Audi Q7 review - Performance and 0-62mph time
Better to drive and plenty of tech, but still behind rivals
The entry-level Q7 in 45 TDI form is better endowed than it once was with 228bhp and 402lb ft on tap, allowing a 7.1sec sprint to 62mph and a 140mph top speed. Still the more potent 55 TDI feels less stressed when being plumbed for its punch, which when fully deployed, can get it to 62mph in 6.1sec on the way to a 150mph top speed.
The turbocharged 335bhp petrol V6 sings along just fine, beating the base Cayenne to 62mph with a 5.6sec sprint. The PHEV TFSIe plug-in hybrid however has a more complete power band, with the low-down shove of the electric motor augmenting the petrol mill nicely, if not the the end of a jump in on-paper performance. Needless to say, the chunkier diesel is best suited to long, high-speed slogs, while the petrol and hybrid will be happier performing urban duties, the latter affording you plenty of silent running smugness.
The last SQ7 with its diesel V8 was a torque titan, with 429bhp and 664lb ft of torque on tap. The new one ditched the diesel for petrol power to make it the most powerful Q7 variant yet made, V12 TDI included. With 500bhp and 568lb ft allowing a 0-62mph sprint of just 4.1sec and a 155mph top speed, you’re not left wanting for the low-down punch of the old diesel, even if you are its relative fuel economy…
Where do the Q7s place among their rivals, the X5, GLE and Cayenne? Well, the base GLE 400d is a hair quicker than a basic Q7, though also a chunk more expensive. An base xDrive 30d BMW X5 meanwhile, matches the 55 TDI Q7. The PHEV X5 xDrive50e is more powerful and faster than the Q7 TFSI e, with near enough an extra 100bhp and a 0-62mph time of 4.8sec. The PHEV X5 is better by the numbers in almost every way, except perhaps weight.
You’ll need the petrol V6 for performance to match the least potent version of the Porsche, though it manages as much with less power. The Q7 range stops in terms of performance where the Cayenne range just starts to get spicy, with the SQ7 sharing its 4-litre twin-turbo in a near-exact state of tune with the Cayenne GTS. Incidentally, like the petrol V6 compared to the base Cayenne, the SQ7 is quicker than the GTS on paper. Even the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid, with over 700bhp and a lot more weight, is only 0.4sec quicker than the SQ7 to 62mph.
