Mr Bump

Thanks Cliff, though I partly disagree. Having spoken to a number of dealers there's a consensus that a petrol Q5 is 'very thirsty', so I'm not sure a 20 minute blast in a diesel would be enough to offset the cost between the 2. Whether or not it would solve the DPF issue, I'll defer to you as I am not that well informed on the matter. Ref the hybrid whilst it's a good suggestion, I am not sure it's any different to a petrol to be honest, and perhaps even worse. The official range for a Q5 PHEV is around 26 miles so in the real world that's likely to be around 20 at best. That's not enough to even cover my daily commute to work on a full charge which means that for some proportion of the journey I'd be driving a petrol with the added burden of a massively heavy battery. I am not sure that's a great solution. I do have the concerns about the diesel/DPF issue which is a real shame as the Q5 would be my preference, all told.

Thanks Steve. I have read differing opinions today on what 'short journeys' constitute, along with claims from TDi owners that they have never had an issue. Similarly there are people who have. As above, I'd be making sure the car had a 20 - 25 minute motorway run once a week whereby it would be warmed up properly - is that likely to be sufficient to offset the daily short journeys Monday to Friday, and avoid the dreaded DPF blocking? Thanks for the help.

I am 'possibly' looking at moving from an A5 to a Q5 and pondering which to get. I only do around 8k miles/year, mainly short journeys with my commute being town/A roads in stop/start traffic, so I have read it may be unwise a bad idea to consider a diesel. However, the mpg from a petrol/plug in Q5 (once battery depleted) is pretty lousy so I am still tempted by the diesel, plus I do like the torque they provide. Once or twice a week I can easily arrange to take a slightly longer route home from work which would include a 14 mile drive on dual carriageways where the car would warm up properly (that drive takes around 25 minutes). I can also take it for a blast at the weekend if needed. Would that mix of driving be likely to see me have issues with diesel or should that suffice to keep it clear? I realise that's in an ideal world. Thanks.

I will for sure. I am very tempted to go back to a Q5 TDi but I only do very short journeys.

Thanks for the replies. I have been out today and it feels marginally better, though only a short journey. I have indeed extended the lumbar support out fully and also now figured out how eo adjust the seat base. I have ordered a wedge cushion that also doubles as a lumbar support, so will try that and see how it goes. I will be absolutely devastated if I can't get comfortable, so will try everything possible. Interesting that others have experienced the same.

I got my 40 TFSi on Friday last week and absolutely love it apart from the seats. I did a 3 our drive, with stops, on Saturday and have beeb beset with lower back pain ever since. I have made all the adjustments I can apart from altering the angle of the seat base to make it less 'buckety', but haven't figured out how to do that yet. Early days but am a tad concerned without being reactionary as there may be an element of it just being different and me adjusting to it. Everuone os different so a universal solution unlikely, but am curious if anyone else had this issue? Previously had a Q5 S Line with no issues - really wish I had kept that car.