Weekend Athlete: 2009 Audi Q5
I don’t know who Audi has in mind to drive this car, but it isn’t Weekend Athletes.
Yes, you could take it camping in the way you could take any car camping. And you could take a bike in it, just like you could in any midsize SUV. But as far as I’m concerned, it would be like taking your grandmother’s irreplaceable china as the place setting for a picnic. You could do it, but why on earth would you want to?
On to the tests.
One thing the Audi does well (as do many of its VW and Audi siblings) is give you a large cargo area with the second-row seats upright. There’s more than enough room to take five people camping. And as is characteristic of several Audis and VWs I’ve tested, you’ll have room to carry most — if not all — your gear under the cargo shade.
It’s good to be able to leave the cargo shade where it is, because it’s a royal pain in the neck to put this particular one back in place. It’s got two pegs per side that have to be slotted into two holes on either side of the cargo deck. It’s also a split cargo shade, meaning there’s a hinge running across it. (Though, why you’d need to cover half your cargo I don’t know.) When you’re trying to put the shade back in, it tends to flop around — exactly what you don’t want when you’re trying to guide four pegs into four slots. Further, I tested this on a windy day and can tell you it’s even less fun then.
And then there’s the next exciting thing about the Q5: folding the second-row seats. There are two releases on the side of the rear cargo area that you pull and, presto, the second-row seats detach and fall down. Sounds good, right? Well, yes, but they only fold over a bit — not into their full, flat position. To get a truly flat load floor, you have to walk around to the side and press down manually on the seat backs.
If Audi had just stopped there all would still be peachy in my world, but no. When you press down on the seat it then locks into place, so that when you’re ready to fold the seats back up you have to unlock them with one hand and lift them up with the other. And the seats are heavy and hard to fold upright. Like I always say, think about having to do this in the rain when you’re sore, cold and tired, and you’ll see why I make a big deal out of this.
The Q5’s bike-carrying ability is perfectly acceptable once you have the seats down and latched in place. There’s enough room to fit a big bike with both wheels still on. (Incidentally, I’d prefer a black interior to help hide any smudges.)
Once you have everything down and latched, the bike and gear go in pretty well. Given it’s got a big cargo area, that’s not surprising, but because this is a luxury-type crossover, it’s got an interior that I find too “dressy” for serious athletic or outdoor adventures.
In a way, that’s what I find so frustrating about the Q5: The size is great for what I like to do, but all its other issues combine to make it one of the last cars I’d want to take to a race.
Weekend Athlete Scores (out of 10)
Ease of loading gear – 8: It’s easy, and that’s good. However, the controls to operate the power rear hatch are mounted such that you have to reach above your head to hit them. That’s bad for short people. What about the button on the key fob? Well, that will raise and lower the gate, but the whole point of having a keyless fob is being able to do everything without reaching into your pocket.
Ease of seat operation – 2: The only reason it’s not a 1 is because of the levers in the rear cargo area that sort of help things. However, the seat unlocking mechanism? It’s over-engineering at its very worst.
Bike hauling – 6: Better than average, but nothing special.
Locker-room cred – 2: If your idea of a locker room is what you’d find at a posh country club, then yes, you can rank it higher. Otherwise … yeesh.
All-around – 4.5: There’s a good Weekend Athlete SUV hidden under all the extra switches and luxury gear, but all that luxury stuff is there. I’m betting Audi isn’t aiming at my ilk, but this is my test, and the Q5 scores poorly.
2009|Audi|Q5
