New SQ5

[Mattlar24]

Hey Everyone,
New here but I am about to trade in an bmw m50 for a new sq5. I prefer the better balance the sq5 delivers with the air suspension. Smoother more comfortable ride while still delivering on the performance side - albeit a little slower 0-60 than the m50, but how much does this matter at the EOD, the sq5 feels so much more tossable.

So now onto the questions.

I have 2 cars - basically identical msrp
They both have my must haves;
Prem plus
S sport suspension
Dynamic steering
Black optic

They are both silver with magma as well.

So really the only difference is:
1) has navigation
2) has hot exhaust.

I’ve read up on some the arguments that nav doesn’t matter with apple car play and but also that the exhaust is over priced.

So asking the direct question - which options would you choose?

Also there is an ultra blue and Chronos in the picture too - similar option trade off - part of me really likes the blue but part of me thinks it’s a little much - color thoughts?

Thanks!

[Miranda@Nemesis]

My B9.5 doesn't have nav...doesn't matter to me as I live on Apple Car Play. Would much rather have the real exhaust IMO.

[Mops@Nemesis]

Would much rather have hot tips as well. I have Ultra and love it. Historically I'm pretty boring with colors. My previous two SQs were silver. Waffled on Ultra as it felt a bit loud for my tastes but would go Ultra again no question.

[buggravy]

I'd personally choose Ultra or Chronos over Florett, though the Magma interior is killer. I had Ultra Blue, and absolutely loved it. Nav on these, at $1500, is money poorly spent. Carplay based nav is superior as long as you don't care about having the map display in the instrument cluster. I may be in the minority here, but I'm not a fan of the hot exhaust tips. I work at a dealership, and we order all of our SQ5s with the hot exhaust. It's a port installed option, and I've yet to see a single one where the tips are aligned properly. I don't know if they are prone to sag after installation, or if it's just lazy installation at the port, but they're always crooked and uneven when they come in.

[Mops@Nemesis]

I may be in the minority here, but I'm not a fan of the hot exhaust tips. I work at a dealership, and we order all of our SQ5s with the hot exhaust. It's a port installed option, and I've yet to see a single one where the tips are aligned properly. I don't know if they are prone to sag after installation, or if it's just lazy installation at the port, but they're always crooked and uneven when they come in.

That sucks, but I'm not surprised considering the port install. Mine are perfect, but I had an expert fabricator pair my hot tips with the AWE exhaust so he was able to get it right starting from scratch with no limitation on placement.

[Nik_]

Hot tips. You'll hear / look at it everyday (mine were installed straight and even).

Navigation is fun when playing with VC, but not worth $1,500. Really hoping someone figures out how to get AA or Carplay to go to the VC. If you really wanted, you could turn it on monthly for long road trips.

[CreoSTi]

I would also prefer the hot exhaust tips over navigation, but we didn't have that choice when we purchased ours off the lot so I added the exhaust tips myself after. I also don't use the factory navigation much, as I prefer to use CarPlay.

I think Florett Silver is a very simple/clean look that hides dirt and scratches pretty well vs. a darker colored car (our Tesla is blue);



There is a bit of adjustability with the hot exhaust tips as they simply clamp on.

[turbo_911]

Hot tips for sure over navigation.

Drooling here! Wow

[Local]

The only times I've ever used my Navigation is when Im somewhere with zero service.

Thankfully google maps allows you to download an area if youre going on a trip somewhere so with a little pre planning I should be fine.

I would also say go with the tips. I love mine.

[MacR]

Just picked up our new SQ5 this weekend. Went with no nav, yes hot tips. Custom ordered that way and wouldn't change a thing.

[Hostile]

Yes, $1300 for the hot tips is a rip-off. But it’s less of a rip-off than the $1500 nav.

Nav in the VC is a neat party trick but that’s about it. Waze/Google/Apple >>>>> Any factory nav

And definitely pick a color over humdrum silver/gray/black.

[Mattlar24]

Thank you everyone! These responses are great and certainly confirmed my prior that tips are the less of a rip-off when compared to the NAV.

Now, I wish I hadn’t asked the color question! I did start moving forward on the floret silver on magma.

But the ultra blue is still talking into my ear - the downside is the ultra doesn’t have all seasons. It’s also on the suede interior not nappa. The Chronos is on black nappa. The ultra blue is the cheapest. Has hot tips no nav no nappa but still DS and sport pack.

[Mattlar24]

Would the silver be much easier to keep clean compared to the ultra?

[Hostile]

Thank you everyone! These responses are great and certainly confirmed my prior that tips are the less of a rip-off when compared to the NAV.

Now, I wish I hadn’t asked the color question! I did start moving forward on the floret silver on magma.

But the ultra blue is still talking into my ear - the downside is the ultra doesn’t have all seasons. It’s also on the suede interior not nappa. The Chronos is on black nappa. The ultra blue is the cheapest. Has hot tips no nav no nappa but still DS and sport pack.

Personally I prefer the cloth Dinamica seats a lot more than the leather ones.

[Mattlar24]

Yea. I’ve read a bunch of posts with people feeling similar. Especially with the lack of remote start it seems like the cloth is a better all season material. Ugh!!

[Mattlar24]

How bad are the summer tires on the 20in wheels? I like in the NYC area so deal with some moderate snow / ice.

[Mattlar24]

Also - any perceived difference in seat softness btw nappa and cloth? Is one firmer than the other?

[Local]

How bad are the summer tires on the 20in wheels? I like in the NYC area so deal with some moderate snow / ice.

Truthfully all seasons just means bad at everything.

Buy yourself a set of excellent snow tires, and swap your tires in and out with the seasons. You will be much happier. Imagine trying to find an all season that is better than a summer tire during the summer or better than a snow tire during the winter.

Regards,

[TheContrarian]

How bad are the summer tires on the 20in wheels? I like in the NYC area so deal with some moderate snow / ice.

If they are true summer tires (not all season) they will be completely dangerous in winter. My 2nd hand SQ5 came with summer tires, which was a bit of a suprise.


https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-ca/...scorpion-verde

[Mattlar24]

They are definitely summer at least that’s what’s listed under the black optic package when it gets added on.

[turbo_911]

Truthfully all seasons just means bad at everything.

Buy yourself a set of excellent snow tires, and swap your tires in and out with the seasons. You will be much happier. Imagine trying to find an all season that is better than a summer tire during the summer or better than a snow tire during the winter.

Regards,

Disagree with that statement. There are some very good all season tires.

Also your 20's will be cheaper than 21's. That's the only plus lol.
Tirerack has some good reviews on tires and testing.

[Hostile]

The majority of the country lives in regions that get little to no snow. Here in the mid-Atlantic we have no need for dedicated snow tires. All-seasons are perfectly fine year-round. Or get summers for the summer and use all-seasons for the winter. Running dedicated snow tires when it's not snowing sucks.

[Mattlar24]

Thanks everyone.
Decided to with the silver should be getting it Monday!
magma nappa
Sports package
Hot exhaust
Dynamic steering
Black optic / black rings
20in all seasons

I agree with the posters on all seasons. I’ve never had issues with NY winters and all seasons. But I’ll admit when I had the winter tires on my old r32 it was pretty awesome, but to do all of that for maybe 1-3x a year when it matters is not worth it. WFH has made this world a lot more flexible for some of us, most major storms I may not even leave my house now.


Very excited

[CoolidgePNW]

I picked up my new 2023 SQ5 last night. Stopped by a local dealer just to test drive an SQ5 and there's this decked out SQ5 that just arrived perfectly optioned, I pulled the trigger.

Chronos grey metallic prestige with the blackout package. Silver was my 2nd choice, if the Audi silver was a touch darker it would have been my first. Ultra blue is just too intense. Initially they look great but become hard to look at after a while, been there done that with intense colors.

Magma Red interior...on the drive over to the dealership my brother and I were bashing red interiors as horrible looking. Then we saw the Magma, wow finally a shade of red that actually looks good and is not over done e.g. not every dang panel in the vehicle is red, just the seats and tasteful stitching. We both had to eat crow and like it.

I'm fine with the Audi Nav as I'm an Apple hater.

Mine has the sport exhaust tips. Checked them after reading this thread and yes one of them was installed crooked. I do love the tips, an $1,150 option. When I saw the SQ5's had fake exhaust tips that was a huge turn off so glad this option is available.

I have the air suspension. When I test drove this SQ5 it was quite comfortable. When I picked it up last night only 2 days later the sales guy had mucked around with all the settings, it was noticeably less comfortable. The seat settings were all screwed up and he was still messing with the buttons while I was sitting in the drivers seat. I finally told him to BACK AWAY from the vehicle, he got the icy stare. I'll have to get that sorted out today.

[DiscoDan]

The majority of the country lives in regions that get little to no snow. Here in the mid-Atlantic we have no need for dedicated snow tires. All-seasons are perfectly fine year-round. Or get summers for the summer and use all-seasons for the winter. Running dedicated snow tires when it's not snowing sucks.

Not really. I run dedicated snow tires on 3 vehicles in the winter and they perform just fine without snow. The mpg is a little crappy but I regular Blizzaks are quiet and smooth otherwise outside of snow.

[Hostile]

Not really. I run dedicated snow tires on 3 vehicles in the winter and they perform just fine without snow. The mpg is a little crappy but I regular Blizzaks are quiet and smooth otherwise outside of snow.

I ran Blizzaks on my STI and they were total garbage to drive in anything but snow. The car felt like it was riding on marshmallows.

[DiscoDan]

I ran Blizzaks on my STI and they were total garbage to drive in anything but snow. The car felt like it was riding on marshmallows.

Yea vehicle dependent.

Regardless, I've seen ass-hats here keep their winters on through the entire year so they are burning through them quick in warmer weather. Though soft, having the ability to navigate snowy roads IF* it does snow (which is often here in CO) is nice

[Hostile]

Yea vehicle dependent.

Regardless, I've seen ass-hats here keep their winters on through the entire year so they are burning through them quick in warmer weather. Though soft, having the ability to navigate snowy roads IF* it does snow (which is often here in CO) is nice

In the snow though, that was another story.

[ron-sq5]

I ran Blizzaks on my STI and they were total garbage to drive in anything but snow. The car felt like it was riding on marshmallows.

I run Pirelli Scorpion Winters during the cold months and they perform very well. They are a performance winter tire. No floating or squirming around and very quiet for a winter tire. Of course I don't push them as hard as my summer performance tires but I do occasionally run the on ramps for fun. Snow and wet behavior is very good too.

[Local]

I run Pirelli Scorpion Winters during the cold months and they perform very well. They are a performance winter tire. No floating or squirming around and very quiet for a winter tire. Of course I don't push them as hard as my summer performance tires but I do occasionally run the on ramps for fun. Snow and wet behavior is very good too.

I run Pirelli winters as well.

they perform excellently and do just fine on dry on and off ramps. Sometimes with my STi I "forgot" to change them and save my summer only tires for real track days.

I just swapped back over to Summer tires for the first day of summer.

[Mattlar24]

Picked up the car last night. Love it so far. It’s exactly what I thought it would be. When compared to the x5 m50 the sq5 has a much softer ride with the air suspension absorbs the bumps far better but still delivers so much fun factor. Very subjective here - but I find this smaller far more nimble, far lighter sq5 so much more fun to drive. I feel like I can take turns at 2x the speed. Who really cares about that 0-60. This is certainly quick enough!

Wanted to ask everyone - are there any user specific settings I should be on the look out that make the drive / daily setup of the car easier / more efficient?

Thanks

[DiscoDan]

Picked up the car last night. Love it so far. It’s exactly what I thought it would be. When compared to the x5 m50 the sq5 has a much softer ride with the air suspension absorbs the bumps far better but still delivers so much fun factor. Very subjective here - but I find this smaller far more nimble, far lighter sq5 so much more fun to drive. I feel like I can take turns at 2x the speed. Who really cares about that 0-60. This is certainly quick enough!

Wanted to ask everyone - are there any user specific settings I should be on the look out that make the drive / daily setup of the car easier / more efficient?

Thanks

Yea the X5 weighs a shit-ton. A tuned SQ5 can easily keep up with a stock XM5 because that thing weighs so damn much.

[Mattlar24]

Never realized how bad these V8s made the overall drive bc of the weight. My opinion is an unpopular one over on Bimmerpost where they are all OBSESsED with these m-lite cars, but I didn’t like the m550 and now also the x5 m50. They are too heavy, lurchy, and handle poorly. I’d honestly take a 540 or x5 40i every time now. I wish I did, would have saved me a lot of money.. my family vw atlas is 600lbs lighter than the m50?! In some ways that car is a better drive lol

[GoCougs1234]

Picked up the car last night. Love it so far. It’s exactly what I thought it would be. When compared to the x5 m50 the sq5 has a much softer ride with the air suspension absorbs the bumps far better but still delivers so much fun factor. Very subjective here - but I find this smaller far more nimble, far lighter sq5 so much more fun to drive. I feel like I can take turns at 2x the speed. Who really cares about that 0-60. This is certainly quick enough!

Wanted to ask everyone - are there any user specific settings I should be on the look out that make the drive / daily setup of the car easier / more efficient?

Thanks

Settings/mods for me:

Drive 100% in drive mode = dynamic and transmission = S or M.
Disabled soundaktor via OBDeleven.
APR stage 1 91 octane tune and APR intercooler.

[Mattlar24]

Really appreciate the OBD advice. I hadn’t noticed the sound until I read your post now it is all that I hear. It is way too loud and intrusive and absolutely silly that there is not a way to disable it through MMI.

[cheewy16]

Really appreciate the OBD advice. I hadn’t noticed the sound until I read your post now it is all that I hear. It is way too loud and intrusive and absolutely silly that there is not a way to disable it through MMI.

Can also use the Carista app and OBD II scanner (Veepaek) to adjust settings and turn off the soundaktor.

[Mattlar24]

Obdeleven question -
Should I buy basic, pro or ultimate?
Id want to just use the one click apps.
Seems like I still have to pay for those with the pro which would quickly bring the cost up to the ultimate unless I’m miss understanding their pricing model?

[cheewy16]

pm'd u

[turbo_911]

I bought OBD11 last year, the pro version and its nice, but I have iOS and after they did subscription service along with removing free points that you could get daily, to me it's worthless now, unless you have Android phone to do long coding. On iOS it's not supported without subscription. I wish I didn't buy it, but instead bought vagcom cable or looked into Carista. Now OBD11 becomes the most expensive service on iOS.

[Pariah]

Love the stance here. What size are your wheels and how much did you lower it?