Road Test
Audi Q7 3.0 TDI S-line
Test date 14 August 2006
Price as tested £41,475
For Styling, dynamics, refinement, cabin layout
AgainstToo big, too thirsty, cramped rear seats
Is this really a good time to be launching a luxury off-roader? When environmentalists point the finger at the clichéd gas-guzzling 4x4, they’re pointing it specifically towards cars like this. The Audi Q7 is a five-metre-long, 2.5-tonne SUV that is meant to drive better on the road than off it.
But the thing is, Audi cannot afford not to be in this game. Even if we’re just considering Europe, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Land Rover, Volkswagen, Volvo, BMW and even Porsche are already cashing in on luxury SUVs. Audi’s persistence with the smaller, and very likeable, A6 Allroad was a creditable but ultimately futile attempt to keep pace with the big rivals. Losing out on the potential sales and profits of bigger SUVs mean it has no other option.
If there’s a more imposing car than the Q7 currently on sale in Britain, we haven’t seen it. We found plenty of interested onlookers who thought it was just about the most fantastic thing on the planet – and Audi’s brand cachet means the Q7 generates loads of interest. But goodwill is running out for cars like this. For every smile the Q7 created, it initiated a look of abhorrence elsewhere. One wag thought it was so tank-like he asked if it came with a machine gun.
Its bonnet comes up to your chest. Overall, it stands as high as the average man. And at 5088mm long and 2170mm wide, it hangs over the edge of parking spaces like a portly stomach over a belt.
But whatever you think of the outside, there’s no denying that inside the Q7 is a beautiful car. Its interior owes a lot to the A6 and A8, which is far from a bad thing. Materials, switchgear and trim are all first rate, as is perceived quality. Fit and finish is impeccable. It’s a lovely place to spend time.
One advantage of Audi’s late arrival to the SUV gold rush is that others have done some of the hard work for it already. The Q7 is loosely based on the unitary-construction underpinnings of Volkswagen’s Touareg and the Porsche Cayenne.
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