LTMcGill

They like to do this to trick people...
Watch this first Youtube clip where they are laughing at the Q5 and claiming it is struggling and the Volvo makes it look easy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkQ5yBnS4SU
Then in this next youtube clip they actually turned the ESP back on the way it should be and it makes it all look easy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0Zqy...eature=related

FitzLA

I can assure you that those videos are full of s**t. I have used my Q5 in conditions that, if it were that bad, my Q5 would not have been able to move. I have a house in the mountains and last year, we got over 5 ft of snow in one week. Roads could not be plowed, it was a disaster. So much so, that they had to close all the roads up to the mountain to all taffic. I was there for part of it and I can assure you that I never even so much as slipped. My car pulled out of a sloped driveway without even a thought. It actually shocked me how well it performed in those conditions. Anyway, Quattro is the original and BMW are just followers who need to do something to try to prove themselves in this area.

Quartz5

That video of them comparing backing up a hill is pure BS too.. Q5 had a a lot of people in the car, The X3 looked like only the driver. I didn't know BMW had to go so low to try and get sales.

ELEVENS

How could any logical human being draw a rational decision from this video when it's coming from China (of all places), in a language you don't understand, and from an obvious competitor. Good grief, is there any wonder scamming is such a booming business!

NMW1982

There's also a video in this thread from Germany showing the same problem.

kleinbus

If this is this big issue to call problem then you need to sell your Q5 and buy X3... problem solved

Jusforfun

Just for balance, here is a Q5 driving balanced on two diagonally opposed wheels

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kleinbus

Another word for cross-hanging (for example, left front-right rear is on ground and opposite wheels in air). That is what I have been playing on gravel ramps near by.

ESP off = stuck
ESP on with steady gas = over it goes like nothing

kostas_os

I have been driving a manual A4 Quatro in Canada since 1999 without ESP. I have gone through many icy and snowy winters and I never got stuck. Here is my simplistic understanding of the Quatro system, please correct me if I'm wrong: the Torsen differential machanically sends most torque to the axle (front or rear) with the most traction (this is the main advantage of the Torsen differential), then the differential of the axle that gets the torque sends most torque to the wheel with the least traction which of course will spin, then, "electrinic differential braking" kicks in and brakes the spinning wheel thus "fooling" the axle differential to send torque to the other wheel (which is the wheel with most traction at that instance). The application of brakes to the spining wheel is modulated so that the system can "sense" real traction between rear and front axles. The only way to fool the Torsen differential is if you applied the hand brake, Torsen will then send most torque to the rear axle, and in case the rear wheels have no traction (as shown in the video) you will get stuck!

The G Man

LOL, things BMW will do in their drive event to make Audi look bad. Notice in one of the shot, the front wheel of the Q5 is spinning and going side to side. There has to be something holding the car back to get the front wheel to move side to side while spinning. My guess is that there is some sort retractable stopper on the other side of the ramp that is hidden from the camera. They lower the stopper for the BMW and raise at certain point for the Q5.