Audi launches petrol Q7 at Rs 67.76 lakh

German luxury automaker Audi today launched the petrol avatar of their flagship SUV, Q7. Audi has aggressively priced the Q7 40 TFSI at Rs. 67.76 lakh, Ex-Showroom., making it the most affordable premium petrol SUV in the segment. However, the prices are likely to increase after September 9 following the 10 per cent hike in cess on luxury cars and SUVs. The top variant of the Q7 40 TFSI is priced at Rs 74.43 lakh, ex-Showroom.

The petrol Q7 is powered by a 2.0 Liter turbocharged TFSI Quattro petrol engine which comes married to an 8-Speed Tiptronic Transmission with All-Wheel Drive (AWD) system. The engine produces 252 hp at 6000 rpm and 370 Nm of peak torque at 3450 rpm and is capable of clocking triple digit speeds in 6.9 seconds. It can take a top-speed of 233 km/h. The 2.0 Liter petrol mill in Q7 delivers an ARAI certified fuel economy of 11.68 km/l. Alike its diesel iteration, the petrol Q7 also is equipped with drive assist feature like Air Suspension and 4 different driving modes, Comfort, Sport, Dynamic and Individual.

Moreover, the equipment list for the petrol variant will be similar to the diesel-spec including the Virtual cockpit, Audi smart phone interface with Android Auto and Apple Car Play, MMI plus Navigation system, Audi phone box with wireless charging options, Ambient lighting with 30 color options and Bose 3D surround system. On the safety front, the SUV comes equipped with 8 Airbags, Pre Sense Basic and Park Assist with 360-degree Camera view.

The SUV stands on 19-inch 5-Spoke alloy wheels and elements like Matrix LED headlamps and panoramic come standard. Inside the Q7 gets the leather wrapped multi functional steering wheel, 7-Seat configuration, and the seats are wrapped with cricket leather as Audi likes to call it.

Speaking on the launch, Rahil Ansari, Head Audi India affirmed that by 2020 half of Audi’s product line-up in India will have petrol engines. “We have seen a surge in demand for petrol engines after the diesel ban in NCR. We have taken a strategic decision to increase our petrol mix and started off the process with the launch of the Q3 1.4 TFSI petrol in March this year. We do have some other surprises this year,” Rahil Said.

Talking to the media, Rahil added that Audi has restructured their entire strategy in India and their focus predominantly will be on Q Range of SUVs, new body types which Audi is likely to introduce by the end of this year and Alternative fuels. Speaking on alternative fuels, Rahil Said, “EV is clearly the future however it’s success will largely depend on the roadmap that we are implementing. Audi at present has three electric products in their pipeline for 2020 and globally we are targeting 30 per cent of our product line-up to be Electric by 2025.”