Deutsch

First off, let it be known that this is probably the best looking SUV I have ever seen. The lines are crisp, roof low, wheels big filling the arches, and that single frame Audi grill consuming the whole of the front end. Whether Audi designers intended for it to look this way or not, they produced a rather fashionable piece of automotive jewlery for soccer moms the world over (one of the major drawbacks for the Q7, we'll get to that in a jiff). Same can be said for the interior: I've read where journalists have compared the Q7's interior to that of a yaht, a little far out there, but the quality is duplicated here. Seats up front are quite roomy and very supportive, so no matter where you are you're in good company w/ such high quality seating. MMI as has always been, is extremely easy to use and thee most intuitive navigation system on the market that I have yet to operate. However it's a real eyesore for me as I find any navigation system totally useless, before I head out to go anywhere behind the wheel I usually, most certaintly always know where I'm going . The unfortunate part is is that many of the cars basic functions (i,e. changing radio stations) have been hardwired into this technology, so you are forced to combat w/ mans match even if you desire not to.

Onto what we want to know most... what's the Deutsch's take on the Q7's dynamics???... The most important thing anyone should know about this car is how well it's handling masks it's size: I drove through tight quarters in a parking structure (a great place to test a cars handling/agility in a rather fixed driving enviorment), here you felt just how nimble the Q7 really is, taking what would be in other SUV's large steering wheel transitions, the Q7 made concrete colums into toothpicks. Though the Q7 steers rather nicely it is very much lacking any sort of feel or immedeacy you may come to expect from a maker of sporting German automobiles (but this Audi is already well known for). The engine has a very smooth and linear torque distribution that responds well to driver input, but at the same time manages to feel quite mute and not very alive in the way of enthusing the driver to prod the engine further. Rightfully so though, here we are driving a full European sized SUV, not a very sporting car by nature. Which brings me to my conclusion, though the Q7 delivers heavily on Audi virtues such as having a high quality interior and a real depth of ingenuity and technological intuition, there's very little if any character at all to the car. In essence I interpret this as a "blob" of Audi, which is unfortunate because this is such a hard effort from Audi. The whole while I was in the car I never felt any connection w/ it whatsoever, I wanted to but just couldn't. It felt as if I was in a giant piece of Audi blob/marketing (the better way to put it). The rear seats were seriously compact, though great in feel, the right size for kids not for family members (mine at least), same can be said for the third row. The roof also felt a little too low for an SUV, I understand they wanted to make it feel more car like, but it's a rather odd feel. I felt like I was delivering a car to a soccer Mom who was awaiting the delivery of her Q7 back at the dealer. I'm a real car nut, a real car enthusiast, so perhaps my words are a bit heavy handed in critiquing this particular vehicle, but I've driven an XC90 V8 and it felt more the part of a unisex, all round people transporter that had the personality of what you would expect driving a Volvo (not biased, trust me). The Q7 seems more like the end result in an experiment by Audi's marketing department in injecting an A6 avant w/ roids in an effort to make it more appealing to women. All in all though, a great car.......... great Audi........for soccer moms.

BMW_Dude

Great review, seems like you think it has its identity mixed up! So are you saying you can't see a man driving the car?

BTW, did you take any pictures?

Centurion

Nice review

Deutsch

Thanks guys. I see this car as a school/starbucks run tool for soccer moms. Prior to leaving the house yesterday morning I did not think to bring my digi cam because I had no intentions of stopping by the Audi dealer.

Tumbo

I saw the Q7 4.2 Quattro on the Frankfurt Airport the other day... Oh man... what a car!!! What an amazing car! It's HUGE! It's so freaking phat. It was a fully maxed out 4.2 Quattro exhibition car from Audi. Man, even 90 year olds were stopping and staring
It was cool to see it standing in the middle of the Terminal..hehe

I took 4-5 pics, if ya wanna see them

BMW_Dude

Yes please!

Mr. Mercedes

Thanks for the review deutsch. Interestesting read.

The Q7 is a huge HEAVY vehicle, so its not surprise that even the V8 doesnt deliver sparkling performance. I wonder why AUDI didn't implement more weight saving measures, because it really is very overweight.

Have you driven an M-class for comparison sake?

Mr. M

I sat in a Q7 yesterday.

It looks gorgeous, the interior is well-made. I'd take this over the X5 or the M-Class.

I also viewed the M-Class - what a horrible interior! Either it was lowly-specced or it was the real thing, I was disappointed anyway. The stuff they have on the doors are foam-like materials, and the leather is several grades lower than what you might expect to see.