Audi Q7 45 TDI

Exterior:

I really like the aesthetics of the Q7, it has a unique presence which is well accentuated by the sharp LED headlights which easily guide the way at night. The Q7 offers a large trunk, which can easily accommodate large suitcases and is ideal for long journeys. Everything about this car demands authority, and that is certainly felt when you are sitting in the driver’s seat!

Interior:

Exactly as you’d expect from a luxurious German SUV. All the materials that you are presented with feel high-quality and durable. The dashboard is well put-together and planned out. All the controls are reachable for the driver, as well as the center console which is easy to navigate. The steering wheel feels firm, and the on-wheel controls are in ideal positions. The driver and passenger seats have multi-axis adjustors for your perfect seating position, and there is ample legroom for the passengers in the recline-able backseats. The Bose sound system in the car elevates your music to new heights and you’ll have to restrain yourself from turning up the volume as it just keeps sounding better!

Performance:

The turbo-powered diesel V6 engine in the Q7 45 TDI gives a very satisfying amount of power, taken into consideration it’s large size and weight. The build-quality is noticed when you travel at motorway speeds, as the sounds from outside are so well insulated that you could whisper to your passengers. The car’s ‘Dynamic’ driving-mode gives a better throttle response and tightens up the suspension and steering, allowing for increased power response when you want it. The Q7 corners extremely well, it feels ‘flat’ in the corners and does not have the ‘roll’ of some other SUVs. This is the kind of feeling we want in our racing cars, and I’m glad to see it implemented so well in the Q7 by Audi. However, when you want to relax, the Q7 sits comfortably in cruise-control, and is very economical. It’s easy to extract over 900km from a single tank when you drive economically.

Improvements:

There are far more positives to this car, but here are some things that I felt could be improved on the Q7 45 TDI. Firstly, the doors do not ‘auto-close’, and perhaps because this was a new car, you had to shut the doors quite hard for them to properly close. Secondly, I love the wide 285mm front and rear tires, but on bumpy roads you can feel the car ‘follows’ the bumps rather than just going over them. This can be fixed to some extent by engaging the ‘Offroad’ driving-mode. Last and the least little issue I felt was the slightly delayed power delivery in the low-end (as is expected from a turbo-powered car), however this was quickly made up for once the engine reached the power band.