kat.hayes

I live in the city and plan to drive 99% of the time in the city, though I would like to drive to the mountains, sometimes going off paved roads over dirt roads with rocks.

1. How does the 2.0 Q5 perform in these types of conditions?

2. How easy does the paint chip from small rocks flying up from the road? Is there some way to protect it? A Cover of some sort?

guyguyke

a Q5 is basically a A4 Quattro with some more ground clearance, absolutely not an off-road car; the body has virtually no protection , and will certainly suffer if used off-road
why not to buy an old Defender ??

Huey52

Although certainly not as off road purpose built as a Jeep, the Q5 is no slouch when it comes to dirt roads. The Quattro is sublime for applying the proper torque for traction and its hill descent keeps steep declines in check. Plus it has a theoretical water fording clearance of 3 feet, which is truly remarkable.

Of course you'll want to avoid branches and take it slow so as not to kick up loose stones. A good coat of wax will protect the paint from dust.

moonan

Q5 is better than most give it credit for in light off-road conditions...
200mm (8 inch) clearance is not Jeep territory, but will clear the sort of rocks you wil see in most unpaved road situations.
Having said that, it eats gravel roads as if they were sealed - quattro is excellent for traction in these situations.
A small warning - my manual states a water fording depth of 500mm. That's 20 inches - not quite the 3 feet mentioned above...

I have taken mine into some reasonably serious off-road territory and found the limits to really be that I can't drive it slow enough to negotiate obsticles like I could if it had low-range gearing...

For stone chips as described by the OP, I have bought a "clear bra". This is a clear plastic film laser-cut to suit the exact dimensions of the car. It covers the front bumper, lights, grille, and the first foot of the hood & fenders. Supplied and fitted by the local window-tinting company for around $300 IIRC.

Guy, as to the question of "why not buy an old defender", in the USA (or Australia even more so) you often have to drive for many hours to reach the "last mile" where you need the off-road ability. This is when you need the comfort of a quality vehicle that can get you there so you can have some fun!

For example, some friends of mine here in Australia recently took their Touaregs on a 7000km round trip so that they could cross the Simpson Desert in the centre of Outback Australia - a total of around 400km of off-road sand driving that takes 4 days. Sadly work commitments prevented me from going in the Q5...

I hope that helps,

cheers

jeff968

Groits Garage sells a temporary vehicle wrap that you could us. It doesn't look great but it will protect your paint on a trip or an excursion such as yours.

There are these guys too:

http://www.buyroadwrap.com/

solucien

Just got back from a little roadtrip and took some dirtroads between Mammoth and Tahoe, in the Mono lake area.
Awesome experience, but my Q is left with a whole lot of 'striping'; scratches from small trees alongside the narrow dirtroads.
Will these scratches buff out??
Anyone know a good place in south Orange County?