I didn't bother with 21s, i do like the look of them but id rather have more rubber around the wheel.
Tyres are more extensive and harder to find in 21", also no option for snow tyres right now.

Not bothered about the insurance, its a gamble - but id rather just pay for them as needed.

 

Cheers Snow Man

Which alloys did you end up putting on your SQ5?

 

Standard S wheels.
Not a complicated spoke pattern, making cleaning a pain...

 

I managed to get a pair if the Dunlop 21s for £500 all in the other week - but - I think I was very lucky!

I had a pothole cause a blowout so was in a hurry. The 4 local garages could all get them, but most were £320 ish and a week wait. By luck the garage I had it towed to could get them next day at the mentioned price.
I got the 21s on the basis of style, the 20s really don't look special enough in my book.

 

I may be in a minority of one, but I prefer the look of the standard 20" SQ wheel to the 21" variant..

The £1k saving, better ride, cheaper tyres and easier cleaning are the icing on the cake.

(The above photos also highlight the light sensitivity of Estoril Blue!).

 

My heart says the 21" alloys look the nuts!!

Head says 20" alloys compromise im getting a SQ5!!

 

I am with you Quattro

 

I had a similar dilemma and opted for 20's. Cheaper to replace, winters, if ever they were needed, seem to be available at 20" but not 21", hopefully less prone to kerbing or pothole damage and of course the wheels are £1,200 cheaper. In my opinion 21's do look better but it was a compromise.

 

I am with Quattro also. Keep it simple and enjoy the car. RIDE, EASY TO CLEAN, AND COST. Don't forget an extra half inch rubber will protect the wheels from kerbing. But if you want a "looker" then go for 21's

 

Me too, the side by side says it all.
I like the design of the 21s, but they are on the A3 now which just cheapens them for me.
The 20s are just the quintessential S alloys - perfect balance

 

Wow Quattro,amazing difference in colour in ur pics, both look great with those alloys,jattxd if your spending nearly 50k,and you realy want the 21's you'd be mad to not get them,and if you don't you may always think you should have got em ,and there so expensive to bye separately afterward ,nearly 4k I think,

 

Mixed opinions here, personally the way i think about it is that if you're paying this much for a car then you might as well guarantee it will look like a performance car should! And honestly with the 20s it doesn't do it justice, looks very ordinary and when I see an SQ with them I have to see V6 T badge/wing mirros or quad exhaust to know whether its an SQ or not...

People been commenting on ride quality, it does get a little noisy from 70+ but it's not something you are concentrating on, especially if you are listening to the hum of the exhaust

Ahaha Daza's post just came up and pretty much identical to mine

 

Nice pics ray,wens the tdi badge coming off 😄

 

I didn't think the 21's were worth the extra money. I'm more than happy with my 20's...

Your right, Estoril does look very different in different lights...

 

^^^ Looks great to me. Can't wait for mine now - only a few more weeks.

 

Trust me Quattro, it's worth the wait...

 

April should be quite exciting on here - lots of new SQ/Q's due to be delivered then!

 

Looks exceptionly clean nic, v nice ,god knows where u got the nice weather from 😄

 

Got a new jet wash and foam lance, getting great results.

It's nowhere near that clean now, waiting for a few dry hours... It hasn't stopped raining this week, not been a lot of fun walking the dogs...

 

I'm with Ray here, it's gotta be the 21s in my eyes. Let's face it, you're not buying an SQ5 to save cash are you! However, each to their own.

 

My earlier thread + photos below:

Just thought others might be interested in seeing a different SQ5 wheel / tyre combination:
First picture is the 21" wheels shod with factory-fitted 255 / 40's and the second is a 20" wheel with 255 / 45 winter tyres.
For interest, and rather bizarrely, Audi UK offered me 4 brand new 20" wheels at a cost of £2900 or, 20" winter wheel and tyre package at £2000 (yes, that's right - cheaper) but, they wouldn't split the winter wheels and tyre package.
With no 21" winter tyre currently available, next option was to take the barely-used winter tyres off my earlier Q5 and then bought original Audi new wheels on-line from Germany - £1034 for the set, inclusive of delivery.
Sorted!

View attachment 2346
View attachment 2338

 

Wow, some sweeping generalisation in terms of what makes a car look good and what is or is not the core DNA of a sports car...
So let me add a few more

SQ5 is not a sports car in anyway (id wager the GTi would leave the SQ standing on a generally UK A road and the fun factor would be infinity better sat in the Golfs seat), it's a fast diesel SUV for mums to use on the school run based on the sales demographics (also the SQ5 ads were aimed at women) and reflected in the membership on this board ( or lack of, given the Q5 is one of Audis biggest sellers). If people want a sports car they aint going to be looking towards the Q5 thats for sure, so to attach meaning to the shape or size of wheels is preposterous.. Sure people will have opinions, but those are no different to the body colour and just like wheels a body colour doesnt make the same thing more or less sporty! (or more right or wrong).

Cost is generally not a factor as most people here appear to lease/PCP/Finance their cars and things like wheels would have very little impact on repayments i would "guess" - perhaps this is one of the main reasons why the economy is in such a mess, these arrangements suit the manufacturers as someone else is capitalising a purchase to make it cheaper and more accessable for others to rent.

I say buy whatever floats your boat and to hell with it, but lets not attach meaning or labels to opinions of degrees of "sporty"...
These conversation never pop'd up before the release of the SQ... it would be good to go back to that.

 

I think they were all personal opinions to be fair, and given the question was around which wheels the OP should go for, valid opinions at that! I don't feel there was any real emphasis on the SQ5 being a true 'Sports Car' , I think everyone on the forum is aware of your thoughts of the sportiness of the SQ5!

 

It may not be a SPORTS CAR, but it's the sportiest SUV I've had,in My opinion,and I've always found a larger set wheels gives a SPORTIER effect to most cars,I don't think you can generalise that it was designed 4 woman, as I've not come across a single lady owner of a sq5 ,I agree colour doesn't define weather a car is SPORTY, going bi majority of sq posts,the owners are in the sport opinion,as am I,every 1 has there own definition of sporti,comparing to r8s and such fourth def not sporti,but each to there own,and is good to have different opinions ,smiley face 😄

 

It may not be a SPORTS CAR, but it's the sportiest SUV I've had,in My opinion,and I've always found a larger set wheels gives a SPORTIER effect to most cars,I don't think you can generalise that it was designed 4 woman, as I've not come across a single lady owner of a sq5 ,I agree colour doesn't define weather a car is SPORTY, going bi majority of sq posts,the owners are in the sport opinion,as am I,every 1 has there own definition of sporti,comparing to r8s and such fourth def not sporti,but each to there own,and is good to have different opinions ,smiley face ������

Its not really a generalisation, it was a stated by Audi as an expected goal for the model.
Frank Hermann, head of product marketing for the Q5 said at Audi we expect 25 to 50 percent of the Q5's buyers to be women. (US is over half). thats very high.... also, buyer doesn't always mean the keeper, i bought the SQ, but its my wifes. I also use it as needed. personally id say 75% of the Q3/5s i see are driven by women.

Its a debate (with little merit or point) that appears all the time (x is for girls, y is for real men), you buy a car based on many things, the cars gender is not really high on the list of many people when they start looking and manufactures would not want to limit sales to a single gender no doubt, but equally, they need to appeal to ALL. We all generally share/use the other halfs cars, its not like a pink umbrella or sexy thong

http://www.audizine....an-s-chick-ride
Lots of these on many forums, for many cars.

In terms of wheel size as a ratio to sportiness, it has no merit, if anything, if you look at mainstream (broad term) sports cars (not hot hatches) they won't/dont have massive wheels, but the massive look is from that pimp'd non performance or fast 'n furious car crowd with 4 pipes sticking out the back and no suspension, boom boom boom - that may or not be attractive to different people.

Also in terms of "SPORTY', 95% (thats a guess) but for sure the vast majority of published reviews give the SQ a bad/unfavourable report - these are independent reviews, without emotions and are probably more accurate that owner opinions who tend to want to (rightly so) justify their purchases. Very rare you see someone say my last car was much better

So, after lots of generalisation and debatable demographics (all which mean nothing at the end of the day), it still all comes down to opinion, The SQ5 works for me, not for the colour and the size of the wheels, not for the ability to scale mountains, or out run Zondas, but for its ability to swallow some luggage, fit in some kids for the school run, for some decent performance, ability to soft road, high driving position and good MPG. its a package that meets many things, many many things a "sports car" has no hope of achieving.

There is no right or wrong, and we come full circle. i like the 21s design, shame they are used on the A3 (typical Audi), i like the 20s too, but my fave wheel for the Q5 is still one of the 19" designs not available on the SQ. So take you pick based on the type of driving you do, if kerbing and cost of replacement tyres is of any concern or purely on aesthetics - its your car, your choice, your money.

 

Not this argument again!

 

These conversation never pop'd up before the release of the SQ... it would be good to go back to that.

 

Always luv a snow man debate 😄

 

It's a opinionated discussion ,lol, 😄

 

What bout a pink thong,lol,most reviews are based on a very small time in sq,but most do appear slightly negative,but who realy gives a toss,when in reality we seem happy with the sq,as 4 previous cars being better, my old x6 smashed the sq handling 2 bits,but u can't have everything ,but is enjoying this debate ,thanks 2 u snowman 😄