Cavalier

For me while I did like the Audi Key, Side assist and thermal cup holder the decider for me was ironically the desire to spend even more moeny and get the Luxury package.

Had the Luxury package been available on a Prem+ I probably could have lived without the Audi Key, Side assist and Cup holder. Why was the Luxury package such a big deal? Well mainly the cooled seats. I live in the hot and sticky south and many folks around here wont even get leather in their cars because they know they will wind up unsticking themselves from the seats after sitting in them for awhile. That of course after having burned themselves when they first sat in them after parcking out of doors.

Audi has a nice gimic sticking some rather nifty item like cooled seats as option only ont he highest end package. Luxury package and Drive select are both features that do like that.

A petty side of me sort of wishes that S-Line was resticted to prestiges as well. There would be fewer folks out there with them and they would be that much more special. However I am glad they did not double charge Prestige owners for the wheel upgrade and made the Prestige S-Line cheaper then the Prem+.

aeiou

You don't need to get prestige for the b&o sound system. It's available on the premium plus for 2010.

rubinjos

You are correct, I should have left the B&O out of my analysis. I must say, however, that it is worth the extra money as a stand alone option.

mwoodget

It may seem obvious but at the end of the day the value you get from it will dictate what you are prepared to spend on it. That coupled with your budget of course. We are all considering or already own Audi's in this forum, for emotional and logical reasons. That's a pretty good place to be starting from.

For example if you need constant help with directions as you are putting 20K+ miles on your ride a year and consistently find yourself in unknown territory without the luxury of forward planning then Nav will make more sense than someone at the other end of the spectrum. Likewise if it makes you feel safer and less flustered whilst driving and will do that a fair amount of the time, another good reason to make that investment as it will increase your enjoyment of an already stellar vehicle.

We recently purchased a Q5 Premium Plus with no additional options. That being said the P+ package comes with some very nice additions not least of which that beautiful sunroof and the signature (and safer) headlights. All reasons we opted for the P+ package.

Why didn’t we pop for more? We thought about Nav and B&O. As for Nav, both my wife and I having a reasonable sense of direction, our phones have GPS and quite frankly we enjoy planning our road trips out on a map (Bing) online before the trip. As such we figured Nav, whilst a “nice to have” for us wasn't really something we wanted to spend an additional $3,000 on. But again if we were different people it could absolutely make sense. As for sound, I *love* music and found the stock sound system on teh A4 was more than enough for the road. Again, I would appreciate if not love the B&O. As it happens the Q5s stock sound system is also great - esp. on the mp3's we listen to so much nowadays.

Our previous car, a 2006 Audi A4 was great and I would often note that despite a lack of options it was still an outstanding vehicle in its own right that I both loved to drive and to baby for quite some time. There were things I wished I had in the A4 like the Auto Dimming mirror, but for the large part because it was an Audi it automatically brought allot to the table; great driving, fit and finish, handling, comfort and much more.

At the end of the day if you like the Q5 even a Premium 2.0T will be a much loved, beautiful, luxury, performance crossover that you will enjoy for many years. Anything you add to that which makes sense for your logic and emotions, not to forget your budget, is your call.

Good luck with the purchase – it is an outstanding car.

Bwalter

I got a 2011 3.2L Prestige and I don't regret it for a minute.

The Audi Side Assist seems gimmicky at first but it can be a helpful remember to turn your head and look into your blind spot if you're not sure the area's empty. I sometimes turn it off in heavy traffic when it's needed less (since you pretty much HAVE to look) but it's helpful when you're moving along nicely and want to change lanes, as an extra sanity check.

The thermo cupholder is kinda cool. It definitely seems to work better heating up a drink than cooling one down, though I've found that getting a bottle with a wide, flat bottom (so it touches more of the metal surface) works tons better.

The real winner is the Advanced Key. I cannot understand how I lived without this for so long. Walk up, get in, push button, go. No dangling keys, no fumbling in pockets, no confusion. Stop car, get out, touch handle, walk away. Amazing. Even if you switch drivers... as long as the keys are in the car it starts up.

Also, one thing not mentioned here: The Prestige comes with the swiveling headlights that turn around corners as well as auto-level. The Prem+ comes with the auto-leveling headlights only.

HaveBullDogWillTravel

Wow...talk about raising the dead!

The G Man

There was another thread about these two trims months ago, when one itemized all the cost of all the options in the Prestige, there is no discount for the option bundle. That means the profit margin for Prestige trim is much higher for Audi.

hawke94

We went for a 2010 Prem+ with Nav. The Prem+ was a must because I wanted the HIDs and LEDs. From a practical standpoint, I had the HIDs on my 02 A4 and they make a world of difference when driving at night, especially in lousy weather. Luckily, the wife agreed . From a snob-appeal standpoint, one of the wow factors with the Q5 are the LEDs and there was no way I was going to pay 40 grand on a luxury vehicle w/o the upgraded lights. We got the NAV not for the NAV, but for the backup camera. We decided $3,000 was more than worth it now that we have two kids. Excellent for backing into tight parking spots also. That said, we've actually gotten some very good use out of the NAV and it's now very indispensable. Much easier than having to remember to get the Magellan.

The only thing I really wanted with the Prestige were the ventilated seats, but I wasn't about to shell out another 3 grand to get to Prestige level and then some more just for the luxury package. We didn't see the Audi Key as a must-have and Side-Assist is useless to me. After driving in NYC for many years, you develop a certain radar and YOU become the Side Assist. Checking those mirrors become second-nature, like breathing.

I really wish we could order a la carte, like other countries. I was on a business trip in South America two months ago and we had lunch next to an Audi dealership. Parked on display outside was a Teak Brown 3.0 TDI. I couldn't stop staring and thinking that that would be the closest I'd get to a 3.0 TDI for a while. I did go into the dealership later and asked for a Q5 book. There are MANY more options that we in the States are deprived of, like adaptive cruise and GSM phone setup. There's a UK book on the web that is more or less the same. Sorry for the rant. Hope this helps your decision-making.

mstams

Is the Luxury Package (ventilated seats) not available with the S-Line Package? Audi USA configurator does not allow selecting both.

FitzLA

There was also a thread about this very topic one year ago. Oh wait, this IS The thread from one year ago. LOL!