Kris Hansen

Exactly. Design, build quality, quality of materials, etc. not comparable with the Korean or Japanese cars. You get what you pay for.

idale

One of the big things (for me) that VW/Audi do (not sure about the other German brands) is try and get you your power band nice and low in the RPM range so you don't have the rev the crap out of the engine to go anywhere. This is where comparing HP/torque figures to especially Japanese brands gets difficult, since unless you're living near redline you'll be getting much, much less out of the revvy engines. My Odyssey has around 245 HP and 245 ft-lbs of torque, but I guarantee you I never see any of that with where those figures are produced.

Once the TDI Q5s are available, assuming AoA's not really gouging people on them, I'll be coming back to the German side of the fence to get better design. The Odyssey was a necessary evil for a while there, but I can finally get out of it and get back what my B5.5 Passat Wagon gave me and more.

As has been mentioned, if you drove the two back to back and the Q5 wasn't far and away in the lead for you personally, then you may not really care about the things where an Audi (or VW or BMW or whatever) will be better. Which isn't a bad thing, as not everyone is looking for the same things out of a car. I sometimes wish I wasn't so picky and could get by in a toaster on wheels to save money, but my time behind the wheel is very important and all sorts of things bug me way too much to be able to compromise on many things.

Darkshines629

Lots of interesting posts here. Keep them coming!

HaveBullDogWillTravel

Are you kidding?
The best reply was conveyed with the fewest words by Elevens.

"Seriously, if you think they're close, why even consider spending the extra money?"

What else is there to say?

Parsec

Darkshine: If you live in Weston, Wellesley, Brookline, etc. then I can understand where you're coming from. You need to drive something with 4 rings or else your neighbors will be whispering about you behind your back. If that's the case then just go with the Audi. Otherwise if you're in Waltham or something, then save your money and buy the Hyundai.

rjrdomer

For some, a car is a car that gets them from point A to B. Many cars these days look the same. They try to build them to compete with each other, so I can see why at first glance you'd get into a Santa Fe and say "this is nice, I'll get it and save $15k."

So if that's you, then that's fine. Go ahead and get the Santa Fe and I am sure you will be very happy driving it.

I've owned American, Japanese, European cars...compared, contrasted. And to me, nothing comes even close to German engineering. The design and thought (with quirkiness) is usually a few years ahead of its time. Many times it's not what you see, but it's what is underneath that matters. The braking, the suspension, the drivetrain. In the old days when a 911 was a glorified Volkswagen...what were the main differences? Braking and suspension. Aside from asthetics, mechanically that was it. So I feel with the Audi you are paying for those extra things underneath you may not see.

My test is the door closing. Slam it hard. Does it rattle back or sound like a tin can? Or does it make a solid closing sound and the same sound no matter how hard you slam it? That's German engineering. Hyundais feel and sound like tin cans.

Since 2006 I went from a BMW 330ci coupe to a 2000 Infiniti G20 (downgrade) to a 2013 Q5. I will never drive another Asian car again.

Parsec

Actually one of my good friends bought a Kia Sorrento the same time we bought our Q5. The doors on both cars have identical solid closing sounds, so I wouldn't put much stock in that. However, the glove box door on the Q5 opens gently on its own whereas the Kia's glove box door goes *THUNK* like gravity when you open it. You'd be surprised how solid these $30k Japanese and Korean cars are nowadays. It's the little things like hydraulic glove box doors that set them apart.

ssteigss

My mother has a new hyundai Sonata. The doors and trunk feel like they are made of tin when u slam them. No where near the heft or quality feel of my 5 yr old Passat. Yet every car mag and publication praises the Sonata quality improvements. Just not the same.

Parsec

I said the more expensive Japanese cars in the $30-40k range are very well-built, like an Avalon or a Maxima. I believe a Sonata is barely $20k.

m1964

Something like safety futures on euro vehicles: DF opened the door and a passing MB hit it-when I brought Q5 to body shop, the owner told me that if the B-pillar bent, it would be very difficult to straighten it because there are 3 or 4 layers of steel in the pillars; at the same time there was a Kia Solo w/ a feneder removed-it did look like a 'tuna can"-no reinforcments inside at all.
I asked the guy "how about this one?"-he replied:"I don't recommend buying them, better get a used good car.."

After all, only the driver's door had to be replaced on Q5, nothing happened to B-pilar that holds it.
Some things cannot be priced, like seats that recline back, then forward in Volvos in rear-end collision,
my co-worked had a rear-end crash in a Sonata, and the driver's seat came off tracks...And he bought another one after the accident.
There is at least ONE benefit of buying a "mainstream car"-you can park it anywhre not worrying about door dings, etc...