By Tushal Bhadang
Do you recall how your spine tingles when you’re about to lay your hands onto that new 3000 Watt home theatre system blaring out music that could wake up neighbours two blocks away? The Q7 SUV Audi comes with the same spine tingling Vorsprung durch Technik – as standard. It’s no small goat though, at 5086mm from bumper to bumper the Q7 is long by a stretch, consolidating 2177mm of width and you don’t want to get into a tight spot. But she is beautiful like no other. Smooth flowing lines with nothing added as an after-thought give her a robust appearance.
Audi’s radiator grille is the most distinctive, the four rings logo dominate the vents and large goatee-shaped chin is sure to scare motorists up front. It’s stance is muscular and aggressive and though appearing bulky, she scampers like a scalded cat if given some stick. We received two variants of the Q7 the full blown 4.2 litre V8, 350hp monster in goat’s disguise and the tame but equally brilliant cheetah all of 3.6 litre V6 pawing out 280 ponies which snarl with fierce intent.
Despite varying power outputs the basic character of both cars is similar. They both growl from anything above 2500 RPM but the V8 thumps out a humongous 440 Nm of torque @3500 RPM pushing you back in your seat. While the V6 does the same a little less aggressively at 360 Nm of torque ranging from 2500 to 5000 RPM giving it immense mid-range thrust. The V8 provided a phenomenal driving experience, mostly due to the quattro all-wheel-drive system which is a remarkable piece of engineering in itself but also in part due to the adaptive air suspension package. It electronically controls the adaptive damping system on all four wheels, i.e. raising the vehicle height up to 60mm (lift mode) for off road action and lowers height by 28mm for high speed highway cruising (dynamic mode). All vehicle dynamics are managed by the Audi MMI (multi media interface) system mounted on the dash. Also included is an ‘automatic’ setting where the vehicle analyses the road dynamics and adjust the suspension damping and level accordingly. The V6 powered Q7 comes without these and other bells and whistles.
Both variants come with a standard 6-speed automatic tiptronic transmission with near perfect gear ratios and an “S” mode that more than judicially keeps her revving close to the red line in every cog. The Q7 in both variants is equally comfortable and does exactly what Audi claim, be a big, comfortable and very very fast SUV. Off the black, the Q7 is not the most capable of vehicles, partly due to the tyres (low profile Bridgestone 275/45R20 designed for wet performance and road comfort). It can handle some mini sand dunes but that’s about it. It takes corners with aplomb and feels like its on rails. It is the nature of large SUV’s to understeer heavily, but the Quattro system prevents this to a large extent by controlling power to all four wheels. The V6 though provided a better driving experience as it was noticeably lighter and took tighter turns with ease.
There is so much to talk about the interiors. Audi bathe you with luxury from the best cows a.k.a leather seats. The big daddy V8 also gets additional safety features as standard, with blind-spot alerts in the wing mirrors and active glare protection from auto dimming rear view mirror. The baby Q7 gets the Audi open sky system which lets in the sun when retracted and also has a tint and fine mesh sun protection cover that rolls in/out at the flick of a switch. The MMI system comes with a host of goodies which include mobile phone bluetooth, in-dash 6-disc Bose audio CD changer, active GPS navigation system, vehicle settings and also self system check amongst many others. You can go to the extent of specifying how long you want the headlights to be on after you leave the car and even set the speed limit warning to beep at a speed you choose! Boot space (min. 775 lit., max. 2035 lit.), rear legroom and overall storage space is exemplary. Road noise too is extremely low.
Like other models in its product range, the Q7 comes with a host of airbags and active safety measures and enjoys a 4-star EuroNcap safety rating. Large-diameter (ventilated 350mm front, solid 330mm rear) provide the most reassuring stopping power under any condition. Dual-circuit brake system with diagonal split ABS with EBD, electronic differential lock, traction control system (ASR – what’s that?) and ESP are standard on all variants.
Last word
The Q7 is a phenomenon but it is in a way over-engineered to perfection. All the technology is a little distracting and the silky smooth ride is missed as you keep playing with all the toys. But you do reach your destination very quickly. She is capable of carrying five or seven passengers in cool comfort (multi-zone climatronic air con). Nudging 2.3 tons of kerb weight she feels solid and planted. For practical reasons, we would vouch for the 3.6 litre V6 Q7, it is nimble, relatively simple and has most of the gadgets with many options and moreover more efficient than the V8. Though if you are looking for more power, the V8 is the one for you.
Rating 4/5
Car supplied by Behbehani Brothers, Kingdom of Bahrain.
Audi’s radiator grille is the most distinctive, the four rings logo dominate the vents and large goatee-shaped chin is sure to scare motorists up front. It’s stance is muscular and aggressive and though appearing bulky, she scampers like a scalded cat if given some stick. We received two variants of the Q7 the full blown 4.2 litre V8, 350hp monster in goat’s disguise and the tame but equally brilliant cheetah all of 3.6 litre V6 pawing out 280 ponies which snarl with fierce intent.
Despite varying power outputs the basic character of both cars is similar. They both growl from anything above 2500 RPM but the V8 thumps out a humongous 440 Nm of torque @3500 RPM pushing you back in your seat. While the V6 does the same a little less aggressively at 360 Nm of torque ranging from 2500 to 5000 RPM giving it immense mid-range thrust. The V8 provided a phenomenal driving experience, mostly due to the quattro all-wheel-drive system which is a remarkable piece of engineering in itself but also in part due to the adaptive air suspension package. It electronically controls the adaptive damping system on all four wheels, i.e. raising the vehicle height up to 60mm (lift mode) for off road action and lowers height by 28mm for high speed highway cruising (dynamic mode). All vehicle dynamics are managed by the Audi MMI (multi media interface) system mounted on the dash. Also included is an ‘automatic’ setting where the vehicle analyses the road dynamics and adjust the suspension damping and level accordingly. The V6 powered Q7 comes without these and other bells and whistles.
Both variants come with a standard 6-speed automatic tiptronic transmission with near perfect gear ratios and an “S” mode that more than judicially keeps her revving close to the red line in every cog. The Q7 in both variants is equally comfortable and does exactly what Audi claim, be a big, comfortable and very very fast SUV. Off the black, the Q7 is not the most capable of vehicles, partly due to the tyres (low profile Bridgestone 275/45R20 designed for wet performance and road comfort). It can handle some mini sand dunes but that’s about it. It takes corners with aplomb and feels like its on rails. It is the nature of large SUV’s to understeer heavily, but the Quattro system prevents this to a large extent by controlling power to all four wheels. The V6 though provided a better driving experience as it was noticeably lighter and took tighter turns with ease.
There is so much to talk about the interiors. Audi bathe you with luxury from the best cows a.k.a leather seats. The big daddy V8 also gets additional safety features as standard, with blind-spot alerts in the wing mirrors and active glare protection from auto dimming rear view mirror. The baby Q7 gets the Audi open sky system which lets in the sun when retracted and also has a tint and fine mesh sun protection cover that rolls in/out at the flick of a switch. The MMI system comes with a host of goodies which include mobile phone bluetooth, in-dash 6-disc Bose audio CD changer, active GPS navigation system, vehicle settings and also self system check amongst many others. You can go to the extent of specifying how long you want the headlights to be on after you leave the car and even set the speed limit warning to beep at a speed you choose! Boot space (min. 775 lit., max. 2035 lit.), rear legroom and overall storage space is exemplary. Road noise too is extremely low.
Like other models in its product range, the Q7 comes with a host of airbags and active safety measures and enjoys a 4-star EuroNcap safety rating. Large-diameter (ventilated 350mm front, solid 330mm rear) provide the most reassuring stopping power under any condition. Dual-circuit brake system with diagonal split ABS with EBD, electronic differential lock, traction control system (ASR – what’s that?) and ESP are standard on all variants.
Last word
The Q7 is a phenomenon but it is in a way over-engineered to perfection. All the technology is a little distracting and the silky smooth ride is missed as you keep playing with all the toys. But you do reach your destination very quickly. She is capable of carrying five or seven passengers in cool comfort (multi-zone climatronic air con). Nudging 2.3 tons of kerb weight she feels solid and planted. For practical reasons, we would vouch for the 3.6 litre V6 Q7, it is nimble, relatively simple and has most of the gadgets with many options and moreover more efficient than the V8. Though if you are looking for more power, the V8 is the one for you.
Rating 4/5
Car supplied by Behbehani Brothers, Kingdom of Bahrain.
2 comments:
nice blog tush, loved reading abt cars n bikes. Must say, u have a knack for machines and you not only photograph then well but also describe them at their best.
Keep up the good work. Cheers !!!
Mauli
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