The new Audi Q7 sports utility vehicle was launched in India last month. If you have seen its promos on television, you would have noticed the prominent display of the words, "Greatness starts... when you don't stop".
The vehicle is powered by a 45 TDI (3.0 TDI) diesel engine that delivers 249 bhp and 600 Nm of peak torque. With this model being 325 kg lighter than its predecessor, the new Q7 can accelerate faster, move faster and deliver better fuel efficiency, thereby ensuring that it's environment friendly too. The car accelerates from 0 to 100 kmph in 7.1 seconds. It gives you a fuel efficiency of 14.75 kmpl.
The new Q7 comes with a moulded single frame grille. It has horizontal struts in aluminium with the Audi rings on it. It has smart Matrix LED headlights featuring double-arrow graphics and intense wheel arches. The shoulder line emphasises the wheels, while the tailgate extends around the D-pillars.
The roof rails give the car sporty look. The exhaust tailpipes at the rear have a dual-branch design, with rectangular trims, adding to its smart looks While the window slot trims are in aluminium, the outer B and C pillar trims are in gloss black. The car also comes with an electronically operated panoramic glass sunroof.
The Matrix LED headlights are no ordinary lights as each headlight divides its high beam into 30 individual light- emitting diodes paired with three reflectors. The intelligent cornering light is created by a shift in the light centre position. The headlight range is automatically increased when the speed of the vehicle crosses 110kmph. Sensors control the automatic lights-on function and the automatic windscreen wiper function, including coming home/leaving home function. It also controls the delayed switching-off/automatic switching-on of the main headlights, rear and number plate lights when parking/opening the vehicle.
It is when you step inside the large vehicle that you realise how luxurious and comfortable it is. The cabin is spacious and the seats are made of high-quality cricket leather. The front seats are electrically adjustable. They also include a memory function for the driver seat.
The car comes with a leather steering wheel in 4-spoke design with multifunction plus and shift paddles with 14 multifunction keys for operating the available infotainment features. The steering wheel can be adjusted for height and reach.
The car comes loaded with a fully-digital 12.3 inch instrument cluster display. The Bose 3D Sound System with 19 loudspeakers ensures amazing sound quality. Also, through the Bluetooth interface one can make hands-free calls in the vehicle using the microphone.
If the headlights of the car are impressive, so is the extensive interior lighting, which comes with LED technology.
The air-conditioning, too, has a touch of luxury. The car boasts of 4-zone deluxe automatic air-conditioning. Everything in the cabin, including the footwell temperature in front, can be adjusted to one's liking.
The Q7 is a large vehicle but the moment you get behind its wheel, it's like you are driving a car that is easy to handle. That is primarily because of the massive engineering embedded in its chassis, engine, gear box and suspension, all weaved together with loads of electronics.
The self-locking centre differential - the heart of the quattro all-wheel drive system - is integrated into the housing of the eight-speed tiptronic transmission. The Q7 is much more compact and light in weight compared to its predecessor. One could feel while driving that the Q7 felt quite nimble even in some of the most off-road conditions.
Through the Audi Drive Select, one can opt for any one of these modes: Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, Individual and Off-road. In conjunction with adaptive air suspension, the all-road and lift/off road mode is added.
When I drove the vehicle on off-road terrain, the lift-off mode came in quite handy, ensuring the underbelly did not rub against the large mounds of mud and stones. Because of the Quattro technology, there was permanent distribution of the drive force to all four wheels. Since the rear axle is variably controlled via a self-locking centre differential, traction to the wheels was perfect and handling an absolute joy. Later as I drove the car on smooth roads and took sharp corners, I realised how important the wheel-selective torque controls are to the over stability of the car.
The electronically controlled air suspension, including tilt angle display, acts separately on each of the four wheels, providing for balanced handling characteristics. The quick-shifting eight speed tiptronic transmission, along with the quattro drive, allowed the car to perform superbly on both rough and smooth terrains.
The car is also equipped with assistance systems such as the auto park assist and 360-degree surround camera with bird's eye view. Hold assist stops the vehicle for an indefinite period, both in the uphill and downhill gradients. Cruise control features comes in handy at speeds from 30 to 250 kmph. Ideally, if you have unhindered road before you, then with the Audi Q7 you can simply move on.
P Tharyan is editor, Motown India www.motownindia.com