Audi Q5!
 

Just got back from my training in marbella in spain for the new Audi Q5, the car targets the mid range suv market and its utterly staggering!

took the car on handerling tracks, off road, on road, test drove competitors, merc,freelander,bmw. Its in a league of its own! Audi spend 1.5 million sending people over there to learn about the new products, 5 star hotel, chartered flights etc, luxury!

Audi sales are up on last year by 1%, bmw are even closing there plants, as the same with honda etc etc. Its the only brand to be atually increasing its growth! This is mainly down to the products which are in a class of there own.

Also had a demo of the new B n O sound system the amount of work that goes into it is crazy! the sound quality is brillant!

just thought id let all you guys know

super tired now though lol

Regardless of Audi`s present sales figures or the car`s abilities, it`s hardly the ideal time to be launching it is it?

Dunno about the new car, but the brainwashing is certainly fantastic.

dont take my word for it go and drive it yourself. the brainwashing is good, but if i didnt believe in a product i wouldnt stand a chance of convincing you that it was a great product.

You only have to convince punters that it`s affordable don`t you? They`ll buy it on image, not ability surely?

Ryan, your enthusiasm is really great to hear. I mean that :) And I am looking to change my car ATM. I am even local to you. (What's your dealership?) But some of the questions I NOT asking myself this morning are:

Do I want an SUV?
Do I want a base Q5 for £30k?
Do I want a top end Q5 for £40k?
Do I want to load it with £10k of extras?
Am I out of my mind?

Sorry to be harsh bud :( Just my opinion.

BR,

Richard.

Good to hear it handerls well... ;)

Honest John likes it, but with the price of nearly new cars these days I can't comprehend how people justify spending £30-£35k on a car that isn't truly something special.

Been on a few of these myself and can vouch for the no expense spared hospitality. Absolutely priceless however was me asking a certain tall opinionated jeans wearing gentleman, sporting an M&S jacket 'could we have the green diesel A4 to test please'. He said he didnt work for Audi ;) Well he seemed to be part of the furniture and stood out as if he ran the b place ;)

That Q5 looks nice if abit of a Touareg derivative? Have to wonder if the BMW X6 will be a better drive, as usual...?

D

That's because DD, this is ScoobyNet and you are not that interested in, as Honest John says in the link "... keeping up with the school run mums. No sooner has one of them kerbed her alloys dropping off a snotty sprog at the £2,000 a term prep school, then all the others are going to be harassing their husbands into buying the latest wheels in the status stakes." Like an Audi Q5 perhaps.

On the other hand, a very serviceable M3 or 911 can be had for half that price. Or even a RR (the ultimate SUV?) if that's the side you dress on. That is where the market is at for me, and just about everybody else is either putting off buying altogether, or looking at used, too.

So new Audi sales are UP according to Ryan? And BMW are shutting plants down. I think that only one of those statements is true. How many units did Audi/VW sell over the last quarter, compared to last year? What was the value? At the absolute best, they might have increased market share which only goes to show that they may be doing slightly less badly than their competitors.

New car sales are in deeper sh!t than ever. GM and Ford shares are now worth ONE TENTH of their value a year ago, yet their deluded bosses fly off to beg for a US government handout, in their private jets FFS :eek: How out of touch are these people? Or have they just got back from a $1.5m jolly in Spain? :rolleyes: Get real guys. Life is friggin tough for a lot of people right now and they won't be buying a £30-£50k Q5 any time soon.

Rant off :D

Richard.

Audi Sales YTD OCT 2007 - 89133, YTD OCT 2008 - 90317

That'll be a 1.3% increase then.

Why would someone looking at an SUV type vehicle possibly want to buy a 911 or an M3? :confused:

Reffro, irrelevant numbers. I asked for Audi/VW sales for the last three months (not ten) year on year, volume and value. I'm not sure you will ever get value - too commercially sensitive. You have not given those numbers - it's the last quarter that is key to what's going on. If both volume and value are up, and I want to know your source, I have got it wrong. But I don't think I have: how the heck can any volume manufacturer buck a worldwide trend of something like a 25% drop? They cannot of course.

(Edit: thinking about it, brand-specific numbers like these will not be available yet. The worst numbers will only just be filtering through to the makers now and they are not going to make them public, so it's a moot point.)

DW, you miss the point. Which is, all car sales are down. Sales of new cars are down a lot, and sales of expensive new cars are massively down, so this is hardly a good time to launch a new £30-£50k SUV.

On the flip side, all values have cascaded down and used cars that might have fetched £25-30k last year are now on forecourts for under £20k. Like high mileage 911s or M3s with plenty of life left in them. That means they are affordable now like they have never been before, and, almost certainly, will never be again.

I am not trying to compare a 911 to an SUV :eek:

Richard.

mate they are the figures, i have exactly the same figures on my system. Audi isnt like normal car manufacturers the product its stunning and people know this, people want audi's. Why havent S4's, s5's etc dropped as much as the bmw's or 911's you talk of?

Because Audi dealers are greedy?

Seriously, before the Credit crunch started, my old man wanted to trade his 7000 mile immaculate RS4 in against an £85k R8. Dealer offered him nearly £10k less than the Older, higher milage RS4's he had up for sale on his forecourt.

Trying to make £10k out of a customer is a p1ss take.

I'd also suspect that S4's, S5's, RS4's, RS6's, Q7's etc are stuck on dealer forecourts unsold.

Ryan - are you part of a viral marketing campaign? :Suspiciou

Hoppy's asking you for the last quarters sales figures - because that, he believes, will show Audi's figures falling off the precipice, like every other manufacturer.

Personally I'll be surprised if people queue up for for the "stunning.... brillant" Q5, good car or not. Surely it's dawning on everyone that cars are an effin' expensive luxury at the mo'? Especially when they'll be able to pick one up in 18 months for a third off...

Just been on the Audi UK used car locator.....

200+ Q7s for sale.
104 RS4s for sale.
70 S5s for sale.

They`re hardly getting snapped up are they?

that i suspect is not because of greed, proberly more like anticipation at selling it. there would be no point advertising a car for the same price as everyone else has theres up at, because it wouldnt sell. and if the dealer couldnt sell it, then at least when he knocks the price he'l still up the right way up.


im a little bit confused as to why people are using this as a thread to doom and gloom everything, i was mearly telling you guys about a new car thats been released. if people wernt buying cars, i wouldnt have a job.

Only on the Audi but here you go:-

Aug - Oct 07 total sales 26,570 units at an average of £26,807
Aug - Oct 08 total sales 26,411 units at an average of £26,573

So sales down 0.6% and average price down 0.8%.

And no I will not say were these figures came from, but they are correct :)

I'll get you VW later if you really want it.

Ah what the hell, here's VW too.........

Aug - Oct 07 sales 52,518 at an average price of £15,594
Aug - Oct 08 sales 45,234 at an average price of £15,786

So sales down 13.87% and average price down 1.05%

:)

Audis are stunning?!

Yes they often look nice and have nice interiors but 95% of the range still handles like it's being driven in deep sand, has the steering feedback of an elephant, snatchy brakes and is now the car of the aggro middle management muppet (taken over from BMW).

I'm sorry but apart from the odd minor triumph like the R8, they are all overweight and just a bit silly. I tried a 3.0TDI A4 Avant thinking it was the perfect car - loads of power, nice spec, etc. But it's SO damn heavy that it's about as exciting to drive as a milk float. The 330d (and 335d) are about a billion times better.

Audis are a triumph of marketing over substance in the main - they are now no more reliable than most brands, none are proper drivers cars (bar the RS4 and R8 - even the new RS6 is a lardy lorry) and none have steering feedback (apart from the R8). Yet those on the social ladder queue up to grab one.

Thanks Reffo :) That is the kind of data that usually costs tens of thousands from a research company unless it's just headline stuff form the DVLA. Those are new car sales, actually out of the door to customers, not just registrations? And is the value what was actually paid and not the list price? Whatever, so long as the comparisons are like-for-like that's what matters.

Unless it's a typo, you seem to have done VW an injustice - your figures show value is actually up 1.3% (not down 1.05%). But it makes no odds, the overall trend is pretty clear. I have to say that Audi is holding on well and it is interesting that while they sell half as many cars as VW, the unit value is £10k higher! It would be interesting to look at the different model shifts (clearly something is different is going on within the Audi and VW ranges) but I think we all know where the most damage is being done. Luckily the Q5 has come along to rescue that sector :rolleyes:

Ryan, not trying to diss you mate. There is an upside in every story and it's your job to find it. Good on you. And I genuinely mean that - business needs people like you more than ever. If I am having a dig, it's at Audi and SUVs in general, not you :)

The only point I'm really trying to make is that this is a very good time to buy a car, any car, because prices are so low. If people can summon up the confidence to spend, real bargains are to be had. And I think it is confidence that is the problem - there IS money about, but almost everybody has seen their businesses suffer to such an extent that job cuts are a definite prospect. Not the time to commit to a new car then, and probably a long loan.

The VAT cut will not help with prices much, but it is a big signal from the government that it is okay to spend again. Dunno if that is good advice for any individual that might be out of work come the New Year (hold your breath guys :eek: ) but for the economy in general it is vital that we get some money moving again, reset our sights (much lower) for the future, and get on with it. Ours is a consumer economy after all :)

Richard.

Whilst I agree with some of what you say, it's the old story of horses for courses. People buy their chosen make of car for various reasons. let's be honest, apart from petrolheads, most people won't know anything about "driver feedback" or what constitutes "driver involvement", because the vast majority will never explore the limits of their car on a public road. Audi have been a marketing success and in lots of cases without substance, but then we could make that claim about most car manufacturers in recent times. A BMW may be miles better in your book, but personally I coudn't live with (IMHO) it's hideous looks, it doesn't come with 4WD (which is much more useful where I live) and it's no better built than most of the others, so it comes back to what floats your boat or what do you require from the car you drive. I would class most Audis as "cruisers" that are at least as well built (if not better) than most. Most car manufacturers will produce the odd lemon and you will always hear of people who have had some kind of bad experience with a particular car, but again that can happen with any marque. If we all look at any of our cars, can we honestly say that they don't have the odd fault of some kind, I doubt it!!!

:mad:

You must have very different reasons for buying a car than me. If I was looking for "driver feedback" or "handling" then I would never dream of looking at anything like an A4 Avant, surely they are load lugging family cars for comfortable driving and journey making? :confused:

I'm not backing Audi at all, never bought one or even driven one but I may look at an A4 Avant next year or a 330D Estate, not for anything to do with steering feel or how quick it is from A to B, but purely as a family car that we can chuck all the stuff in the back and head up to the Lakes for a weekend.

With my little boy in the back I have no interest whatsoever in how it handles or how quick it is, or whether it has good brakes on the limit as I will never reach the limit with the family on board. :rolleyes:

Hence, I have my Focus which covers all those points you mention.

Audi are nice looking motors, but I have limited experience of them so need to test some before buying. Reliability is pretty much the same for all marques now.

Ryan - my mate's brother-in-law bought a RS4 in July for £37,500 (was originally on the forecourt for £39,995)
Has gone to part-ex it at the weekend, and been offered £26k.
£11.5k loss in 3 months, doesn't prove your point too well.

Against?

Exactly my point:thumb:

I'm not specifically affiliated to any one marque, I love lots of different makes, but is it not the case, if it wasn't for Audi, (Audi quattro) would this forum or the Evo forum ever existed???? (1st 4wd Rally Car) and they're definately not "boring" :cool:

or he paid to much for it in the first place. there as so many variables with part exchange prices, did the dealer want it, condition, millage, current climate.

2006 model (saloon) with 23k i believe, in grey.

I was slightly wrong with my original post, after talking my my friend today he advise me that the guy wasn't part-exchanging the car, was wants to sell it, and wondered what Audi would offer for it.

when you go into a dealer, looking to just sell your car, they wont be interested unless its somthing they really want, eg have a customer for etc or somthing rare.

retail on somthing like an 06 would be around 30-32k. ?