Oppo Shortish Take Review: 2019 Audi SQ5

"Tripper" (tripe46) 01/06/2020 at 10:20 • Filed to: None

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My father, fed up with the freezing door latches on his 2017 F-150, traded it for a 2019 SQ5. It’s Green! This is a short take review because I only got 15 minutes behind the wheel at night time and it was wet out. I haven’t had time to snap any pics yet, but it looks like this:

His is the Premium Plus spec which nets you virtual cockpit, the big sunroof and some other bells and whistles. His has got the upgraded sport seats, and the inside is very nice, very suited up, and very Audi. His does not have the sport diff/air suspension. That’s something that would be a must for me, but he’d never know it was there.

The Looks:

It is a very pretty car, I love the understated clean lines. It’s true most Audi’s wear the exact same suit in different sizes, but it’s a fuckin’good looking suit. Azores Green treats this car particularly well. Everything is where it ought to be inside, although I wish the middle screen could be tucked away. My only real knock on the car visually is the fake exhaust. Both the idea and execution are bad. Honestly the look over all of the older SQ5 suits me slightly better.

The Drive:

Lol, it fast. I mean it’s not, all cars considered. As far as your run of the mill CUV goes however it is super quick. It honestly drove a lot like my S3 but with torque. The turbo 6 makes good sounds (although I’m not certain that they’re real). Like every S or beyond Audi I have ever driven...absolute tenacious grip. It was wet and cold and I had to really push it with all 200 driving nannies off to get it to slide. I had it in full sport/manual mode and I did the shifting the whole time. Surprisingly, or maybe not to you the power seems to plateau. I can’t tell you where yet, I just remember thinking (where’s that power gone?) on the longer straits. The brakes are impressive. You know that kind of stopping power where you think “It definitely costs at least $1k to do the brakes on this car”, it’s like that.

In summary, it is unbelievable how good these modern multi-diff AWD systems are. I have driven it’s competition and the SQ5 is far more fun to drive than the Merc/LR/Lexus competition. We didn’t get to drive the X3 because my father just up and bought the Audi.

Before I get to the part I don’t like, it’s worth mentioning that both my wife and I jumped back into my Alltrack to go to dinner after driving my dad’s Audi and it didn’t feel like a downgrade... I don’t know if that’s kudos to the VW or a dig at the Audi, but we both agreed that beyond the seats we liked the (less busy/screeny) VW interior better.

What I didn’t like: The first 10 minutes of the drive I was like AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA The power, the rapid fire paddles! Then, what took a year or more in my S3, took about 11 minutes in my dad’s SQ5, The novelty wore off.

Here comes the Oppo’s resident hater from the depths of Tripper’s psyche.....

FUCK NEW CARS. You are “video games”, there is no fun to be had unless you are breaking all kinds of laws. Even then, it feels more like an amusement park ride that you have some control over.

DSG: I’d love to drive a sequential manual on a track, but it gets old on the street. That combined with the fact that you have to think about, and “setup” the car for how you want to drive runs any spontaneous spirited driving. I’d either end up driving it like an auto all the time or go to manual mode for a little while then forget I was there. I know it seems like it would be just the push of a button but it isn’t. The DSG and PDK are the best automatic transmissions I have ever driven, but I’d never own another after the S3.

I know it does not seem like it, but I really like my dad’s new car. I’m just super bummed on new cars. Even my Alltrack, It’s going to take a lot of work an a decent amount of money to get it how I want it. Even after all that it’s still going to have that numb steering rack.

Sovande > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 10:30

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Ve ry pretty color. And this statement sums up why I will never own an Audi:

“ I jumped  back into my Alltrack to go to dinner after driving my dad’s Audi and it didn’t feel like a downgrade... I don’t know if that’s kudos to the VW or a dig at the Audi.”

If your $65,000 Audi isn’t a significant upgrade from a $25,000 lower-tier sibling, you got problems. I think Audi’s design language looked pretty cool about 14 years ago, but it’s awfully boring at this point.

BadMotorScooter > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 10:32

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Good notes! What engine is in this (too lazy to Google it...)? Is the DSG the same as the PDK? Absolutely love that color...

Tripper > Sovande 01/06/2020 at 10:48

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Yeah. I mean the virtual cockpit is cool and all, but not for me.

Ssfancyfresh > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 10:48

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I love these cars. Even the base Q5. I have a B8.5 A4. It’s fine. It’s a great car and I like it . But I recently drove the latest Q5 and it’s everything I like about my car, it just does it better.

Love the green. Very handsome

Tripper > BadMotorScooter 01/06/2020 at 10:49

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3.0 v6 turbo. No, DSG is not quite as good as the PDK.

Tapas > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 10:51

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I share your feelings about new cars.

So easy to drive fast. Can’t feel many of the things, so it’s like you’re playing a video game. And that takes the excitement of driving fast. Also all fa ke sounds sound good, but they're not very real.

I too forget I’m in manual mode after a few minutes.

412GTI > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 10:52

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Can’t wait to see more pictures of that color! As a note, I believe the S4/S5/SQ5 all use the ZF 8 Speed Auto instead of the S-T ronic (DSG) gearbox. It’s kinda weird because the regular Q5 uses a dual-clutch..

BadMotorScooter > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 10:53

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Is it the same engine in the base Cayenne? Is it sized like a Cayenne?

Tripper > Ssfancyfresh 01/06/2020 at 10:54

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I couldn’t get over the sound of the 2.0t in the standard Q5. I’ve never noticed it in the  “cars” but it sounded so buzzy in the Q5.

Tripper > BadMotorScooter 01/06/2020 at 11:21

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Nope Porsche gets a Porsche engine and the Q5 is on the same platform as the Macan, not the Cayanne

Tripper > 412GTI 01/06/2020 at 11:22

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You’re right! I wondered when I was in 7th wtf was going on

Ash78, voting early and often > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 11:40

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Well, I finally gave up on the Alltrack shopping after a year — I finally had the whole family in it for a test drive and my wife just looked over at my 6'2" 200# frame sitting in the driver’s seat (lowered to the floor) and said “You just look like your borrowed your teenager’s car.” Yes, itwas uncomfortably cramped for us. It was bigger than the Audi Allroad, to be fair, but still cramped. We could never take it on an overnight trip with luggage. We had already outgrown the B5 Passat, which is bigger than all of the above.

My new target, despite my aversion to crossovers, is the Q5. My parents have a 2.0t, but I’m shopping for a 3.0 SC. Not an SQ5, due to the premium, but an APR chip actually produces the SAME results regardless of whether you have a Q5 3.0 or an SQ5. Pretty cool. Some H&R springs drop it about 1.5" and could go a long way toward creating a really spacious hot hatch. I sat in an SQ5 yesterday and the extra gear is great, just not quite worth all the premium to me (given the APR option)

That green is amazing.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 11:53

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Predictable opinion: vehicles like this are better suited for an automatic. It’s not a sporting car. It’s not a 0-60 car. It’s a nice car that has go-go power s if and when needed. Call me crazy, but in my mind I don’t see a lot — any? — people taking an SQ 5 to the track.

Tripper > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/06/2020 at 12:03

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Lots of new cars are better suited for automatic particularly with the power that your average car is putting down. T hey’re also all terrible to drive. So a manual gear box gives at least some entertainment on a car like my Alltrack.

I was referring to the transmission on the track not that actual car. Like I’m sure a PDK equipped 911 is a blast on the track, but its novel at best on the street.

dieseldub > Tripper 01/06/2020 at 13:39

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Doesn’t the SQ5 have the 8 speed ZF torque converter auto? Not a dual clutch?

I’ve driven them before, in a way they’re sort of like a DSG in the fact they can shift very fast and smooth and even rev-match downshifts quickly, but they don’t have the slightly awkward stop and go behavior because they are still conventional automatics instead of a computer attempting to figure out exactly how much clutch to apply to get you moving smoothly.

Tripper > dieseldub 01/06/2020 at 13:46

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Correct. Another oppo mentioned that as well. My beef

ItsJustAnSQ5 > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/06/2020 at 14:17

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It’s actually a pretty capable track car, check out Audizine, many folks taking their SQ’s to the circuit and the strip. I have a loaded 2019 with sport package and rear diff and it’s a blast to drive. I t’s got a mild tune via a JB4 piggyback and runs 12.5's @ 109MPH all day long, all 4500lb’s of us . It just also has cargo space with a hatch  and the air suspension let’s me go off road in the mountains when I need it, it’s handled some gnarly Washington two-tracks like it’s nothing with the suspension in Off-Road mode.