How long have you had this and was waiting for just the right moment to use it, haha?

The last paragraph of the review hit it dead on about the senselessness of this car, why bother? When Audi decided to come to the SUV party, I was really hoping that they will offer that magic SUV giving this particular category, luxury SUV/people hauler, its raison d’être, and this is what they come up with? Very disappointed.

And I can dig up similar horror stories on practically any car you want to name. All I can do is report on my own experiences, and with the test vehicle there were no problems of any kind. And with my A4’s, I’ve experienced zero, zip, zilch, aught, naught and no problems whatsoever, electrical or otherwise.

this is another suv, destined for the back lots of car shows in 50 years, to the he amazement of youngsters. Much like 50’s Packer Carribeans are now.

I was a bit disappointed that Audi chose not to offer a diesel version right off the bat in the US.

A Modern day the coffin carrier.

-Constant Electrical Problems(Like every two weeks.My friends 04 A4 can attest to that.)

Sorry about your Odyssey. I think you may have a bad one. My friend bought one on my recommendation and loved. It was the only car he or his wife ever had for more than five years. They put over 200k on it. I think it was a 97 or so.

As for you question on the math of multiple cars, it doesn’t work out for the vast majority of people. I have shown the math here several times, but still people don’t get it. You have to either drive a LOT, like 30k plus per year, or you have to be willing to get a really worthless second vehicle and live in a cheap insurance area AND do repairs on the cheap one yourself AND never need it in a hurry.

Renting more than three times a year goes backwards as well. That means you should buy a vehicle that meets 99% of your missions, not 80%.

The Audi should kill a Toyota or Honda minivan.

My wife owns an Odyssey and although it drives better than other minivans, it is still a minivan. Build quality is cheap for a Honda and the Touring model we got has lots of silly problems. Certainly no feel of a BMW Audi Mercedes on the inside, lots of hard hard plastic everywhere. Also had drivetrain problems with it. Bad design issues too – Nav screen is not readable in many daylight conditions because Honda decided not to recess it in the dash. This is easy stuff they have screwed up to it screams to me C H E A P. But my wife loves the thing, so I bite my tongue because otherwise she would be driving something more expensive and a least she will keep the darn thing for eight odd years.

If the Audi doesn’t drive better than an Odyssey, Audi is in big trouble.

I constantly hear advice of people that having two vehicles each or which suit a purpose better (daily driver small, weekend towing large) makes more sense than driving an SUV all the time. Where does the math for this really work out? Just the cost of carrying the insurance here in Canada kills any realized gas savings, never mind all the other costs.

Cost of ownership outside of warranty & free maintenance.

And how some of the rubberized portions get dirty and de-rubberize.

I see. What are he terms of the pact you signed with the Devil?

I’ve also had no problems whatsoever in the two years we’ve owned our Avant. The only out-of-pocket expense I’ve had other than gas and insurance has been to have the windshield replaced after a rock broke it, and the only time it’s been to the dealership has been for routine maintenance (which is covered under the warranty for ‘06 models).

I see. What are he terms of the pact you signed with the Devil?

–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org

Everything performed flawlessly during the week I had it.

Good choice. I think you will be happy with the Acura. I think it’s much better looking, too. I am not a big fan of the new audi nose, so when you scale it up to an SUV, it’s just too much.

I personally prefer the Q7s looks and interior quality, but couldn’t get over the HUGE size of the thing or the powerful-but-noisy 3.6 liter engine’s auditory assault.

I’ve also driven the 4.2, and it cures the noise problem, but the mileage penalty is too much to ignore.

One of the print car magazines referred to the Q7 as “A concept car masquerading (unconvincingly) as an SUV”. That’s a very apt description, IMO.

That said, my wife and kids still semi-swoon when we see one on the street, and I see them all over around my area, though the nearest dealer is 15 miles away. Before the Q7, Audis were very rare in these parts indeed (MB and BMW being the default SUVs), so it seems that Audi hit the styling/image nail on the head, then, even if the function doesn’t always live up to the form….

It’s the same reason I don’t mind the Tribeca but feel the Outback is silly.