Audi Q7 - First Drive

Honed to an impressive edge

When Audi Australia unveiled the original Q7 to the Australian motoring press in 2006, in the minds of many, it was a bold move. It was a launch event that would see the vehicle driven, in stages, by groups of press from Broken Hill right across the centre of the country to finish in Broome.

A demanding drive by any standards, some felt it was perhaps a little ambitious for a luxury SUV to tackle such rugged terrain without encountering any number of ‘difficulties’ to say the least.

The doubters were conspicuous by their silence, when the Q7 conquered what came to be known as the Audi Trans-Continental Crossing. Praise for the Q7 was unreserved as Audi’s first foray into the world of SUVs completed one of the toughest road trips on earth without a single hiccup, save some punctured tyres.

Due to arrive in Australia later this year, the new Q7 has a serious reputation to uphold, but if a spirited drive through the Swiss Alps is anything to go by, that reputation is in very safe hands.

This is a vehicle that has been honed to an impressive degree, with sharp, almost angular styling giving it a much more broad-shouldered appearance compared to the outgoing car.

There are significant weight savings, for example, which help it achieve not only commendable ride and handling levels but impressive fuel consumption figures as well.

Then there are the ground-breaking technical and safety features, many of which were simply inconceivable – such as the futuristic virtual cockpit and surround camera – when the first Q7 made its international debut almost a decade ago.

And just as that original vehicle was an absolute game changer in the sports utility vehicle  (SUV) ranks as a full seven-seat luxury allrounder, the new car takes the notion to a higher level with an air of suave sophistication that would not seem out of place on the A7 or A8 sedans. 

Audi’s drive program for the Q7 launch would not have been out of place for the launch of a sportscar, yet proved the perfect place to showcase its speed, balance and handling. A full-sized SUV (at 5,052mm long and 1,968mm wide it is a modest 37mm shorter and 15mm narrower than the car it will replace) and twisting, turning, narrow mountain roads – perfect.

Indeed, given its head on those delightfully testing mountain roads, Audi’s newest SUV made easy work of them.

Larger yet lighter

Q7 is something special and can best be described as a car that has complete faith in its own abilities, one that relishes the challenges of being driven quickly over contrary roads or, for that matter, being asked to operate on good roads in contrary conditions.

There is no denigration of the product in saying that it now personifies the description of ‘sports utility’ with a much greater emphasis on ‘sports’ and if it still has plenty of physical presence on the outside it does not feel that way on the inside.

Roomy? Absolutely but the whole thing has been designed and engineered to feel nicely compact. Seven can travel in comfort with 295 litres of luggage space available, becoming 890 litres when the back seat is electrically folded and 2,075 litres when the middle row seat is dropped. As a bonus, the load lip is 50mm lower than that of the predecessor. Q7s bound for Australia will all be seven-seaters.

Audi has long been a leader in lightweight aluminium construction technology and the new Q7 shows just how good it has become.

As much as 325 kilograms – roughly equal to three well-fed motoring writers – has been pulled out of some variants and that fact alone has everyone talking.

It has been trimmed holistically too, with 95 kilograms coming from the body structure and doors, 67 kilos from the front and rear suspension, 20 kilos from the drivetrain, 19 kilos courtesy of a new exhaust system and newly-designed seats that are as comfortable as those they replace saving 18.7 kilograms.

Greater power, reduced consumption

When the new Q7 arrives in Australian dealerships in September it will do so with just one engine, a 3.0 litre, turbocharged V6 diesel, simply because that powerplant has proven so popular in the current model.

It develops 200kW of power between 3,250-4,250rpm and 600Nm of torque from 1,500 to 3,000rpm, increases of 20kW and 50Nm respectively on the current 3.0 turbo-diesel.

The engine is mated to an eight-speed tiptronic-style automatic with manual shift position for the gear lever and steering wheel-mounted shift paddles. And of course Audi’s famous quattro permanent all-wheel drive goes without saying.

Performance differences are palpable. The outgoing car has a 216km/h top speed and can run from standstill to 100km/h in 8.5 seconds. The new car rolls up to 234km/h and skips from 0-100km/h in an impressive 6.5 seconds.

The official average fuel consumption figure is 5.9 litres/100km, much better than the 7.8 litres/100km of the outgoing model and average carbon-dioxide output is down from 195 grams per kilometre to a more modest 153 grams.

Ride and handling characteristics also lean heavily towards those of a luxury, sporty sedan. The independent double wishbone front and rear suspension that featured on the original has been replaced with independent five-link axles at both ends which means that while drivers get plenty of precise road feel, surface irregularities are kept far removed for passenger comfort, the whole parcel giving Q7 a much more relaxed feel to the driving experience.

With this newest of Q7s Audi has made a stunning statement and its new SUV flagship has significantly built on the formidable reputation of the original Q7 models. No small task to even contemplate given its success around the world, yet that’s exactly what has been achieved. 

If only there had been a dusting of snow on those testing Swiss mountain roads.