Audi Q7 V8 SUV Review

Overview

The sound system can be operated via the central i-Drive style controller. Some of the safety features in the vehicle include multiple airbags, Anti Lock Brakes with Brake Assist, All Wheel Drive, Electronic Stability Program, and extra help with steering, rolling, and speed. As far as driver visibility goes this vehicle is great. The next three driving modes-automatic, offroad and dynamic, give you different features as well. The BOSE sound system is great as usual.

Details

From a distance the Audi Q7 may not really appear to be that large of a vehicle. The closer you get, however, it is actually quite big. As you hop in the interior you will see that the driver's position is very commanding. There is a significant amount of space between the driver and the front passenger, and the dashboard and console are angled a little bit towards the driver adding to the experience. The volume control is no longer found on the dashboard. You can find it in a much more convenient place, the center console. This location may seem a bit odd, but in the end it actually works out for the best.

The Audi Q7 FSI V8 gets a nice sporty steering wheel that comes as a standard. It may not be the sportiest, but it is enough to aid you while doing some more aggressive driving. With the sports steering wheel you can also enjoy the paddle shifters. The paddle shifters allow the driver to change the gears manually without even having to shift the gear lever to the manual position, which is nice for obvious reasons. There is also a 6 disc changing CD player that is hooked up to a BOSE sound system. The sound system can be operated via the central i-Drive style controller. Though it produces great quality sound, the best feature in my opinion is how easy it is to use. When using the central control unit you will have access to tons of vehicle settings. You can go through settings of features such as satellite navigation, height adjustment, and tire pressure monitoring. If you look next to the LCD screen built in the dash, you will see quite a few buttons. One of the buttons opens the glove box! Yes, this is no longer a task that has to be done manually. With the press of a button the glove box is released and opens up without any problems. Though this may not be the best feature I have ever seen, it is quite convenient and fun to use. The center console armrest is very comfortable and contains cubby holes to store smaller items. The downside to the armrest is that you don't really have enough room to store anything big and it's not the most effective to use. Some of the standard features you can expect in this vehicle are parking sensors, fog lights, electric leather front seats and tailgate, central locking, an auto-dimming interior mirror, heated side mirrors that auto dim and fold, cruise control, Bluetooth capability for your cell phone, light and rain sensors, swiveling Xenon headlights, and more. One of the most beneficial features that I have not mentioned is the DataDot technology, which places small DataDots in parts of the vehicle in case the car is stolen or broken down for parts so that the car can be identified in the DataDot database. Some of the safety features in the vehicle include multiple airbags, Anti Lock Brakes with Brake Assist, All Wheel Drive, Electronic Stability Program, and extra help with steering, rolling, and speed. If you want to put a little extra money into your vehicle, you can equip the car with a BOSE surround sound system, heated front seats (not just driver), Adaptive cruise control, an anti-theft alarm, voice control, advanced key, metallic paint, Alcantra roof lining, sunroof, 4-zone climate control, 20 inch alloy wheels, and a storage package.

It's no secret that Audi has had tons of success in today's market and it appears that they are not planning to slow down one bit. From the way the planned and executed the launch of the Audi Q7 it seemed that they were extremely confident they had produced another winner. During the launch they sent 15 Audi Q7s on a 4,350 mile journey from Sydney all the way to Broome. With a trip of that length it shows me that they are certain it will get a lot of attention. If you are looking at purchasing this vehicle, there are three different grades to choose from. The 3.6L 6 cylinder model, which retails at $84,900, the 3.0L turbo-Diesel, which retails for $85,800, and the 4.2L V8, which retails for $116,800. For the purpose of this review, I will talk primarily about the 4.2L V8.

As far as driver visibility goes this vehicle is great. With the elevated driving position mixed with the huge side mirrors, you get an enormous amount of visibility. You also can use the reverse camera that is comes with all the Q7 models to assist you with parking. With these options available there are not really any blind spots that you have to worry about. I was actually quite impressed with this car because of the amount of vision it gives the driver at all times.

The next three driving modes-automatic, offroad and dynamic, give you different features as well. If you go with the off-road setting, you will find the ground clearance increasing, since it will raise up to the highest setting possible by electric movement. Having the off-road setting is nice, though, since it does perform well in an off-road atmosphere. No matter what the conditions, the Q7 can take it, unless of course you are looking at a steep decline. This is one situation you want to avoid unless you take the steps needed and raise the ground clearance to as high as it can get. This would require a move with the manual lift. Using automatic mode will give you the chance to change the height to a height of your choice. Dynamic mode will not provide you with a very smooth ride since it drops the height drastically, but it will whip you around corners with extreme hugging ability.

All the way through the trip the Q7 models managed to arrive in Broome safely with only a few problems. There were two broken fog lights and a small amount of flat tires. The fog lights being broken was caused from rocks being flung up from the vehicle in front of them, so that didn't have anything to do with the quality of the car. The flat tires were due to some pretty rough terrain that they faced along the way and once again were not due to any manufacturer defect.

The leg room is more than accommodating for both front and rear passengers. Even larger people will find themselves quite comfy in this vehicle. The seats are extremely comfortable except the one in the rear middle. When you purchase an Audi Q7 you will have the option to get six or even seven seats. With seven seats you will of course have to pay more, but I thought that it was a pretty cool option to have. Unfortunately the front seats are not heated, but it's not really a big deal for those who don't use these options anyway. The BOSE sound system is great as usual. You can't really go wrong when you have an audio system brand like BOSE. The sound is very clear and the bass is sure to please anyone. At higher volumes you may experience some rattling, but overall it's a great setup to have.

This vehicle has adaptive air suspension that can be adjusted with four different modes to choose from. The modes for this are automatic, off road, dynamic, and comfort. These modes work very well and you can notice a difference when changing through each setting. When you put the suspension in comfort mode, you will barely notice any bumps in road. The quality of the ride definitely increases, but the handling pays the price somewhat. Although it has its upsides, the comfort mode setting causes the Audi Q7 to not react as well and an obvious amount of body roll is present.

You can look forward to a nice, smooth drive when it comes down to shifting. The six-speed automatic gearbox shifts smoothly, which is a bit of a surprise, since some automatic gearboxes cannot boast the same thing. Usually the smoother shifting is left for manual gearboxes. You would be surprised that the car can handle the power of the 4.2 Liter V8 engine so well, but it does. You can expect a fuel efficiency of about 13.6L/100KM, which could be better but still is not bad for a V8. This will vary depending on the type of driving you are doing, of course.

The tailgate of the Audi Q7 4.2 FSI V8 opens with assistance from a hydraulic lift system. Likewise, the tailgate is also assisted by an electric motor when closing by pushing the trunk close button. When the tailgate is open, you will see a switch that lowers the rear of the vehicle to its lowest setting to help make it easier for you get your stuff in and out. This is very helpful since the back end of the car sits pretty high up there.

Unlike most SUVs that burn fuel and are not cost effective, the Audi is a good drive. However, it still does use quite a bit of fuel for simple driving, so it would not be the most practical of purchases. Though most people buying this vehicle would be using it for in-city driving, it would be best used in off-roading, which would require going with the 3.0L turbo-diesel. If you are looking for a car with optimal standard features, you might be a little disappointed. There are not that many things in the car that stand out from the other cars in similar classes. However, there are plenty of things you can buy to add on to the standard features, and it can drive in plenty of different settings if you don't mind paying a good deal for gas. Either way, it's definitely worth a test drive.