Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony
I test drove an SQ5 and it felt horrible. Hated it. It felt sloppy, slow, non-dynamic. Coming from an Audi S3 the SQ5 felt noticeably slower than the S3. I wanted to get an SUV but after driving the SQ5 I determined that SUVs weren’t for me. So I went back to looking at the Audi S5 Sportback. Was all set to get it and something told me to test drive the X3. BMW dealer didn’t have an M40i to test drive so I drove the xdrive 30i. The BMW felt sportier than the SQ5. After driving the Xdrive 30i I cancelled the SQ5 order and ordered an M40i without even a test drive. The Xdrive 30i felt that good.
After break-in I immediately noticed that the M40i was faster than the S3, while the SQ5 felt slower. The X3 M40i is in a completely different performance league than the SQ5. Which leads me to this, I will never trust any comparison review (or really any car review). Every comparison review or review of the M40i mentioned the Audi SQ5 as a competitor. All reviews talked as if the only difference between the two is the badge. And I can only recall one reviewer mentioning that the X3 is significantly faster than the SQ5, the rest made it seem like they were comparable.
The entire time I had the S3 I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. Audi has the center console column gear-shifter downshift/upshift reversed. I thought I would get used to it but I never did. Pushing the lever forward for an upshift is something I could not adjust myself to do. BMW has the upshift and downshift in the proper position. That alone is enough for me to never consider an Audi product again. Not unless it’s a true-manual.
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Had an MK7R for awhile after owning a DCT M3 and it was a huge annoyance. I cannot for any reason understand why VW does this. That and the S3 and MK7R are notoriously FWD oriented - was not impressed with their Haldex. Only kept that car for 1yr...honestly most people rave about them but I wasn't that impressed. The driving dynamics of my 12yr old Evo MR was miles better...granted also better than my M3, but not by much.