HaveBullDogWillTravel

You mean that you are prepared to take a minimum $5000.00 hit because of a few small issues??? That's NUTS! No matter what car you buy you will eventually find something about it that you don't like. I've bought quite a few new cars for the wife and myself since 1989 and none were perfect...but I had no problem adapting to the quirks that came in every one of them. The Q is as close to "just right" as any of them. I'm not saying that it should be for you too, but jeez man you may lose as much as $6-7K over this. WOW!

UrbanExtant

I can relate to the OP 100%, but for me it was in regards to that two month disaster owning an X5. Sometimes there are just so many little things that irritate you about a car, that you can't see keeping it as long as you have agreed to, and at that point happiness outweighs the amount of money lost in making the switch to a different car.

I do, however, suggest making sure that the next car is the "right" car. I noticed the other day, while looking at the A7 forum (we're exploring that as our next car to replace the A4) that tridentnyc who complained about his Q5 the whole time he had it, had replaced it with an A7, but was again complaining about it for similar reasons he did the Q5. Making the move to a different car so soon, even if money lost is involved, can be the right decision, as long as the move is to the correct car to satisfy your needs/wants. My move back to the Q5, despite the problems I had with the first one, was the best move for me, and I love it.

labawski

Outback over Q?!!!
Me and my Wife just got out of 2011 Outback 3.6 with NAV and all the bells and whistles. We got it in May of 2011 an trade it in for Q at January 29th of 2012. Our loss was substantial, $11000 !!!!!. The bright side of it is that THE "Q" compensated all of this. Comparison of those two is like apples and oranges. If you are the person who gets aggravated by little thing, gating an Outback is not a good think for you. Squeaks, rattles, Nav so primitive that it got me thinking it was innovated before the wheel was, and the suspension................. If you are in to sailing then Outback may be the car for you. Driving 70 on a highway will keep you busy with constant correction of car path. Week after we got it I had to replaced rear sway bar which didn't help a lot. Another ting is the sensitivity of Outback to side wind <---- this plus poor traction will make you feel unsafe on several occasions.
I'm not trying to change your mind about "Q", I know your feeling, if there is something that bathers you then there is no way to bright it up. All I'm saying is, go out there and test drive "well" your next vehicle as well as do your homework online....

The G Man

As much as I like to trash anything Subaru, I find the new Outback to be a very nice vehicle. AWD is as good if not better than the Quattro. I drove it on the highway a few times doing 75 MPH and the steering was very true and effortless. The interior is pretty nice for a car in that price range. The draw back to Subaru have always been cheap built material, it is not built like a tank as in an Audi. The interior material is pretty good, but the sheet medal is thin, pop the hood and you can see the big difference in built material under there. Like the last poster said, comparing a Subaru and an Audi is like comparing apples and oranges, but that doesnt mean Subaru is a bad car.

Heresy64

Very true. Different cars for people with different likes and/or needs. However, I do wonder why the OP bought an Audi, only to dislike it enough to replace it with a Subaru. It seems to me that if the Subaru is to his liking, then he probably should have never even walked into an Audi showroom. The cars are so different in style, quality, purpose and execution. Again, like others, I am not bashing Subaru as being bad, on the contrary, they are very well-made cars. It's just that the two brands are so different that cross-shopping the two doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Cross-shopping Audi with Acura, BMW, Lexus makes sense. Cross-shopping Subaru with Honda, Toyota, Mazda, or VW makes sense. But Audi and Subaru on the same list...not getting it.

labawski

We drove 2008 Outback L.L.Bean 3.0 for tree years and quality between 2008 and the new one declined a lot. I didn't say Subaru is a bad car, especially if price is the factor. Let's not forget it is about those little thing the author has a problem with. I think Subaru will deliver more reasons to complain. Like we both agreed, apples and oranges........

radman2020

Thanks Jefsti. I've heard that line about test drives before. I would repeat what you said but you said it perfectly. I am very tech savvy so I thought none of this would be an issue.. but it isn't a problem of understanding how it works. I understand how it all works. It is over engineered, not under. The MMI is designed for a copilot, not a driver.

1 about 5 clicks or rolls to get a preset radio station instead of pushing a button.

2. Radio info that doesn't scroll properly but does obscure the other stations.

3. Nav system where the map isn't the default screen... and very cumbersome to input the addresses. I now just use my android/google for navigation. Quick and easy address entering in one step.

4. Nav system where half the screen is obscured by the upcoming turns instead of them being across the top or bottom like most systems. A total waste of screen room and annoying. You can turn it off but then you don't get your next turn. Remember to read from bottom up... hard to do.

5. Bluetooth that won't stream audio. Phonebook entries that duplicate for each entry in an person's listing (cell, home, work) with notation for which is which only after you have guessed which entry. No dash input for 3.5mm plug since there isn't streaming... rather it is in the glove compartment. At least it could be in the armrest. No USB port. SD slots taking up valuable real estate on the dash.

6. Heater/A/c where you don't have a simple **** for heat/auto and fan... but rather you have to push one of 4 buttons to activate the **** to the function you want. Logical but a total distraction.

7. sunvisors you can only grab from one side....



The car does drive very well... but not perfectly. It often suddenly shifts down hard from 3rd gear to first stopping you abrubtly. There is an intermittent turbo-lag... There is wonderful, snap your neck acceleration when at speed and stepping down... sometimes. I can never predict when it will be good vs the neck snapping acceleration.

None of this is horrible... but it just takes away the fun of the experience and supplants it with annoying distraction (particularly the radio and bluetooth) which just isn't acceptable to me in an expensive car like this.

I drove the subaru 6 cylinder... it had fantastic acceleration, better mileage, regular gas, more room in back and way back. It isn't as pretty...but it certainly has a unique look. The q5 is pretty, but very similar to others (lexus, acura) until you get close... pretty generic actually. The internal appointments are not near as nice in the subaru... but it has character. I wish I hadn't gone for the glitz in the first place. It just isn't worth it.

Again, some of this is personal preference. Most of it I couldn't tell until I had a few thousand miles. The salespeople don't share these things (and probably don't even know most of them). Again, some of this is personal preference. Most of it I couldn't tell until I had a few thousand miles. The salespeople don't share these things (and probably don't even know most of them).

radman2020

one addition. before someone says that the drive issues need adjustment- I had them checked out by the dealer. They said all that is normal for this 8 gear tranny.

sjuhawks19

What about trading in your Q5 for one without Nav? I have one without Nav too (since I use my Droid for that) and the controls are not below the shifter, they are on the center stack which I prefer. Might be worth a look at least, I find the controls pretty intuitive, maybe the Nav just overcomplicates things.

The G Man

Well radman2020, we already had another thread about your complaints, so we should just leave it at that. I must say that what you are doing is comparing the Audi's controls to a Japanese car. Controls are definitely different on Japanese car, not necessary better, but not necessary worst. I have a Japanese car and an Audi in my driveway so I am pretty familiar with the difference. There are plenty of advantage to the Audi's control system as well, but I wouldn’t list them all now. Some people like simple controls and some like fewer buttons. I can operate most of the controls on my Audi without even looking. As an engineer, I can tell you that you can never over engineer a product. Just when you think you have design the product for every single scenario, the consumer always find something that the engineers miss. Good luck with your Subaru, it’s a great car.