HelpMeHelpU

At the event in NJ a few weeks ago they were not 2016s and indeed the guys said they had been raced for a while and were not in the best shape (or something like that). Indeed, one of the R8s appeared to have died and was removed from service for the day. Still a ton of fun to drive, of course.

Z356

I wasn't there. But from the looks of the other 'comps' models Audi brought
to the event, I would say 'No, it was not the MB CLA AMG 45 version!'


Correct. Photos by the OP of cars at the event are the original R8 coupes,
albeit after the initial face-lift in MY2014:



********

The new chassis R8 coupe looks like this, with the re-designed look
which eliminated the original's distinctive full 'side-blades':



I believe that for the US market, Audi plans bring the new R8 as a MY2017 (not a MY2016),
arriving in customers hands early in calendar year 2016!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

ZX9RCAM

Thanks for an answer even if you were not there, lol.

Redline911

I've had this 2016 SQ5 for 3 months now and am really enjoying it. With the 255/45/21 P-Zero's and Quattro this things sticks like heck. I take the bends around my house just as fast as I do in my 997. The acceleration is plenty fun for street use and I find the transmission gets the job done. It's no PDK, but good enough as this will never see a track or auto-x. My only gripe is the MMI system is slow. Everything takes so long to "compute." Calculating an address in the Navi, Bluetooth connection to my phone, back-up camera turning on, etc. I like how it all works when its working....it's like a dial up Internet connection though!

Z356

Too bad. The new MMI on my face lifted .2 MY2016 RS7 is super fast...
compared to the older .1 version. It's the best system I have ever
experienced to date on a vehicle. I am pretty impressed. I believe
that MMI improvement was made to all MY2016 Audi A6 & A7 models.
Don't know about others Audi models....



http://autoweek.com/article/car-news...-mph-top-speed

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel

Redline911

I guess "super fast" is subjective! This is my first Audi so I have no benchmark to compare. The SQ5 replaced my wife's 2013 ML350 which was a faster system, not better....but a faster processor for sure. I'll ask the dealer when I go in for the 5k mile service if there's a software update. My build is 06/15 for a MY2016.

HelpMeHelpU

Nice to hear. Curious to hear whether you did a test-drive comparison with either Macan.

Redline911

Yes, actually had a Macan S on order before eventually going with the SQ5. I was focused on a MY2016 Macan S and test drove that first. I found that many of the Porsche dealers in LA were acting as if the Macan was as rare as LaFerrari. Eventually I was able to find two dealers who were more reasonable but the best I could do for ordering a car was $2,500 off MSRP. I placed my MY2016 order and 3 days later went back to the configurator and was unable to spec a 2016, on to 2017 now. So I read up on that and decided I did want a 2017, no sense to have a 1 year old car the day I took delivery, so I cancelled my order.

Then the silliness began again, one dealer telling me no 2017 allocations were out yet, the other telling me they could order me a 2017 no problem. The dealer that said they could order was giving me a 4 month out delivery date. At this point the lease on my wife's ML350 was up so I said screw it and walked across the street to the Audi dealer. The SQ5 I picked up was on the showroom floor, spec'd out exactly as if I had ordered it. And the best part was they really needed to hit a sales quota and I was there on the last day of the month. Would up getting almost $8,000 off MSRP.

Comparing the two, the PDK is a superior transmission in every way, Porsche really nailed it there. The Audi trans is fine though, it shifts fast and when you select Dynamic mode it holds a low gear and keeps revs up. I thought the SQ5 had more punch off the line, probably the difference between Supercharging and Turbo's. I found the driving dynamics similar on both cars, not sure how to tell the difference between .87g and .90g during a test drive....not driving it at 10/10th's too often! The Macan S I drove had 19" all season tires and the SQ5 I drove (which is the one I bought) has the 21" P-Zero's. The only Macan I could drive with summer tires were Turbo models and I didn't even want to touch a Turbo as it wasn't an option for me. I found the Macan's on dealer lots were spec'd out to appeal to soccer mom's.

Bottom line is that after really digging into the SQ5 I found the Macan not worth the extra $9k it would have cost. The ridiculous option pricing and fake scarcity act from the Porsche dealers pushed me over to Audi and I don't regret it one bit. There are less SQ5's on the road in my area than Macan's. (regular Q5's are ubiquitous however.) I can see always having an Audi in the garage for daily duty while keeping a Porsche sports car for weekend fun.