2017 Audi Q7
0-60mph: 5.5 seconds. Price as tested: $79,325. EPA ratings: 19/25 mpg; 21mpg combined
Ten years after the original Q7 reset the bar in the luxury SUV class, Audi has raised it again. Build on a new platform that will underpin VW, Porsche, Bentley and other group machinery, the new Q7 is lighter and stiffer, benefiting performance and efficiency. What it is not—to many folks’ eyes, anyway—is better looking. The front is aggressive, in the modern truck idiom, but the general form is slab-sided and thick and only really coheres when spec’d with the largest available wheels.
Thankfully the Q7’s interior is so stunning you’ll soon forget any exterior deficiencies. Slightly shorter outside, there is actually more room for humans and their accoutrements within; that squarer shell equates especially to a more inhabitable third row. The place to be, however, is in front, where two huge, thin-film screens convey so much information so elegantly you’ll forget to look out the windows. Materials, texture and design are typical Audi, meaning class-leading.
The Q7 is also the current dynamic benchmark for this segment, at least when equipped with air suspension and four-wheel steering. The former combines superb ride characteristics in its softer settings with excellent body control and handling in Dynamic mode. The helm is accurate enough that placing the Audi’s 5,000-pound mass on a convoluted mountain road is second nature; rear-steer helps here in that it moves the Q7 more of a piece at high speeds by steering the back wheels a few degrees at turn-in. In the city the system turns these out of phase with the fronts, imbuing this large SUV with a smaller turning circle.
The Q7 is only available with one engine right now (the TDI model was delayed due to Dieselgate), but it’s a peach. Three-liters of supercharged muscle (333hp/325lb-ft) and an adroit eight-speed automatic shrug off altitude and load, giving the Audi 0-60 ability in the mid-fives and accelerative alacrity in all traffic scenarios. Forthcoming models with bring other options, and at some point a larger Q9 build off the same platform will mean more room—for more money.
Meanwhile, Audi has a stellar three-row luxury crossover in the Q7, with rewarding dynamics, a sumptuous interior and excellent performance. If we had to wait this long, it was definitely worth it.
Isaac Bouchard is owner of Bespoke Autos, an auto brokerage that helps people save time, money and hassle when buying or leasing vehicles. Since 1991 he has helped his clients save over $1 million dollars. He has written extensively about getting the best deal possible when buying or leasing a vehicle, arranging financing or trading in a car. Isaac has been a professional automotive journalist as well for over 12 years, having reviewed most all types of car, truck and SUV.
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