Originally Posted by ttusomeone

I asked this same question over on the Q5 forum, but wanted to get this group's thoughts. I'm in the market for a new SUV, and am trying to decide between the Q7 and Q5. I've done a lot of research, so am fairly familiar with the feature (package) differences between the two. I also know it's very subjective on how much space you need.

There's a lot of things I like about the Q5, but am concerned that I may regret not getting something with more space a year or two down the road.

The third row is not a deal-breaker option, as my current vehicle (Tahoe) has a third row and I've used it once this past year.

Are there any things I may not be considering when comparing these two that an owner of a Q7 may be able to point out? Thanks!

Originally Posted by jason1635

I bought a 2018 Q5 in April 2017 and owned for 15 months. Traded for a new 2018 Q7. Both Premium Plus. The Q5 was a daily commuter for me and I loved it 30-33 MPG in 2.0 liter engine which is more than enough for this car. Space is okay, 80% of my miles (29K in a year+) were just me, but used for road trips with a small dog and two kids in front facing car seats. It did fine but not a lot of extra space and ruled out a 5th passenger except my wife squeezing in between car seats.
Fit and finish is great, not noticeable different than Q7 to me other than the mono vent and maybe a few areas have soft instead of hard surfaces. Seats not quite as comfortable.
We traded because we moved and went from 2 car to one car with most miles just driving around town with whole family. My Q5 had a major glitch that caused random computer failure at speed that was a big issue for me if not Audi who viewed it as routine. The second time it happened was on a road trip and our loaner was a Q7--family fell in love, much more space. Third row is nice to know you have but honestly just the 2 rows allows plenty of room not only for my car seats but legit space for 5 people and lots of cargo room. Our loaner was 3.0 engine which is great--we bought the 2.0. I dont regret it, it was 6K cheaper, but it does not perform as well in the larger car as it did in the Q5 or my old GTI for that matter... Still does fine but not wow power. Also if gas mileage is a consideration the Q5 kills it 24/31 compared to 17/25 in my experience... This surprised me and hope it improves when we stop using A/C and the start/stop at redlights kicks in. I believe the Q7 has full-time AWD while the Q5 may be on-demand. That and weight cause the dramatic MPG differences for same engine.

BL: I love both cars, both fit the need we use/used them for. The Q7 is a great car and for its size handles very nicely. The family is much more comfortable in it and that was determining factor for me. If it was just me driving, I would driven the Q5 into the ground. I had a Navarra Blue model and just loved that color. We got the 7 in Samurai Grey, which for me was the best of a really boring lineup of colors...
Good Luck!

Originally Posted by alex123

I have a hitch mount bike rack (I believe it is this one: https://www.amazon.com/Road-Max-RMBR...KFSFD5TGGFM146) and it works really well. I didn't try to put bike inside and I think it will be a bad idea in both cars anyway if you have someone else sitting on the 2nd row unless you find a way to secure the bike from falling over. Plus, putting the bikes on the hitch mount rack is easier for me.

Originally Posted by A6Louie

Even if you don't need the 3rd row, as has been mentioned here, even the 2nd row is very tight with a tall person in the front. That's one of the main reasons I didn't even consider the Q5. The Q7 is a very comfortable ride for driver and passengers.

Originally Posted by BigKutta

While I think the Q7 is not the right car for one person to be driving around every day(...)

Originally Posted by ttusomeone

I asked this same question over on the Q5 forum, but wanted to get this group's thoughts. I'm in the market for a new SUV, and am trying to decide between the Q7 and Q5. I've done a lot of research, so am fairly familiar with the feature (package) differences between the two. I also know it's very subjective on how much space you need.

There's a lot of things I like about the Q5, but am concerned that I may regret not getting something with more space a year or two down the road.

The third row is not a deal-breaker option, as my current vehicle (Tahoe) has a third row and I've used it once this past year.

Are there any things I may not be considering when comparing these two that an owner of a Q7 may be able to point out? Thanks!

Originally Posted by JT4

Putting everything else aside regarding features, price etc.. IMO the statement above makes me think you should go for the Q7..

I haven't driven a new Q5 only a previous gen so it wouldn't be fair for me to compare the two.. But IME the Q7 (especially in sport) drives like it's a much smaller vehicle. We recently took a 700 mile road trip and averaged 30 mpg at one point, what more could I want from a 5000lb SUV that offers as much space and is as quick as the Q7.

We have it over a year and I love it, I look forward to driving it all the time, something I never said about our previous SUV's..

Originally Posted by ttusomeone

Yeah the more I think about it I'm really leaning towards the Q7. I'm hoping to get a chance to go test drive one again today - this time I'm going to test drive a 2.0 Q7. Saving that $5K with a 2.0 vs. 3.0 is appealing as long as it doesn't kill the overall enjoyment of the car. Our other car is an Outback, and we test drove the 4 and 6 cylinder models and decided on the 4 and haven't regretted it. Then again I'm assuming the Outback is a little lighter vehicle, so the differences may be more pronounced in the Q7. Also with the Outback, there was a MPG savings with the 4 that made it harder to justify the increased cost of the 6 where that isn't the case with the Q7 (estimated mileage is the same from what I've seen).