An absolutely luxurious beast one can say, the Audi Q7 in India. It was launched in 2006 by Audi and had quite impressed the world with its arresting looks, and now it is India’s turn.

Audi is synonymous with luxury so you can expect all the comforts and luxury features that are expected in cars of this segment. Similarly, the performance of this car is also excellent, with very good performance on long drives as well as during small city rides.

Variants of Audi Q7

The Indian variant of Audi Q7 comes with three engine options – two versions with petrol engines and one diesel engine.

The Audi Q7 offers an elegant 4-wheel drive and its mileage is in line with others in its class.

Design and Interiors

The Audi Q7’s exteriors are as imposing as any other luxury car in the segment. It boasts of a single frame large radiator grille. With a coupe like roofline it is imposing yet sleek with a dynamic appeal of an SUV. Sunroof is available as an optional feature, but you should go for it, as it adds a lot of cachet to the car. The contrasting bumpers add to the sporty look of the car.

Now since it is an Audi, you can be sure of all the luxuries that you can imagine in an SUV of this segment. Spacious interiors, seats adjustable as per passenger comfort and three rows of seat capable of accommodating seven passengers. The seat can be adjusted in 28 different ways!

The cabin has been designed as per driver’s comfort and has a classy look with trim aluminium and wooden interiors. All Audi cars have characteristic Multi-media interface that displays audio information, climate control and other functions of controlling the vehicle. This feature is also present in the Indian model of Audi Q7.

Audi Q7 has all the standard safety features of a luxury car, such as airbags, ABS, etc.

Colours

New Audi Q7 is available in 11 scintillating colours viz. Cobalt Blue Metallic, Deep Black, Lava Grey, Phantom black, Condor Grey Metallic, Sycamore Green, Garnet Red, Quartz Black, Bania Beige Metallic, Ice Silver and Calla White. The diesel model has a price tag of Rs. 52 lakh attached to it while the petrol models are priced in the range of Rs. 55 lakh to Rs. 66 lakhs.

Comparision with other cars

Comparing the Audi Q7 range of cars with its fellows, such as BMW and Benz, is as good as selecting a king among the kings. It can be said, that the close competition for Q7 is the BMW X5 series and Mercedes M class.

Mercedes Benz diesel version ML 320 CDI 4MATIC comes with V6 3.0 liter engine with 172 KW power at 3800 rpm and torque of 520 NM at 1600 -2400 rpm. ML350 4MATIC comes with a 3.5 liter V6 Engine with 200 KW@6000 rpm and torque of 355 Nm @4500 rpm.

BMW X drive 48i petrol engine comes with a 4.8 liter 8 cylinder V8 engine delivers power output of 261 KW @6300 rpm, Torque of 475 NM@3400 rpm.

XDrive 30d diesel version comes with a 3.0 Liter V6 engine delivering power output of 173KW@4000 rpm and a torque of 520 Nm@2000-2750 rpm.

In comparison with power output all the three give almost same power output for given capacity of engine. So the main things to consider would be the body style, features of higher comfort, handling, and user-friendly technical features. But here too, the additional features of each car are more or less the same.

The main advantage of Audi Q7 is its majestic appearance and it is somewhat better priced than the X5 and the ML. The brand Audi also is slowly but surely taking over other brands.

Still, we can say that choosing between these cars is a matter of personal preference, as from an objective point they are all top notch cars!

Conclusion

The Audi Q7 is a big car – in fact, the car is definitely massive. So if you are planning to go to a jam packed show or high density traffic area, just be prepared for bumps and tough maneuvering. Also, parking is a tough job in small parking lots and forget about shoe-box parking.

Nevertheless, Audi Q7 delivers all the promises of luxury that can be packed into one package. It is a complete package of elegance, style, luxury and performance packed with a hefty price tag.

If you are ready to bear the minor discomforts, by all means go for it!

Audi Q7. A 5 Metre SUV behaving like a sports sedan.

The Q7 looks more different than the other SUVs in the market. The stately family genetics are all there but this SUV will stand out among its peers.

When I first saw this car at its launch, the impression I got was one of imposing size. It shares the same platform as the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagon Tuareg. It's made in the same factory and shares a lot of the same expensive parts.

But this one looks more of a battle tank than the other two. Still, while retaining the macho look, it has very fluid lines -- like streamlined bonnet ridges and the slung back frontlamps, give it a feeling of being on the move.

The Audi Q7 can be made into a seven-seater and it does have loads of luggage space. There are parcel shelves under the bottom tray, so that you can fit in small things without having them crushed by the luggage and below the parcel shelve is the tyre well with the spare tyre.

The car is high and for short people closing the boot could have been a probelm but Audi has thought of that and put a convenient button -- so just press and the boot shuts automatically.

The inside of this car also comes packed with many goodies. But the sheer size of this car can be an obstacle especially while backing up. But a little bit of nifty technology does provide some help.

I've seen camera bumpers before but the Q7's bumper really breaks new ground. The camera is wide angled, full colour and high resolution. It gives you a great view of the road behind.

However, perception can be a bit of a problem, so to make it really easy, the camera actually marks a path for you -- giving you two yellow lines that actually turn with the direction of your steering wheel -- to mark the road behind you. There is a red line that shows you just how much you can back up if a car is behind you.

Comfort also is taken care of -- seat and steering adjusters help you get into the right driving position. There are also bottle-holders and correctly placed air vents, cushy leather add to the pampering.

The front dashboard gets the multimedia or MMI interface, which you will find on most cars of this calibre. This gadget does it all. However, the dashboard also has a bit of clutter with knobs, switches and buttons.

The Q7 has a button for every occasion including one that will remotely open the glove box. Coming back to the MMI, it just doesn't take care of the stereo and the airconditioner, it also handles the active suspension -- this means that this car clear any obstacle on the roads.

It offers many adaptive air suspensions which allow you to lower and raise the car to many different options. There is the lowest level that one can use while loading things into the car, so you don't have to haul them too high.

Then there is the dynamic mode that one can use to get the sporty feel. Then you can have the comfort mode, that raises it to a level where you can ride/drive comfortably. There is the sports mode, there is a offroading mode, where you can the car up to 25 mm and then, of course, if you encounter a really big obstacle, you can lift the car up to about 60 mm.

This 2.2 tonner produces a whopping 500 nm of torque. When you put your foot down on the accelarator, you can feel all of it. It's quicker than the Skoda RS even though it's much much heavier. It does 0-100 kms in 9.1 seconds. The engine is a 3 litre TDI and there is a petrol V8 available as well. But why would you when this one has the torque, the economy of the diesel and enough power for the Indian road.

There is a bit of initial lag at low rpms but nothing to really complain about. What is strong and thoroughly enjoyable is the mid-range. Now this engine is mated to a neat and responsive auto gearbox.

There is also the paddle shift for the quick cut and thrust in the city. As for the terrain -- it handled the offroads quite well and on the tarmac, the handling was controlled but I would have still liked more feedback from the steering.

The adaptive air suspension allows you to adjust your driving style to either driving style -- dynamic or comfort settings -- depending on whether you want ride quality or good handling. If you try taking corners fast in the comfort mode, you will feel the body roll but in dynamic mode, it feels much tighter.

It may not be as exciting as the BMW X5 but for its size, the handling gets my approval. The Audi Q7 passed all my tests -- offroad and in the city. So, if you want an SUV that has space on the inside, has a large boot, has go lots of power and has a comfortable ride, Audi Q7 is just what you asked for.

Also this time, the diesel is priced lower than the SUV and at Rs 65 lakh (Rs 6.5 million), I really recommend the diesel Audi Q7.

Audi Q7 Performance & Efficiency Standard Features