[DanNYC]

I am a former SQ5 owner, and I thought the seats were terrific, although not a sporty as the 18 way Macan seats. Based on my test drive, I thought the seats in the 2018 SQ5 remain similar to the older ones, which I think is a good thing.

As for your X5, obviously you did not have the optional BMW 20 way comfort seats. Nothing that Audi or Porsche make come close to these, although the Porsche 18 way seats do provide more lateral support for aggressive driving.

I definitely didn't have the 20 way BMW seats. Another X5 is the third car in my equation and it will have those seats if that is what I settle on. I am glad to hear that your SQ5 seats were good. I wondered if I just didn't take enough time to adjust the seats. I have scheduled a test drive at the Audi dealership tomorrow, so I will have a better idea. I was hoping to do a same day SQ5 and Macan S, but the Porsche dealership is closed.

of course seats that feel great to one person may be a poor fit for the next person. Nothing like going and trying them out yourself versus what you might read on the Internet.

One thing that I will mention though is that the Macans standard seats are not very comfortable after an hour or so. I noticed that on an extensive test drive, and several professional reviewers have made the same comment. I for one would strongly recommend upgrading to the 14 or 18 way seats, and absolutely not going with the standard seats unless you have taken a test drive of it least an hour and confirmed that you are OK with them.

Not surprisingly, there has been a tremendous amount of discussion on this for him as well as other Porsche forums regarding which of these two upgraded seats are better. I think the answer is is that it's really an individual decision.

 

[alex_c]

As I'm mentioned a couple of days ago, today I bough an new 2018 Audi Q5 (not SQ5) for my wife. The overall impression is that it is a very nice vehicle. I still prefer the Macan, BUT the $900 B&O upgraded stereo blows the Macan's Bose out of the water. It is absolutely incredible. It made me feel like I had an old AM radio on my GTS...

Why do we have to pay over $4K to have a decent stereo in the Macan? It's not like they didn't have the better stereo already "in the family".

Anyway, nice to see some competition.

Here it is the new Q5 sharing the garage with my GTS.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[drakarmacan]

of course seats that feel great to one person may be a poor fit for the next person..... I for one would strongly recommend upgrading to the 14 or 18 way seats.....

i got the 18 ways seat thinking it will hug me and the lumbar support will help. turns out, i still think it's not wow! when sitting in it for over 45min, my back is still uncomfortable.. so i'm not totally impressed or maybe my back is just too F... up! LOL

 

[WGJP 993]

As I'm mentioned a couple of days ago, today I bough an new 2018 Audi Q5 (not SQ5) for my wife. The overall impression is that it is a very nice vehicle. I still prefer the Macan, BUT the $900 B&O upgraded stereo blows the Macan's Bose out of the water. It is absolutely incredible. It made me feel like I had an old AM radio on my GTS...

Why do we have to pay over $4K to have a decent stereo in the Macan? It's not like they didn't have the better stereo already "in the family".

Anyway, nice to see some competition.

Here it is the new Q5 sharing the garage with my GTS.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sounds nice...and I agree about the stereo.
BUT...the stance of your GTS in that pic is really highlighted and is just so much nicer!

 

[bmf]

i got the 18 ways seat thinking it will hug me and the lumbar support will help. turns out, i still think it's not wow! when sitting in it for over 45min, my back is still uncomfortable.. so i'm not totally impressed or maybe my back is just too F... up! LOL

Same thing here. Thought 18-way would be perfect but after a long drive it doesn't really feels comfortable. Have tried gazillions of settings but result was the same.
HOWEVER. They (and 8-way) do look much nicer than 14-way. And if you program your second memory button to position your seat very low, closer to the steering wheel and in a vertical position you'll get a perfect driving position for a track day or just for a couple of km of a twisty road!
So for me it's a love/hate thing.

 

[645E3A]

of course seats that feel great to one person may be a poor fit for the next person. Nothing like going and trying them out yourself versus what you might read on the Internet.

One thing that I will mention though is that the Macans standard seats are not very comfortable after an hour or so. I noticed that on an extensive test drive, and several professional reviewers have made the same comment. I for one would strongly recommend upgrading to the 14 or 18 way seats, and absolutely not going with the standard seats unless you have taken a test drive of it least an hour and confirmed that you are OK with them.

Not surprisingly, there has been a tremendous amount of discussion on this for him as well as other Porsche forums regarding which of these two upgraded seats are better. I think the answer is is that it's really an individual decision.

Yes, my initial plans were to just "cheap-out" and go with the 8-way seats, but after about three minutes on a test drive, I found myself reaching for the non-existent lumbar support buttons on the 8-way seats.. So.. I upgraded to the 14-way seats. Since my wife will be spending a lot of time in this car, we decided to stay away from the more aggressive bolstering on the sport seats, and just stuck with the 14-way. True, the seat centers are not as attractive to me with the 14-way seats, so ya win some, ya lose some! I would have preferred the alcantara seat centers above all, but the lack of lumbar support canceled that one for us.

Happy Macan-ing!

 

[MCar33]

Flip flop on the GTS and Audi garage parking. My wife got the SQ5 (not liking the faux dual exhaust). Agree that B&O sounds very good. Her car came with bars for the roof rails thrown in which I think will fit the Macan perfect, win for me!

Here it is the new Q5 sharing the garage with my GTS.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[K-A]

Sat in a new Q5. Surprised at how bad it looked in person. I expected better based on pictures. Just a little basic and generic. No match for the Macan. Macan is the one SUV that evades a utilitarian look, which is hard to compete with by cars like a Q5 that look utilitarian in comparison.

Fake exhausts are a JOKE. Bring the car down greatly to my eyes. Like the new R8 which is a $200+K car with fake plastic vents. Ruins the entire dignity of the car to me. People made fun of $17K Mustang’s in the 90’s for having the exact same closed-up fake honeycomb grills.

Interior was even more surprising. Lots of cheap plastics. The door grab is one of the cheapest door grabs I’ve ever felt. It’s so hard and thin and flat that it was already getting discolored. The B Pillar shape looks identical to the Macan’s. The screen isn’t THAT impressive. People make such a big deal about screens, it’s just not such a big deal to me. Maps view wasn’t all that crisp (though again, who cares) and looks kinda 80’s, and the UI not much superior to my Audi-imitation Mazda. And the popup screen (exactly like my Mazda) looks so cheap and ill fit. Not elegant at all and is already such a dated looking fad imo. It’ll age horribly.

Big props to Audi for following Porsche’s lead and not forcing a sunroof on us. Headroom is excellent as on the Macan.

The speedo LCD is more crisp than the cheap appearing center screen. But still, nothing near the style and elegance of a classy mechanical looking live tach. That too will date the car terribly when said LCD display which is the focal point of your eyes looks pixelated and like a 2017 gimmick. I look at screens all day, and being a rare breed who views cars as pieces of art for enjoyment, screen and graphical abundance in cars also just looks utilitarian to me. Like there’s no “break” from the #ScreenLife. Meanwhile, the Macan’s classic Porsche tach will age like a timeless quality watch (as it already has).

Sat in a new A5 Sportback too. Didn’t love it like I thought I would. Embarrassingly bad headroom. The front is a lot softer and more bland than I’d like. Interior is ok. Don’t like the Q7 style fake AC vents making the whole lower dash look like one long A/C vent (who ever thought “Hey, you know what’s sexy? A/C vents! Let’s make the whole dash look like a giant black plastic open A/C vent.” Same deal as the Q5 with the screens. The window line looks exactly like a Chevy Impala. Overall, not so impressed. I like the Coupe WAY more.

Will probably drive them soon.

 

[USCGTS]

My wife has a 2016 SQ5, fantastic car. The 2018 model is without a doubt the ugliest Audi ever made. The dealership gave us a loaded one for the weekend, my wife drove it for an afternoon and wanted to take it back. I have stated this on the Audi forums I frequent and pretty much everyone agrees it's an ugly car. A major step backwards for Audi. I looked at it for an hour in my driveway and cannot figure out how this car was approved.

 

[Shark]

I have stated this on the Audi forums I frequent and pretty much everyone agrees it's an ugly car.

I don’t understand this comment. Yes, there are plenty of people on the Audi forums that have been very vocal that they don’t like the look of the new car. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But have you noticed how many people on those same forums now own one? And have you noticed the sales figures for the new car? That pretty much speaks for itself.

I don’t like the fake exhaust either, but other than that I have no issues with the exterior design at all. And I like the flexibility of the digital instrument panel a lot.

Of course the interior is not nearly as nice as the Macan. Who would ever expect it to be? Look at the apples to apples difference in price, and it’s pretty easy to see where Porsche spent much of the money. I don’t have any significant issues with any interior design features, other than that I have a very strong preference for the Macan steering wheel.

Of course the Macan is a nicer car, but let’s not forget the substantial difference in price for apples to apples equipment. If I was forced to spend less money, I would not exactly be unhappy with the new SQ5.

 

[USCGTS]

I don’t understand this comment. Yes, there are plenty of people on the Audi forums that have been very vocal that they don’t like the look of the new car. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But have you noticed how many people on those same forums now own one? And have you noticed the sales figures for the new car? That pretty much speaks for itself.

I don’t like the fake exhaust either, but other than that I have no issues with the exterior design at all. And I like the flexibility of the digital instrument panel a lot.

Of course the interior is not nearly as nice as the Macan. Who would ever expect it to be? Look at the apples to apples difference in price, and it’s pretty easy to see where Porsche spent much of the money. I don’t have any significant issues with any interior design features, other than that I have a very strong preference for the Macan steering wheel.

Of course the Macan is a nicer car, but let’s not forget the substantial difference in price for apples to apples equipment. If I was forced to spend less money, I would not exactly be unhappy with the new SQ5.

Not sure how your first sentence disputes the line you quoted. Audizine/Audi World has 5 major threads of people venting on the new SQ5 across a range of gripes. The fake exhaust is the least of mine. The fact that they have body lines going all over the place like a Nissan Maxima coupled with chrome bits everywhere is my main one. We have had two SQ5's as my wife prefered it to the Macan based on interior room. I wasn't going to argue because pound for pound it was a tremendous value. I liked the wheels, the steering wheel and B&O...and it's very quick. But I cannot dismiss ugly and the new car is plain ugly. Not offering Black opticks was a huge fail from Audi. Sure they may add it down the line but what were they thinking with all those hood creases? Car looks ridiculous and even my dealer ( Newport) says many 15/16 owners coming off lease while liking some things like MMI etc cannot overlook how ugly the car became.

This is my point that came up about Porsche. Porsche refines, Audi went the route of the Japanese and it shows. Sure they may sell plenty but not one to me.

 

[cafeswartz]

So my wife hurt her knee and couldn't drive her S5 manual anymore . So I'm getting a hand me down S5 and naturally we go to the Audi store to look for a car . I'm hoping for a RS 3 but thats a no go - too small for Mrs.
Drove a few cars and end up in a SQ5 I'm in the back seat don't care to drive it cause its not for me.

Next day (Saturday) we decide to drive a Macan because my wife likes the look of the neighbors. For myself (this is August) I'm coming off my first Porsche track day and almost first Porsche drive in Cayman ,911 (so impressed).

Drove a base Macan, again I sat in back and to be honest it felt like a econobox. Then we got in the GTS , my wife who can drive was giddy, loved the sound. Then I drove with a non nervous SA who let me wring it out a bit too, wow . Priced out a new GTS then back to the Audi store for me to drive the SQ5 .

There is no comparing the GTS to the SQ5 its not a fair fight. The GTS feels like a Cayman , Sport Plus turns the GTS into a demon,the interior is very nice and I wanted simplicity(i'm old I want buttons). Sure you feel the bulk but compared to the SQ5 the GTS feels very flingable, and is confidence inspiring.

The SQ5 interior was not as nice as the GTS ,and the Audi store (which was packed ) was pushing driver aids and the big screen made me feel like I should be programming something . There are several older Q5 and SQ5 in my hood they are pretty- the new SQ% not so much .

We did try to deal on a SQ5, SA , manager, the whole drill .Finally the manager looks at me and says its not about the money is it ? I said no and we left .

But it is about the money to a degree the SQ5 was $18,000 less than the GTS . But my wife said she was glad we got something we would both enjoy . I'm hoping the GTS will be so enjoyable the price and costs will fade to the background.
If I had never driven a Porsche then I wouldn't know . But now I know.

Delivery is expected 2nd week of December .

 

[DanNYC]

The GTS feels like a Cayman???

I?m comfortable saying the vast majority of forum members love their Macans, but I would also say most of us know the that the biggest component the Macan has in common with the Cayman is probably the PCM.

But if you really think that, don?t let anyone here burst your bubble and I hope you totally enjoy your GTS.

 

[Andy B]

The GTS feels like a Cayman???

I?m comfortable saying the vast majority of forum members love their Macans, but I would also say most of us know the that the biggest component the Macan has in common with the Cayman is probably the PCM.

But if you really think that, don?t let anyone here burst your bubble and I hope you totally enjoy your GTS.

It’s not a Cayman but it sure is a blast to drive and puts a similar smile on your face.

 

[rasetsu]

So my wife hurt her knee and couldn't drive her S5 manual anymore . So I'm getting a hand me down S5 and naturally we go to the Audi store to look for a car . I'm hoping for a RS 3 but thats a no go - too small for Mrs.
Drove a few cars and end up in a SQ5 I'm in the back seat don't care to drive it cause its not for me.

Next day (Saturday) we decide to drive a Macan because my wife likes the look of the neighbors. For myself (this is August) I'm coming off my first Porsche track day and almost first Porsche drive in Cayman ,911 (so impressed).

Drove a base Macan, again I sat in back and to be honest it felt like a econobox. Then we got in the GTS , my wife who can drive was giddy, loved the sound. Then I drove with a non nervous SA who let me wring it out a bit too, wow . Priced out a new GTS then back to the Audi store for me to drive the SQ5 .

There is no comparing the GTS to the SQ5 its not a fair fight. The GTS feels like a Cayman , Sport Plus turns the GTS into a demon,the interior is very nice and I wanted simplicity(i'm old I want buttons). Sure you feel the bulk but compared to the SQ5 the GTS feels very flingable, and is confidence inspiring.

The SQ5 interior was not as nice as the GTS ,and the Audi store (which was packed ) was pushing driver aids and the big screen made me feel like I should be programming something . There are several older Q5 and SQ5 in my hood they are pretty- the new SQ% not so much .

We did try to deal on a SQ5, SA , manager, the whole drill .Finally the manager looks at me and says its not about the money is it ? I said no and we left .

But it is about the money to a degree the SQ5 was $18,000 less than the GTS . But my wife said she was glad we got something we would both enjoy . I'm hoping the GTS will be so enjoyable the price and costs will fade to the background.
If I had never driven a Porsche then I wouldn't know . But now I know.

Delivery is expected 2nd week of December .

You just ordered yesterday and your delivery is on the 2nd?!?! Wow! Did you land one that is en route that fit your configuration or something?

I agree with your sentiments.

I got a good price for my GTI and test drive a 2015 SQ5, a 2018 SQ5 and a 2018 GTS. The 2015 SQ5 looks nice, almost identical inside as our 2014 RS5, and rode pretty well, but the very large side mirrors kind of reduced visibility making it more truck like. The high riding steal springs would have to go as well. The 2018 SQ5 rode MUCH better with the air suspension. Very good power delivery but not awesome. Lots of tech in the interior but I just didn't care for that too much. It's like they filled it with tech and then didn't bother with touch and feel of materials thinking that we would just be distracted by the tech. I sat in one without the virtual cockpit and liked that better but the small tacked on center screen looked bad. It was supposed to be retractable but new US federal regs requires back up camera to come on instantly when transmission goes into reverse so having a motorized screen no longer abides. Love that the B&O audio is a relatively low cost option and Android Auto/CarPlay is standard. But it felt like a juiced up soccer mom mobile. It just drove big.

Then test drive the Macan GTS. Total worlds apart in terms of motoring feel. It's is really about the PDK. Both cars have similar engine outputs but the PDK makes a world of difference. It drove small like a hot hatch. Porsche defies physics with it's suspension sorcery. Cabin didn't feel cramped but was obviously designed for the driver in mind. Interior material fit and finish is also top notch. Just feel around the door cards and the difference is obvious. It's like how Audi used to care about tactile feel before spending all time and effort on infotainment tech. Sucks that Android Auto is not yet available and even CarPlay has to be optioned but that is the stark difference between Porsche and Audi. Porsche tech is focused on the drive. Audi tech is now focused on the convenience.

Now is the Macan GTS worth ~$20K more? It is to me since I keep my cars 6-10 years and the Porsche is designed more around my priorities. About $10K of that difference is probably in the name alone but the 7 speed PDK alone versus the 8 speed auto really sealed the deal. PASM is just gravy. If I were to lease or own shorter term, can't fault anyone for choosing the SQ5. It's a great value proposition. But the Macan is just a lot more emotional.

 

[Hoosier]

Having gone from an sq5 to now a 2018 GTS for like you said a 20,000 dollar difference. All I can say is everyday that I Drive my GTS I don't think about the price difference. The GTS is amazingly fun to drive. Enjoy!

 

[K-A]

You just ordered yesterday and your delivery is on the 2nd?!?! Wow! Did you land one that is en route that fit your configuration or something?

I agree with your sentiments.

I got a good price for my GTI and test drive a 2015 SQ5, a 2018 SQ5 and a 2018 GTS. The 2015 SQ5 looks nice, almost identical inside as our 2014 RS5, and rode pretty well, but the very large side mirrors kind of reduced visibility making it more truck like. The high riding steal springs would have to go as well. The 2018 SQ5 rode MUCH better with the air suspension. Very good power delivery but not awesome. Lots of tech in the interior but I just didn't care for that too much. It's like they filled it with tech and then didn't bother with touch and feel of materials thinking that we would just be distracted by the tech. I sat in one without the virtual cockpit and liked that better but the small tacked on center screen looked bad. It was supposed to be retractable but new US federal regs requires back up camera to come on instantly when transmission goes into reverse so having a motorized screen no longer abides. Love that the B&O audio is a relatively low cost option and Android Auto/CarPlay is standard. But it felt like a juiced up soccer mom mobile. It just drove big.

Then test drive the Macan GTS. Total worlds apart in terms of motoring feel. It's is really about the PDK. Both cars have similar engine outputs but the PDK makes a world of difference. It drove small like a hot hatch. Porsche defies physics with it's suspension sorcery. Cabin didn't feel cramped but was obviously designed for the driver in mind. Interior material fit and finish is also top notch. Just feel around the door cards and the difference is obvious. It's like how Audi used to care about tactile feel before spending all time and effort on infotainment tech. Sucks that Android Auto is not yet available and even CarPlay has to be optioned but that is the stark difference between Porsche and Audi. Porsche tech is focused on the drive. Audi tech is now focused on the convenience.

Now is the Macan GTS worth ~$20K more? It is to me since I keep my cars 6-10 years and the Porsche is designed more around my priorities. About $10K of that difference is probably in the name alone but the 7 speed PDK alone versus the 8 speed auto really sealed the deal. PASM is just gravy. If I were to lease or own shorter term, can't fault anyone for choosing the SQ5. It's a great value proposition. But the Macan is just a lot more emotional.

"It's like they filled it with tech and then didn't bother with touch and feel of materials thinking that we would just be distracted by the tech."

Perfectly said.

Even thew new Panamera, which has far superior materials (that aren't cheap "plastic screen") feels so cold and cheaper than it should inside, thanks solely to those screens that are big, dark, clunky and unsightly when off. Tech covering for fundamental engineering quality is something that never works, imo.

 

[cafeswartz]

rasetsu

GTS was ordered August 14 , dealer had just received more allotment(2) . So plenty long to wait. It's on the Baltimore Highway now soon to dock in Halifax.