  
  
  When I visited last time, I noticed another stunner which was the Stelvio. This one was again a beauty to look at and a beast to drive. But again there was no test drive vehicle and I could only imagine how a 300 BHP mid segment SUV would drive.
  The interiors were again very similar to BMW, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I wanted something different.
  The sales person gave me a good quote and promise of four weeks of delivery. This was impressive because the auto industry was in crisis for issues in supply chain and you will see below almost every car had 9 – 12 months of waiting period.
  Only two things went against this car, one was that the rear seating space was not as much as I had expected. Second, my wife didn’t like the styling of Stelvio.
  But I had anyhow almost made up my mind to buy the Stelvio.

• Mercedes GLC
  
  
  
  I again went back to Mercedes dealer and asked for GLC test drive. They very promptly arranged one for the whole weekend, so I could drive this car for two full days which was very nice of them. Sadly the car was not as nice as the dealer.
  
  Below is what my findings were. I drove the GLC 300e
  Positives:
  o Interiors were again best in class, no other car in the segment could beat this.
  o Decent front and rear space so that was good for traveling with my dog.
  Negatives:
  o The drive experience was very disappointing. The car simply struggles to accelerate beyond 160.
  o The build quality didn’t seem to be of Mercedes quality
  o Engine noise was too loud. I was driving with music and it felt like driving a truck.
  So this one was definitely out of my list. At this point I’m quite disappointed with Mercedes.

• Lexus NX 350h AWD
  
  
  
  I never had Lexus in my initial list, but my Son bugged me to test drive this. So we simply walked into a Lexus showroom had a look at it and I must admit it was quite good looking. Very different to the European designs.
  We got to drive for three hours and below are my impressions.
  Positives:
  o The car is built like a Tank. Definitely better built than any German ones.
  o Interiors are a beauty and fit n finish was top notch.
  o Almost zero noise creeping into the cabin.
  Negatives:
  o The drive was so boring and sedated that I’m sure along with the quite cabin it will put everyone in the car to sleep. I’m sure this is a top accident causing issue for Lexus.
  o It’s a shame the acceleration of a Hybrid car is so slow. Maybe because the car is quite heavy.
  o The design was not really my taste.
  o Delivery wait was one year.

• Audi Q5 45 TFSI Quattro – This was my final car on the list to check and to be honest I was not that hopeful. So anyhow when we visited the showroom, my wife and son were immediately impressed by the car.
  Me on the other hand couldn’t find a difference between Q3 and Q5. I must say Audi designers are some of the laziest designers in the auto industry. The Q3, Q5 and Q7 all look jarringly similar. Same problem with A3, A4 and A6 they all look same.
  Even now when a Q3 passes by on road, I simply can’t say if it is a Q5 or a Q3.
  Also, the design of Q5 is very classic and understated. But it is indeed a timeless design.
  Not a head turner but also not forgetful.
  Unfortunately they didn’t have a test car. I actually wanted the Q5 50TFSIe which is a plug in hybrid, but Audi had stopped taking bookings for the whole year.
  We sat inside the display car and the interiors were very good. Spoke with the sales person and he gave me a 9000€ discount on the variant I selected and 5 month delivery period, which was decent considering all other cars had almost 1 year waiting period.
  So this was a Q5 45 TFSI with 265 BHP and 370nm Torque, so not far from Stelvio.

So after some discussions of Stelvio vs Q5, we decided to go for Audi Q5 45TFSI Quattro. A typical mind winning over heart decision!


The Audi Q5 45 TFSI Quattro



Delivery Experience
This was by far the best delivery experience of any car I have bought till now (period).
The delivery was at Ingolstadt Audi forum which is next to the factory itself. It was a half a day experience which included factory tour, Audi Museum tour and free lunch buffet. The car was delivered on time with all feature explanations.
Thumbs Up to Audi on this.

First Impressions
The most amazing thing about Audi is, how much attention to detail they have given. For example, every button you press has the nice click feeling and they all click the same way (even the button on the boot). The feeling of opening the door and closing are also thought about so much. They really do what they talk “vorsprung durch technik”.

Driving experience
Speaking of the driving experience, Audi Q5 45TFSI comes with a 7 speed Dual Clutch with Quattro. This car is no match to my BMW 430i, and that is also not what Audi want to do with this. However, the acceleration is so neat and quite that it makes you feel that you are driving something luxurious and expects you to take care of her.

It does 0-100 in 6.4 seconds, not fast but more than an average SUV.

The NVH levels are top notch, it is not as silent as the Lexus NX, but no complaints here.

One sore point however is that the car feels it could have an extra gear. Sometimes the shift between 5-6 feels noisy and not as smooth as expected.

Rear Space
Speaking of space, my dog is definitely more happy to sit in the Boot with Glass all around her. Rear seat is more relaxed and roomier than Stelvio. So, no regrets here.


Sufficient leg space. Plus the seats are adjustable for inclination and front-back positions.

However, the massive tunnel is a let down. I don't understand why Auto companies still haven't figured out a way to eliminate this.


Since, I opted for a 3-zone AC, rear passengers can set their own temparature as well

Infotainment
Q5 comes with a massive 10.1 inch central infotainment. The interface is super smooth and supports both Apple car and Android Auto.
I was surprised that the voice recognition can understand my German which is in a "Indian" accent. Well done Audi!



However, the infotainment is touch screen only and I hate this.
I really want to meet the guy who first came up with the idea to make infotainment touch screen only and ask him “What were you thinking?”. It is so hard to use the navigation while driving or if I want to scroll through the songs, it’s just a bad idea.



This is my favourite view of the Q5. The rear view is the best angle of Q5 in my opinion.


I'm in love with this cockpit design. Looks very cool and very helpful while driving.


The lovely buttons are nicely placed and has a luxurious feel when you press.


I took the S-Line exterior and Interior package. So it comes with Leather sport seats with S-line engraved in it.


The Boot is the official seat for my Dog. It has enough space to carry airpot luggages for three persons.

So overall, I'm loving the car and I can't wait to do my first long drive in December. Will probably post more about the experience later.

[Philomath55]

Congratulations on your new purchase! I am noticing quite a few Team-Bhpians share their buying experience in Europe . I am eagerly waiting to get my UK driving license to drive here.

The colour you choose is amazing and wishing you thousands of blissful miles ahead with your pet, drive safe.

[TejasV]

We demand a picture with your dog, happy in the boot . Congratulations on this amazing car and wishing you lots of happy miles!

[charanreddy]

It’s nice to hear German car buying stories.

I have recently relocated to Berlin and looking forward
To applying for my license and getting a car.

Could you share how much it costed you ?

Keep them coming !!

[chaith.turbo]

Originally Posted by charanreddy

It’s nice to hear German car buying stories.

I have recently relocated to Berlin and looking forward
To applying for my license and getting a car.

Could you share how much it costed you ?

Keep them coming !!

I hope you get your license soon.

The price for the configuration I chose was 72K€, but I got a 9K€ discount. So it came to around 63K€ OTR.
But keep in mind, the prices in Germany varies a lot. It depends on several factors and the time of the year as well.
PM me if you need more information.