Audi Q5 ad takes a swipe at the Lexus RX

[mikeavelli]

Have you checked out (or test-driven) a new Q5 up close, Mike? I'll agree that its overall styling is somewhat on the conservative side (as with many Audi products).....but IMO at least, Audi fit/finish, assembly-quality, and road manners have improved enormously in recent years. I know you're not a terribly big fan of Consumer Reports, but, from what I can see, there's a reason why Audi now ranks with Toyota/Lexus and Buick at or near the top of quality/reliability surveys.

I haven't driven it yet, just seen it. I'm aware of how well Audi checks the boxes and makes a great product. Talking about the exterior and what this commercial is trying to convey feels severely off the mark. If a boxy new Audi Q5 driver really thinks they are in some stylish vehicle they must think vanilla ice cream is the greatest flavor of all time.

One thing I can't stand is hypocrisy. Lexus for decades was blasted for being bland and boring etc etc. Now things have changed. An ad trying to call the new RX boring means their advertising team is very out of touch with reality.

 

[mmcartalk]

I haven't driven it yet, just seen it. I'm aware of how well Audi checks the boxes and makes a great product. Talking about the exterior and what this commercial is trying to convey feels severely off the mark. If a boxy new Audi Q5 driver really thinks they are in some stylish vehicle they must think vanilla ice cream is the greatest flavor of all time.

Vanilla ice cream often sells, though. Look at all of the owners of vanilla-ice-cream Camrys and Highlanders.......free beer at Happy Hour couldn't have been more popular.

One thing I can't stand is hypocrisy. Lexus for decades was blasted for being bland and boring etc etc. Now things have changed. An ad trying to call the new RX boring means their advertising team is very out of touch with reality.

Despite the fact that I posted the ad (which I found amusing), I myself was never on the list that accused the older Lexus products of being boring at all.....I've always liked nice quiet cruisers myself. I thought Lexus did most of their best products under the James Sloyan "Mr. Lexus" ads. Even the yellow 1Gen IS300 I owned wasn't particularly aggressive by any means.......I got the smaller, no-cost all season, 55-series tire option, which rode and cruised a lot better than the standard 45s, but was not as aggressive in the twisties,

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Vanilla ice cream often sells, though. Look at all of the owners of vanilla-ice-cream Camrys and Highlanders.......free beer at Happy Hour couldn't have been more popular.

Right, and for years the RX, even though it invented the category, was also the most boring example of it and sold millions. In 2007 this commercial would've been justified - we'd all have a wry laugh and go on. But after years of hearing how all the spindle grille Lexuses are "scary" and "too aggressive" there's not a CUV on the market that could make this commercial work as the comparison car.

Also, Wegmans French Vanilla ice cream is awesome. One of the understated advantages of living in the Mid-Atlantic.

 

[mikeavelli]

Right, and for years the RX, even though it invented the category, was also the most boring example of it and sold millions. In 2007 this commercial would've been justified - we'd all have a wry laugh and go on. But after years of hearing how all the spindle grille Lexuses are "scary" and "too aggressive" there's not a CUV on the market that could make this commercial work as the comparison car.

Also, Wegmans French Vanilla ice cream is awesome. One of the understated advantages of living in the Mid-Atlantic.

I am going to search for this ice cream lol

 

[mmcartalk]

I am going to search for this ice cream lol

You probably won't find it in Florida, since Wegman's only operates from New Jersey to Virginia. But try Breyer's Vanilla. It also has an excellent reputation :thumbsup:, and you usually find it in grocery stores nationwide. I have it myself on special occasions like my birthday....or a new car LOL. :yum

 

[Ian Schmidt]

At the risk of turning this into Grocery Enthusiast, the range is now Massachusetts to North Carolina if you count "opening soon" stores Great, great stores though, if you go to one you'll be spoiled for every other chain in the continental US.

 

[mmcartalk]

At the risk of turning this into Grocery Enthusiast,

OK, we'll go back to topic LOL. Since the ad didn't compare the two interiors, I thought I'd post them side by side here and let people decide. After all, in most cases, we spend a lot more time sitting inside of our vehicles, looking at the dash, than we do outside. These images are typical of the two interiors (I'm not going to post all of the combinations)

2017 Q5:

2017 RX350:

 

[Ian Schmidt]

My problem with the Q5 interior is that a $41,000 car in 2017 shouldn't look like someone said "halte mein bier" and duct-taped one of those $50 Android tablets to the middle of the dash. Audi's designers knew there'd be a screen in the car, it should've had a designed-in home. I'm not entirely sold on what the RX does with it either, but at least it looks like it's part of the car.

 

[mikeavelli]

Breyers is crap.....no thanks lol.....

I like both interiors....I prefer our F-Sport with the aluminum

 

[mmcartalk]

I like both interiors....I prefer our F-Sport with the aluminum

I wish those burgundy seats and door-trim were available without the rest of the F-Sport package. I recently looked very closely at the ES350 before I decided on a Lacrosse....that burgundy package, IMO, would have gone very well with almost all of the ES's exterior paint colors, except maybe for the dark blue and the brown....and even with the brown, it wouldn't have looked too bad.

 

[IS-SV]

Lexus RX really did not need the free advertising provided by Audi, last full year US results (2016) had RX outselling Q5 by about 2X. Not one of Audi's better ads since Q5 has other good attributes worth advertising.

 

[mmcartalk]

Lexus RX really did not need the free advertising provided by Audi, last full year US results (2016) had RX outselling Q5 by about 2X.

Nothing new. In the American market, the RX has basically owned the luxury-grade, car-based, crossover SUV market since its late-90s introduction.

Not one of Audi's better ads since Q5 has other good attributes worth advertising.

Audi seems to put a lot of money and attention into its interiors (fit/finish, quality materials, precise assembly, etc....) and the quality of exterior paint jobs.

 

[IS-SV]

Nothing new. In the American market, the RX has basically owned the luxury-grade, car-based, crossover SUV market since its late-90s introduction.

.

Except the Audi Q5 didn't exist in the late 90's, so the broad generalization about the RX is outdated. This category of vehicles is now huge in American market, so even the top selling vehicle in class no longer "owns" it. Far more competitive too. Nothing new really given market trends in last decade.

 

[Gecko]

I am not really a fan of the 4RX, but there is one thing that cannot be denied: It has a killer interior that is best in class.

I don't take anything away from the quality of Audi interiors because the materials are generally first rate, but I personally highly dislike the design of their cabins. For my taste, they are much too flat and simplistic, and look very similar to VW interiors in layout and execution. It's just not my style, but I can understand why some folks enjoy them.