Audi Thermo Cup Holder
May 4, 2009
I am not someone who eats or drinks in my car, however on those occasions that I do, I want my beverage to taste good. Whether a cold bottle of water or hot coffee while driving I want the temperature to be right for what I am drinking. Audi has introduced in the Q5, Thermo Cup Holder and not only was it a good idea but it works great. 
It takes about one minute for the hot element to get hot and the cooler is pretty much instantaneous so you really don’t have to wait for the action. The silver cup holder is the hot side and is activated when the on/off switch is red. 
The silver cup holder is also the cooler and it is indicated on when the switch is illuminated blue.
You never have to worry about putting the hot in the cold or the cold in the hot because the cup holder cannot be simultaneously activated, so as long as the switch is blue its cold and if it is red it is hot.
Audi has never been known for its ingenuity in regards to cup holders (excluding the Q7) in their vehicles, mostly because you should be driving not dining when you drive, but this sure is a nice feature.
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Published in Q5 Crossover, Technology & Advancements on May 4, 2009
Nice feature, I consider to order my Q5 with a therm cup holder, too.
From Tim on May 5th, 2009 at 3:41 am
Nice feature, but in my Q5 the therm cup works always on the silver side – it can be hot and cool – very nice
The opposite cup (the black one) is not connected to the system!
…reading my instruction manual…
Nice Cooling
From Joey on May 6th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Our Q5 Prestige did not come with the cup holder. I was really looking forward to this feature. This looks pretty easy to retrofit. Problem is, the dealership has no part number for the parts. Does anyone have access to part numbers?
From Tony on May 8th, 2009 at 8:00 am
Hello Scott,
Does the ride quality for the Q5 suffer on S-lline when moving from 19inch wheels to 20inch?
thanks.
From Matt Walch on May 30th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Matt,
I have driven both the S-Line Q5 with 20 inch wheels as well as the standared Prestige Q5 with 19 inch wheels and I found them to be about the same. Keep in mind the S-Line comes with the sport tires so it is nice on the dry and the road noise is low, however is not ment for snow like the non S-Line.
From Scott Mitchell on June 3rd, 2009 at 11:02 am
Hi, so on which model/package is the cup holder offered?
I just placed an order (as there were none in stock) for a loaded, black (since I don’t like any of hte other colors) Prestige S-Line with everything but the Audi Side Assist (don’t care for the BELLS and WHISTLES) and rear airbags (note that curtains are standard). Took the Audi Drive Select. Just moved to the US – had a Q7 in Switzerland which was great but now living in NYC so too big.
So, besides my question here’s the deal – or rather the rip-off – In Switzerland, the same Q5 as described above (as per the Audi configurator there) comes in at just over USD 90k!!! I bought my Q5 here – after tax – for less than USD 60k!!! Incredible!! Yes, just like the cost of gas, ownership of a car (purchase and insurance) in Europe (and Asia in fact as I lived in Japan for 6 yrs) costs MUCH more than in the US – please DO consider yourselves lucky in this context!!
From Sozo on June 7th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
It is simply magnificent idea
From PeterMontee on July 2nd, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Nice feature for plastic water bottles, but it seems like all travel cups have liners, so the heating/cooling element isn’t worth much for hot beverages. Does Audi make a cup to use in the heating/cooling cup holder?
From Jack on November 7th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Jack,
We do make Audi specific travel cups as well as water bottles that work very well with the Thrmo Cup holders.
From Scott Mitchell on November 8th, 2009 at 4:35 pm