Q5 petrol or diesel or SQ5?

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The time has come to replace SWMBO's 12 year old X-Trail. We both agree that the Q5 fits the bill ideally but the problem is I really don't think any diesel variant suits our/her usage. The X-Trail is a 2.5l petrol and does about 5-6k p.a. A good deal of those miles are short <3 miles! It does, however, get to see fairly regular 50-150 mile journeys but probably on a 4-6 week basis. I don't think this fits well with a modern diesel. So the first question is should I even consider a modern diesel?

If not, is the 2.0TFSI engined (automatic) Q5 a realistic contender? I really would appreciate opinions.

As an alternative, I'm considering moving on my B6 S4 and going for the SQ5 instead. This would mitigate the DPF issue to some extent (journey length would be longer more regularly) and mean we reduce the fleet by 1 car (currently 5 cars)but there'd still be something interesting on the drive. All comments welcome!

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Sheepshanks said:

Are you looking at new or used? I think the 2.0FSi is the engine that has the oil consumption issues for a certain (quite wide) build range.

Interesting point. I was playing with the Audi configurator this morning. The sales blurb stated that the 2.0FSI was an option but when you went to the configurator itself the only option was the 2.0TDi so I called my local Audi dealership. They didn't seem sure but thought that the 2.0 petrol may have been pulled in the UK because of low sales volume. It seems likely therefore that I can only be looking at second-hand although the local dealer did say that Audi UK did have a stock of low mileage well-specced demo's available.

I'd be interested on any further info re. oil consumption of the FSi engine too.

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VeegasRS6 said:

RS Q3 as an alternative if you don't quite need the size of the Q5?

2.5, 5 cylinder petrol engine with 310/340bhp and a very compliant ride. A proper little hidden gem in the Audi range.

Interesting suggestion. I'll take a closer look but instinct says just might be a bit too small for what I need right now.

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Just to close this one bought a 3.0TFSI petrol Q5 today. Thank God managed to avoid a diesel