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Audi Q7 Review:
There is more than one way to reduce a vehicle’s environmental impact.
One way is to make it smaller. Another is to improve its efficiency.
Audi’s seven-passenger, 5,500-pound Q7 crossover has chosen the latter.
For the last three
years, the Q7 has been competing vigorously with Mercedes-Benz and BMW,
as well as the high-priced Japanese brands, for a piece of the slightly
downsized luxury crossover market. What Diesel does is move those
combined miles per gallon numbers up from 15 or 16 miles per gallon to
20, with highway mileage at a surprising 25 mpg. It’s 20 percent cleaner
and 30 percent more fuel efficient than a gasoline engine.
I averaged 19.7 mpg
during my test week, and clocked 28.5 mpg during a 35-minute freeway
trip. Long family trips would likely elicit something closer to the
latter number.
Diesel has taken a rap
for its smell and particulate matter (soot), but that’s changed now with
the advent (finally) of ultra low sulfur clean Diesel in the U.S.
Today’s Diesel-burners are legal in all 50 states. The Q7 TDI is easy to
live with, just pull up a little further to the Diesel hose at the pump.
The scent is nearly gone.
With its higher mileage
and a generous 26.4-gallon (100-liter) tank, you can expect about a
600-mile range in the Q7. You’ll need to stop for human bio breaks and
meals long before you run out of fuel.
The 3.0-liter Diesel
engine puts out what sounds like a modest 225 horsepower, but also a
massive 406 lb.-ft. of torque at a quite low 1750 rpm. You can tow 6,600
pounds with that amount of grunt.
And, there’s virtually
no Diesel clatter, thanks to generous insulation. I only noticed it when
I opened the window at a drive-through window (I confess). There’s a
reasonable chance that your passengers could be blissfully unaware of
the TDI under the hood.
Other engine options
include a 280-horsepower 3.6-liter V6 and a 350-horsepower 4.2-liter V8.
These gasoline engines are mainstays of Audi and are available in the
sedans as well.
The Q7 borrows its
looks, inside and out, from its elegant sedans, especially the A6 and
A8. That means you get a massive mouth grille up front, sporty sill
lines along the sides, a coupe like window greenhouse, and a tapered,
carlike tail with Audi-style taillamps. The 200-inch long, 5-foot-8-inch
tall cruiser makes a big impact on the road, but is not at all the boxy
SUV look of the past. Riding on dual wishbones at all four corners,
there’s not a hint of a truck feel.
Despite it not being an
SUV (exactly) there’s still plenty of utility here. With all seats
folded, the Q7 offers 72.5 cubic feet of flat cargo area. There are 28
different rear seat configurations. The second row seats slide forward
and back more than 8 inches, allowing more people or cargo space as
needed. I took my bike down to fill its tires and it swallowed it up
easily.
Passengers will
appreciate the extremely comfortable seats and the pleasure of an Audi
interior, renowned in the business for top level materials, fit and
finish, not to mention sophisticated style. With the optional S Line
package ($1,200), my car got brushed aluminum decorative inlays and a
special multifunctional steering wheel with shift paddles. Outside, the
package upgrades the alloy wheels to handsome 20-inchers.
My Calla White test car
featured the optional Panorama sunroof. At 5 and a half feet long, its
three glass panels cover a good portion of the roof, and provide light
and ventilation to everyone. A translucent shade protects occupants from
roasting in there during midday.
To help promote the
improved environmental performance of the Q7, on June 24 Audi launched
the Facebook Cause campaign to benefit The Nature Conservancy’s Tensas
River Basin project to reduce carbon emissions. Audi will donate $1 for
every Facebook user who joins at
www.causes.com/natureconservancy . The money will go to voluntary
carbon offset programs.
As a premium vehicle,
the Q7 is loaded with stuff to make you happy, comfortable, and safe.
That includes leather seating, dual-zone automatic climate control, and
a power tailgate, just at the tip of the iceberg. Crash zones, padding
and a varied assortment of airbags protect you in case of a collision.
The Q7 gets top 5-star ratings for frontal and side crashes. Of course,
Audi’s Quattro four-wheel-drive system helps keep the car on the road.
Prices start at $44,325
for the V6 model. My TDI tester listed at $50,900, but with options and
destination charges came to $62,375. If you need to carry your family in
style, comfort, and occasionally, on less than perfect roads, the Q7 TDI
offers an attractive and reasonably efficient way to do it.
By Steve Schaefer
© AutoWire.Net - San Francisco
Byline: Audi Q7 Review provided by Tony
Leopardo © AutoWire.Net
Audi Home Page
Column Name: The Q7 is
loaded with stuff to make you happy
Topic: The 2009 Audi Q7
TDI
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Series #: 2009 - 51
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