March 29, 2024

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2020 Audi Q7 review: The strong, silent type

2020 Audi Q7

The Q7 constantly keeps a stiff higher lip.


Craig Cole/Roadshow

The Audi Q7 SUV is as quietly self-assured as at any time. For 2020 it gains some important under-hood updates, refreshing engineering and mildly increased styling, alterations that further more refine this presently-reliable auto. 

Like

  • Swift and straightforward-to-use infotainment program
  • Snug, high-excellent interior
  • Eerily hushed within
  • Pillow-gentle experience

Will not Like

  • Dearth of heart-console storage
  • Tender throttle suggestion-in

Nuts and bolts

The most major adjust is observed right at the rear of that large, solitary-body grille, which has also been upgraded with some shiny vertical slats for a extra distinctive appear. The soulful supercharged V6 of preceding product several years has been replaced by a three.-liter turbocharged motor. A two.-liter turbo I4 is even now the normal motor, but this optional V6 provides 6 extra horsepower than its predecessor, topping out at 335, but supplies way extra torque, 369 pound-toes in full. That is an raise of forty four lb-ft in comparison to what the 2019 product could muster.

Augmented by a forty eight-volt moderate-hybrid program, this solitary-turbo V6 is a clean operator, just about free of charge of vibration and practically silent. Even while it has to fight against five,082 lbs . of SUV, it can even now whisk the Q7 to 60 mph in a fleet five.seven seconds, while the auto doesn’t come to feel that swift. Will not get me mistaken, this SUV is loads swift and by no means leaves you wanting for extra oomph, it really is just so tranquil and refined you do not get any sensation of velocity, which means it really is straightforward to be going a good deal more quickly than you ought to be.

No subject the motor, the Q7 employs an 8-velocity automatic transmission which is as astute as an MIT grad college student. One of the smoothest-shifting cog-swappers all over, it really is also extra than keen to enjoy ball, downshifting readily when a little bit of acceleration is demanded. This amount of responsiveness is regrettably uncommon these times, as automakers appear to be to tune transmissions to keep in the maximum gear feasible at all occasions. 

If you will find one downside to the Q7’s powertrain it really is the throttle suggestion-in. No subject the push mode, this SUV is a little bit lethargic off the line, which means it requires a hefty stab of the accelerator to get relocating. 

2020 Audi Q7

This bent-6 has a solitary turbocharger nestled concerning the cylinder heads. 


Craig Cole/Roadshow

That V6 motor and normal Quattro all-wheel push return 17 miles for every gallon city and 21 mpg on highway drives. In true-planet motoring I’ve been averaging about 19 mpg, rarely a stellar figure even if it really is better than the vehicle’s mixed rating of eighteen. If you do not treatment about efficiency, hook something to the again of this Audi. When equipped with the $750 trailering package deal, this auto can tow up to seven,seven hundred lbs ., an remarkable figure.

A clean operator

My major-shelf Status-trim Q7 rolls on optional 21-inch wheels enveloped by a set of 285/40 Continental Cross Contact all-year tires. With a two-tone complete, these handsome rollers include immeasurably to the vehicle’s look and only charge an excess $1,000. But regardless of the very good looks and reasonable rate, they to begin with gave me pause. This wheel-and-tire combo is absolutely substantial, coming about mid-thigh high when I stand upcoming to the auto. At to start with, I was terrified the Q7 would experience like an vacant grain hauler, or worse, a Volvo XC90, but this panic was unfounded. 

The vehicle’s adaptive air suspension program, which is incorporated in the Status package deal, works like friggin’ magic, providing a experience which is softer than a down pillow nevertheless even now impressively controlled. Equally peak and firmness are adjustable as a result of the Audi Travel Pick program, but even in Dynamic mode, the experience is miraculously clean. The similar can not be claimed of the XC90 I lately tested, which was much starchier nevertheless no better composed though navigating corners.

2020 Audi Q7

Major wheels do not constantly result in a punishing experience.


Craig Cole/Roadshow

This Audi’s handling is predictable and effectively sorted, lest you imagine the clean-jogging Q7 flops all over like a basset hound’s ears. Overall, this SUV’s on-road functionality is just about beautifully balanced, silky and coddling without any slop.

In trying to keep with its buttoned-down experience excellent, the Q7’s interior is exceptionally hushed, even at highway velocities. Status versions appear with dual-pane facet glass, which definitely contributes to this just about eerie silence. Overall, this auto is about as hushed as an underground bunker and practically as reliable.

Neat and sophisticated 

Accurate to type, this Audi’s interior is beautifully made and created of major-excellent products. It lacks a little bit of the XC90’s warmth, but it trades that in for interesting sophistication. I could do with a minimal less piano black trim, which would seem to attract dust and fingerprints like squirrels to a chook feeder, but the leather-based feels wonderful, the open up-pore ash-wood accents appear rich and even the gentle plastics are upscale. 

Comfort is one more sturdy go well with of the Q7. Its normal, 8-way electric power-adjustable front seats are all-day supportive, but the automaker also presents eighteen-way adjustable chairs in the $6,400 Luxurious Deal, which gets you Valcona leather-based and an Alcantara headliner for a minimal excess somethin’ somethin’.

2020 Audi Q7

Accurate to type, this Audi is suave and refined within.


Craig Cole/Roadshow

The triple-break up second-row seat is excellent, with tons of home in all dimensions. The cushions are company and supportive, with the lessen one fitted chair-peak higher than the ground, making it extra at ease for taller travellers. It can be just a shame you will find these types of a large hump in the ground, which can make sitting down in the center position extra than a minimal awkward.

Common of this auto segment, the 3rd row is most effective left to children or probably unusually spry older people of shorter stature. It can be too close to the ground and has confined headroom to certainly be accommodating, but at minimum it has electric power-folding capability. In a thoughtful touch, buttons mounted in the cargo location or just at the rear of the second-row seats permit you to fall these backrests and genuinely open up the Q7 up.

This Audi will have no difficulties when it really is time to haul freight. With all the rear seats folded, it has 69.6 cubic toes of home. At the rear of just the 3rd row, you get 14.two cubes. These figures are similar to the Volvo XC90 but are a little at the rear of what a Lincoln Aviator presents.

It may perhaps be at ease and roomy, but there is one point I wish the Q7’s interior experienced: extra heart-console storage room. There’s a serious lack of nooks and crannies for stashing stuff. Other than the hidden cubby to the left of the steering wheel, you will find no easy place to place my admittedly George Costanza-esque wallet.

No shortage of circuitry

When it will come to engineering, the Q7 has three screens. At ten.1 inches, the key one on the dashboard handles infotainment and navigation responsibilities. The eight.6-inch lessen screen is used to function the climate-command program and entry other functions. At last, quickly ahead of the driver is Audi’s Digital Cockpit, an straightforward-to-use, reconfigurable electronic instrument cluster that clocks in at 12.three inches.

At to start with glance, the Q7’s infotainment program looks downright labyrinthian, but it really is remarkably straightforward to use. Menus are logically laid out and everything responds with around-instantaneous velocity. This multimedia remedy presents all the performance and customization you could have to have without remaining totally mind-boggling. (Hi there, MBUX.) 

2020 Audi Q7

This multi-screen arrangement looks complex, but it really is all fairly straightforward to use.


Craig Cole/Roadshow

Other package which is normal throughout the Q7 variety incorporates points like keyless entry with force-button start, automatic windshield wipers and parking sensors equally front and rear. At no excess charge, you also get a smartphone interface that permits wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Car, which is super helpful. 

Automatic high beams are also normal fare. They’re some of the most responsive I’ve at any time professional, and spookily prescient about oncoming traffic. A new function for 2020 is called Emergency Aid. It can detect if the driver is incapacitated and, just after a collection of warnings, at some point quit the auto and activate the hazard lights. 

In a natural way, my Status-trim tester is fitted with a raft of other practical characteristics which include a head-up screen, an unusually crisp 360-degree digicam program, adaptive cruise command and lane-trying to keep assist. People past two items function effectively collectively, seamlessly modifying the Q7’s velocity to match that of the auto ahead. It can be also clean and attentive in quit-and-go traffic, getting the pressure out of commuting.  

The Q7’s lane-trying to keep program works effectively on the highway, while on secondary roadways I observe it will frequently vibrate the steering wheel when traces conclusion and at times it will check out to steer into right-flip lanes, so you have to keep on being vigilant. Remember, children, there are no self-driving automobiles. 

Inspite of all the computerized goodies offered in this auto, one of my favorite characteristics is so small-tech you could contact it no-tech. Audi’s sunlight-visor implementation is in essence perfect. The Q7 has two various shades, one that swivels to the facet and extends to cover the total width of the front-door glass, moreover one more fixed visor that folds down to block light coming in as a result of the windshield. It can be a straightforward and highly efficient remedy to block distracting glare.

2020 Audi Q7

This is not a lousy-wanting SUV.


Craig Cole/Roadshow

Dignified and restrained

An entry-amount Q7 Premium product with the base, 4-cylinder motor goes for all over $56,000, which include $995 in vacation spot rates. That gets you most of the Q7’s essential goodness, while not lots of of its extra state-of-the-art characteristics. By comparison, my tester below rings up for $seventy five,290, which is unquestionably rich while by no means unreasonable. If you have obtained excess cash burning a gap in your bank account, you ought to have no difficulties inflating that figure by at minimum one more ten grand by opting for characteristics like night eyesight ($two,five hundred), a 23-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio program ($four,900), laser headlights ($1,650) and even 4-wheel steering ($1,five hundred).

There’s loads to like about the Q7. Contrary to some of its rivals which include the BMW X5 and Acura MDX, this Audi is neither loud nor flamboyant. Rather, it really is dignified and restrained, an exceedingly mature luxurious SUV with impeccable style.