Any Audi drivers out here?

[keamoro]

What year? 2024/2025 had a huge issue with preferences. If you changed the gauges from large to small, turned off the car, then came back a few minutes later, they went back to large. Other settings didn’t save either. Worked fine in earlier versions, though.

I just drove my mother’s Q5 PHEV (‘24) up from SC to VA this past Sunday. Was missing my R1T the whole way. We had Audis for the previous decade (leased). Now we have an R1T and a Mercedes, because Audi discontinued the A5 Cabriolet. Idiots…

2013 S5 6spd manual. It had a tachometer, speed gauge, and a fuel gauge. Great sound system, bluetooth, backup cam. That thing was amazing.

Here's one of the last shots I had of it

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[iansriv]

I've been thinking about a RS E-ton gt. Only issue is that the name is so bloody hard to remember.

 

[Riviken]

Plan on keeping my current 8Y RS3 while getting a R2… Ive had several Audis: 2 8V RS3’s; B8 S4 and a B5 S4… loved them all… but like the idea of having a gas sports sedan and an electric SUV…

 

[Kidentist]

I traded my '17 Q7 for a '24 R1T.

One of the worst trades I've ever made. Q7 was a flood damage vehicle and wasn't in the shop as often as my Rivian. Overall component and build quality was miles ahead on the Audi. Squeaks/rattles/noises were non-existent in the Audi, I have crap stuffed in just about ever interior panel of my Rivian to keep it from rattling. Suspension in the Rivian has sounded like a broken hay wagon since I bought it. Rivian has replaced everything this side of the frame under there, and is now telling me "Rivians are just clunky, this is how they sound".

I'm actively shopping a new vehicle now, I'm not even waiting out the end of my lease, effing hate this thing.

I also came from a 2018 fully loaded Q7 (I did have issues with it which were addressed through warranty, full disclosure) which I owned for 7 years and change. Loved it, but with a Cayenne in the house we did not need 2 SUVs. I truly hate the lack of driver assist on Gen 1 vehicles and the sub-par Driver + system, my Q7 was much better at this, and simpler, and whith less cameras and sensors. Anyway, once my lease is over I will be returning my R1T, which has otherwise been trouble free. Too bad Gen 1 vehicles will never have access to their better driver assist features (even at a cost).

 

[superfly_snook]

My partner is a lifelong Audi fan and currently on her 3rd e-tron which is an A6 and going backwards in time 2 e-tron SUVs, A4 Avant, S6 Avant, A4 with that first A4 being a 1996 model year. She loves the way they drive and the driving dynamics in her e-tron are very familiar - two pedal driving, smooth coasting, unobtrusive regen, etc. Handling is as you’d expect. Having driven my R1S she would never switch from her Audis. The Audi software sucks and frustrates both of us. I am fine with the Rivian driving dynamics and happy with the R1 except for the suspension but I am in a gen1 so maybe that’s gotten better in the past three years, although with R2 maybe it will be a simpler design and aftermarket struts could be a thing.

 

[Steve A.]

I was set on replacing my 2021 Q5 PHEV with a 2026 Q6/SQ6 but I thought a 2026 Q5 PHEV would do too. Both of them have the same software issues and are but ugly. Test drove the R2 last weekend and was impressed, would order one today if I could. Any other Audi drivers having similar thoughts?

LOVE Audi interior and exterior styling FAR better than Rivians from the the REAL leather instead of pleather (aka vegan leather), to a REAL *premium* sound system, and controls (love the knob controls) as well as Apple Car Play/Android Auto support (Waze is a MUST HAVE for long daily commutes!).

My daughter's 2017 Q5 was zippy V4 with the twin turbos and lighter weight than the 2019 Q7 that was a 6K+ lbs super charged V6 which was also a great daily driver except for the $650-$750/no it cost me in gas to drive my 100+ miles/day vs the $250-$350/mo in electricity it cost me to home charge my 2023 R1S and 2022 R1T.

That said, my daughter now drives the Q7 and had to start adding a quart of oil between oil changes after 69k miles and had to have the engines mounts and water pump replaced at 90k miles which cost $4k!

Also the Q5 and Q7 were the first two vehicles that we owned that didn't have a spare tire which means having to buy 4 new run flats from day 1 of ownership which only last 30k miles.

 

[mdpa]

I’ve been an Audi fan, and almost bought an A4 and Q5 back in 2008 (did the track experience with them), fell in love, went to order, and a bad dealer experience pushed me into a Cadillac CTS with a performance package.

I owned a 2016 Volkswagen Passat for 9 years and really liked the practical fun, started looking at slightly used Audi A5’s or Q5’s as I was targeting mid-30’s pricing.

I ended up buying my 2026 Model Y RWD Premium and it is probably to closest you will get to replicating an electric version of a Q5. My version outperforms a base Porche Macan and the Performance version outperforms the Macan GTS.

Now I am cross shopping the Model Y Performance and the R2 Launch. Both are the same price and very compelling choices…still deciding if I want to lean more toward sports SUV and advanced FSD or the additional variety with enhanced offroad capabilities and the promise of locked Autonomy+ with eventual improvements.

 

[mik34]

Came from an 2023 Audi E-tron. That thing was silky. Zero road noise but it was also much smaller than my R1S. The range in the etron was abysmal, otherwise I would have kept it awhile. The trade-in value on the etron was awful.

That being said, I love my R1S. My favorite car so far (MB E63 AMG, tuned Audi S6, V8 Audi S5).

 

[2kwik4u]

I also came from a 2018 fully loaded Q7 (I did have issues with it which were addressed through warranty, full disclosure) which I owned for 7 years and change. Loved it, but with a Cayenne in the house we did not need 2 SUVs. I truly hate the lack of driver assist on Gen 1 vehicles and the sub-par Driver + system, my Q7 was much better at this, and simpler, and whith less cameras and sensors. Anyway, once my lease is over I will be returning my R1T, which has otherwise been trouble free. Too bad Gen 1 vehicles will never have access to their better driver assist features (even at a cost).

It's not the driving aids I miss from my Audi. It's the build quality and components. Even when I traded it away at 136k miles the suspension didn't rattle and clank like my R1T. The interior was still just as solid as the day I bought it. Drove the Rivian last night for the first time in a few days (It's been nice out, been taking the motorcycle to try and keep the frustration down) and it's just, well, awful. Had to wedge a folded store receipt between the airbag and the steering wheel to keep it from rattling/buzzing over every bump.

I do agree though, the Q7 held the lane better and had better adaptive cruise. Also had a resume feature that Rivian seems to think isn't important. Also, the adaptive cruise worked while towing our boat, which was nice. Rivian has a persistent "Manual braking required" error/warning that won't go away while using the cruise control and towing.

LOVE Audi interior and exterior styling FAR better than Rivians from the the REAL leather instead of pleather (aka vegan leather), to a REAL *premium* sound system, and controls (love the knob controls) as well as Apple Car Play/Android Auto support (Waze is a MUST HAVE for long daily commutes!).

My daughter's 2017 Q5 was zippy V4 with the twin turbos and lighter weight than the 2019 Q7 that was a 6K+ lbs super charged V6 which was also a great daily driver except for the $650-$750/no it cost me in gas to drive my 100+ miles/day vs the $250-$350/mo in electricity it cost me to home charge my 2023 R1S and 2022 R1T.

That said, my daughter now drives the Q7 and had to start adding a quart of oil between oil changes after 69k miles and had to have the engines mounts and water pump replaced at 90k miles which cost $4k!

Also the Q5 and Q7 were the first two vehicles that we owned that didn't have a spare tire which means having to buy 4 new run flats from day 1 of ownership which only last 30k miles.

Don't replace those mounts on the Q7. Mine were "broken" for several years. They leaked. That's it. They failed in a manner that made them still usable, and not causing excessive vibration or movement. They no longer had the "dynamic damping" associated with them, but you can barely tell that anyway (like changing stiffness on a Rivian, it's more gimmick than usable function).

Mine was burning a LOT of oil when I traded it away. a quart every 300mi or so. This is caused by "stuck" oil control rings on the pistons. Have a local independent shop perform a piston soak process with Berrymans B12. It will free those rings and get the oil consumption back under control. Sooner is gooder on that front. This process was just getting vetted when I traded mine. I had the misconception I would spend less time in the shop with an EV......boy was that a mistake. I should've fixed mine.

As for tires. Don't buy runflats. They're expensive, ride like crap, and wear quickly. Get a good set of tires (I like Continental DWS06's), and a AAA subscription. If you have a flat, get it towed to the local tire shop for repairs. Also, buy your tires from Tire Rack and have them put on locally. The tire rack road hazard is worth it, and if you lose a tire with 50% tread gone, they'll "shave" a new one to match the tread depth so you don't mess with the AWD system. I've done it a few times on my Q7 and it's relatively easy/fast (1-day turnaround each time).

Good luck with the Q7. I miss everything a bout mine except the fuel bill.

 

[Steve A.]

Don't replace those mounts on the Q7. Mine were "broken" for several years. They leaked. That's it. They failed in a manner that made them still usable, and not causing excessive vibration or movement. They no longer had the "dynamic damping" associated with them, but you can barely tell that anyway (like changing stiffness on a Rivian, it's more gimmick than usable function).

Mine was burning a LOT of oil when I traded it away. a quart every 300mi or so. This is caused by "stuck" oil control rings on the pistons. Have a local independent shop perform a piston soak process with Berrymans B12. It will free those rings and get the oil consumption back under control. Sooner is gooder on that front. This process was just getting vetted when I traded mine. I had the misconception I would spend less time in the shop with an EV......boy was that a mistake. I should've fixed mine.

As for tires. Don't buy runflats. They're expensive, ride like crap, and wear quickly. Get a good set of tires (I like Continental DWS06's), and a AAA subscription. If you have a flat, get it towed to the local tire shop for repairs. Also, buy your tires from Tire Rack and have them put on locally. The tire rack road hazard is worth it, and if you lose a tire with 50% tread gone, they'll "shave" a new one to match the tread depth so you don't mess with the AWD system. I've done it a few times on my Q7 and it's relatively easy/fast (1-day turnaround each time).

Good luck with the Q7. I miss everything a bout mine except the fuel bill.

Well, they already replaced the Q7 engine mounts when they replaced the water pump back in December, so that $4K is already gone but my daughter hasn't had to add in oil since, so hopefully that was the source of the added oil between oil changes; however, thanks for the Berrymans B12 tip! I'll definitely remember that if the oil issue returns.

As far as the runflats, it was my wife's daily driver initially when I bought it, and yes we have AAA Plus, but considering the response times we're used to, I can't have her sitting on the side of some country road or I-95 for 2+ hours waiting for a tow, so runflats have been a good *peace-of-mind* investment esp. now that it's my daughter's daily driver away at college. And yes, we ALWAYS buy from tirerack.com even the runflats.

Oh and forgot to mention that the Q7 still has its original brake pads & rotors after 95k+ miles on it but will definitely be changing those before winter comes.

Also, the Q7 was the first non-American vehicle we owned after 35+ years and I was definitely impressed which is why we bought our daughter a used Q5 as her 1st vehicle.

FWIW, I personally prefer the Q7 styling to my wife's Cayenne (except the Cayenne's sound system which cranks to 11+ since it has more Bose speakers!) and MOST DEFINITELY more than any Rivian, but I prefer my Gen 1 R1T's 0-60 in 3s over both. ;-)

 

[mpw81]

I have been driving my R1T since 2022. We got a Q4 lease because it was super cheap to have a 2nd car until the R2 came out. I really like the Q4, but nowhere near as much as my R1T. There is a reason Volkswagen did the JV, their software (and probably eveyone elses) is a ways behind Rivian (and Tesla, probably, but I only ever ride in them as Ubers so I can only assume).

 

[2kwik4u]

Well, they already replaced the Q7 engine mounts when they replaced the water pump back in December, so that $4K is already gone but my daughter hasn't had to add in oil since, so hopefully that was the source of the added oil between oil changes; however, thanks for the Berrymans B12 tip! I'll definitely remember that if the oil issue returns.

As far as the runflats, it was my wife's daily driver initially when I bought it, and yes we have AAA Plus, but considering the response times we're used to, I can't have her sitting on the side of some country road or I-95 for 2+ hours waiting for a tow, so runflats have been a good *peace-of-mind* investment esp. now that it's my daughter's daily driver away at college. And yes, we ALWAYS buy from tirerack.com even the runflats.

Oh and forgot to mention that the Q7 still has its original brake pads & rotors after 95k+ miles on it but will definitely be changing those before winter comes.

Also, the Q7 was the first non-American vehicle we owned after 35+ years and I was definitely impressed which is why we bought our daughter a used Q5 as her 1st vehicle.

FWIW, I personally prefer the Q7 styling to my wife's Cayenne (except the Cayenne's sound system which cranks to 11+ since it has more Bose speakers!) and MOST DEFINITELY more than any Rivian, but I prefer my Gen 1 R1T's 0-60 in 3s over both. ;-)

All fair points.

Also on the tire front, your Q7 should have come with a compressor and a can of German Fix-a-Flat. It works surprisingly well as a temp solution. I used mine once, drove home and back to the tire shop the next day with it. Makes a mess for teh tire guys, but it works in a pinch. NOW, asking my wife to use that is a whole 'nother story, and I understand your premise there.

I had both an engine and transmission tune on mine. Rough guess was around 400hp at the wheels, but I never had it dyno'd to know for certain. It's almost exactly the same power to weight as my non-performance dual R1T is. I'm not overly impressed with the Rivian's acceleration to be completely honest. It feels strong to 50 or 60, and then feels like it throws out an anchor. The Q7 didn't hit as hard off the line, but would pull like a freight train to 120+. Passing power with the Q7 was definitely superior, likely partially because it wasn't shaped like a brick.

It's not all doom and gloom in the Rivian camp for me. The software and GUI of the Rivian is FAR FAR better than the Q7 was. I even liked the "clicky wheel touchpad thing" Audi had, but the Rivian is still better. I love the frunk and gear tunnel, but hate the bed. I'm also very glad I had this is "get my feet wet" with an EV. It makes road trips effortless with excellent route planning, good charging curve, and relatively long range. Now that I'm a "semi-seasoned EV veteran", I think dropping back to something else might not be as big of a deal, even if I do miss the excellent Rivian software.

Here's what I'm thinking my next ride will be: '23-ish eTron S SUV. Good lord these look amazing!

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