The redesigned-for-2017 Audi Q7 luxury SUV is a lot of fun to drive but can that overcome a high price and some limitations on just how family-friendly it is?
Transcript
(car engine revving) The redesigned Audi Q7 is a lot of fun to drive, but cannot overcome a high price and some limitations on just how family-friendly it is. Now versus its predecessor, which had a very body heavy profile.
New Q7 looks a little bit more wagon-like. There seems to just be a lot more glass here above the beltline. Now inside, the new Q7 cabin materials, typical of Audi show, very consistent finishes, even in obscure areas like along the center tunnel here. You get down to some of the lower door panels though, and there are a few cheaper kind of harder plastics down there. Those are some areas where some of the Q7's competitors do have more consistency. Audi's MMI nob here, it's got a finger pad ahead of it allows you to freeform write certain letters and things into the navigation system, if you wanna enter in addresses, stuff like that. But I got to say this whole system here is just begging for a touchscreen overall. And nowhere is that more apparent than if you use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, integration, smartphone integration with the Q7. Instead of just touching whatever you wanted to touch on the screen, you're having to spin this wheel through its various functions and push it down. It seems kind of old school and antiquated, as a way of doing things. Now, Audi's optional virtual cockpit system, it replaces conventional gauges with a reconfigurable 12.3 inch screen here. It can minimize or maximize the gauges to show other things like navigation with Google Earth overlays. Kind of a cool system there, especially if you want to look at the maps ahead of you, but keep music up here in this center screen. Now in terms of overall utility, there's a nice open tray right here, easy to throw stuff into, but the cup holders kind of small, if you're putting in large coffee mugs and I got to say, this is a family SUV, and this is a really small center console for that. Second row space for adults is good. And each of these seats are individually adjustable. They come forward and backward, they also recline a few degrees manually. The problem is third row access. And this is where the Q7 has a clear disadvantage over many of its competitors, which have simple sliding third row access. Here you've gotta tumble these seats, it's a multi-step process here allows you to get back there and then you got to kind of un-tumble them once you're there. A pretty cumbersome process, especially in 2016 for a three row SUV. Now of course the payoff comes in driving fun where the new Q7 delivers plenty of thrills. A standard supercharged V6 has potent acceleration, after a moment of initial accelerator lag, the steering is lively and direct, makes corners a lot of fun in this SUV. Now our test car has the standard suspension pretty well controlled ride quality, less jittery than competitors like the BMW X5. There's an optional adaptive suspension, it improves ride quality a little bit, not quite as good though as competitors like the Volvo XC90 with its optional air suspension. Also the new Q7 is not particularly affordable. Starting prices are right around $55,000. And that doesn't include a lot of the electronic gadgets you see on our car as tested right here. You get up to the higher echelons of pricing and this thing can top out at close to $90,000. So, clearly not a value oriented choice in the segment, like some of its Japanese competitors from Acura and Infiniti. Should you consider this against one of those or another European three row SUV? Well, that depends on just how much you value driving fun. (trunk slams)
