2011 Audi Q5 2.0T

2011 Audi Q5 2.0T

Even though this car has a four-cylinder engine, the driving experience is not all that different than our recently departed V-6-powered Four Seasons Q5, in that it handles more like a sedan than like a tall crossover. It's missing the $3000 MMI Navigation package, but that's the price you pay for keeping the cost below $40,000, which is pretty darn good for an upscale crossover. One other thing you sacrifice when you forgo the nav package is the radio on/off switch located on the center console, a feature I really like. On the plus side, the transmission in this Q5 has two extra gears.

In cold weather like we've been experiencing, I was happy to see that this Q5 has heated seats, and I think, after a year with our Q5, that I'm finally attuned to the somewhat counterintuitive seat heater controls. I think the confusion stems from the fact that in most cars - make that, in every other car I've driven-- the seat heater and the climate control buttons are discrete units, but in this (and other Audis), they are controlled by the same dials.