Audi's newest and biggest SUV is the company's technology calling card.
The premium car market has changed quite a bit in recent years. The
luxobarge has been toppled from its throne, and there's a new king in
town: the big crossover SUV. People are actually buying them—most
companies playing in this segment are reporting big year-on-year growth.
These four-wheeled flagships get packed full of the latest and greatest
technologies their makers have to offer, and if they succeed in the
showroom, that shine (and that technology) trickles down to cheaper
models. That makes Audi's latest Q7 a very important vehicle for the
German car maker.
And packed full of technology it is. There's our favorite digital
dashboard, the Virtual Cockpit, an HD affair that fills the binnacle
with a Google map running at 60fps thanks to one of NVIDIA's Tegra 3
processors. And there's a suite of sensors and advanced driver
assistance systems (ADAS) that are among the best on offer in 2016. But
on top of being a tech-fest, the Q7 is also extremely practical; it
seats seven and swallows luggage with nary a peep of automotive
indigestion.
Right now, there's only one engine to choose from if you're here in
the US, a 3.0L TSFI unit. It's a 90-degree V6, with a twin-piston Roots
supercharger nestled between the cylinder banks. As you'd expect for a
company that pioneered the tech at Le Mans, it uses direct injection,
with a relatively high 10.8:1 compression ratio. The headline figures
are 333hp (245kW) and 325lb-ft (440Nm), more than sufficient to move the
Q7's 4,938 pounds (2,240kg). That power and torque is sent to all four
wheels via an eight-speed tiptronic gearbox, which does the 0-60mph
on-ramp grand prix in a hot hatch-worthy 5.7 seconds.
There's the usual array of drive modes, including an off-road
setting—with the optional air suspension, the Q7 will also lift itself
up 2.3 inches (60mm) to clear rough ground at up to 25mph. The rear
suspension also drops in conjunction with the rear hatch opening, making
it easier getting things in and out of that cavernous cargo space. The
second and third rows of seats each move every which way (with power
assistance), folding flat, and in the case of the middle row, folding
forward as well.
From behind the wheel—ensconced in a jet-black cabin that feels like
Darth Vader's staff car, but in a good way—there's no disguising that
the Q7 is a large vehicle. But its control weights are good and the
ergonomics are spot-on; the gear selector acts as the perfect wrist-rest
for your right hand to operate the MMI interface via a scroll wheel and
trackpad. But most everything can be done via the multifunction
steering wheel.
The UI is now common across Audi's latest cars, but it's
quite intuitive even for newbies.
Although there's a Dynamic mode for the engine and suspension, unlike the BMW X5 or even the Volvo XC90 T6,
the Q7 is not really a vehicle you want to rush around. Instead, leave
things in comfort and waft everywhere on the engine's wide torque band.
Whether driving in the city or the freeway, the Q7's ADAS suite has your
back. There's traffic jam assist for rush hour, and tailbacks and
adaptive cruise control with lane keeping work extremely well on the
open road. Six-hour road trips can feel like popping out to the shops
with the big Audi helping to take the strain.
Our test Q7 happily coped with the task of conveying us—and a cargo
load of camping equipment—up to Watkins Glen and back for a long
weekend. And thanks to an alignment of the stars, Eric Bangeman also put the Q7's people-carrying abilities to the test in the wilds of Colorado.
His thoughts:
After flying into Denver, we were met with an absence of SUVs and minivans available in the self-checkout aisle at National Car Rental. Traveling with my family, this was a problem; we had four suitcases, my golf clubs, and plans to transport the four of us and my parents! I spotted an Audi Q7 in the luxury vehicle section, loaded our baggage, and drove off in it for the same price as midsize vehicle (thanks, Emerald Club).
I’m no stranger to the crossover game, as one of our daily drivers is a 2008 Chrysler Pacifica Limited. In addition to being the most reliable car I’ve ever owned—two of those having been Alfa Romeo Spiders—it’s a great family car. With the third row of seats folded down, there’s plenty of cargo space for cross-country road trips. And when we need room for six, my 16-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son can sit in the third row with no legroom problems.
I’m going to focus on the Q7 as a family car. Similar to other crossovers, the Audi offers a third row of seats which fold up or down with the touch of a button. The middle row seats three, although our daughter reported that the center seat suffers from a lack of legroom thanks to the transmission tunnel. That seat does fold down, however, leaving the middle seats in a bucket configuration and offering plenty of room for a set of golf clubs. The middle seats can be moved back and forward to create more legroom for the unfortunates in the back row, but the kids reported that—even in the best-case scenario—legroom back there was still tight.
There’s not much cargo room left once the third row of seats is populated with humans. You could fit a few bags of groceries or a couple of duffel bags back there, but whatever is left was enough for a day trip to the hot springs at Mount Princeton and Salida, Colorado. With the six of us belted in, we were also able to pack towels, bathing suits, snacks, a change of clothes, and even four water noodles.
Although I drove the Q7 deep into the Colorado Rockies, I didn’t test it on twisty, rutted mountain roads. Instead, I stuck to US Highway 285 through Bailey and Fairplay (the view of South Park from Kenosha Pass is truly breathtaking) and Colorado Highway 291. Those roads are all two or four lanes, nicely paved, and utterly lacking in switchbacks or super-steep grades. I did encounter a couple of stretches of 7 percent (or so) grades and appreciated the manual shifting option as I descended them.
The Q7s TSFI supercharged engine happily answered all of the questions asked of it during climbs, with no problems overtaking slower cars on the long straightaways of US 285 in South Park and the Arkansas River valley
My rental was missing the bells and whistles available, including the traffic jam assist and adaptive cruise control. It did come with blind spot indicators, although I never entirely got used to seeing them flash. That said, reminders to always (ALWAYS) check your blind spots before passing are welcome.
The striking thing about the Q7 is how quiet it was, even at speed on a busy highway. Outside traffic sounds were mere suggestions, no matter how rough the road or how many cars I was sharing the road with.
Although Eric enjoyed the Q7's UI and rapidly became au fait
with it (as well as Apple CarPlay), his car sadly didn't come with some
of the better bells and whistles of the Q7 range. That highlights one
possible issue with the großer-Audi; while the base price is a
class-competitive $54,800, you need to spend roughly $10,000 more to get
the Virtual Cockpit and ADAS goodies (either by opting for the Premium
Plus version and speccing the Driver Assistance and Vision packages or
getting the range-topping Prestige version). It's still a good vehicle
without those goodies, but this is Ars Technica—if you're reading this,
you probably have a healthy interest in the digital.
Our main issue with the Q7 is down to that sole choice of engine.
After several hundred miles in the Q7, we averaged 23.8mpg. That's
better than our results in either the BMW (which was a hybrid, no less)
or the Volvo, which should be a feather in Audi's cap. But there's
another engine in Audi's quiver, one that surely makes much more sense
in this role—or would have done, had Volkswagen not been caught lying
about emissions. You see, the 3.0L TDI diesel (which makes up the bulk
of Q7 orders in Europe) is barely any slower than the gasoline-powered
TSFI version yet offers almost double the fuel mileage: over 40mpg.
Here's hoping VW Group gets its diesel fix together soon because that
engine in this SUV would make for a potent combination.
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