2023 Audi Q7, SQ7

Pros:

• The building materials and construction inside are top-notch.
• There are a lot of standard and optional technological features that make the ride smooth and the handling quick.

Cons:

• It has less space for cargo than most of its competitors
• It’s hard to use the information system from the third-row seat, which is small.

How does the Q7 move? We tested a V6-powered Q7, one of the fastest non-performance cars in its class. It took 5.6 seconds to get from 0 to 60 mph. From a stop or on the freeway, the car speeds up smoothly, quickly, and without any problems. In Comfort mode, however, the throttle response feels slow unless you stomp on it.

The Q7 seems to have a turning circle that is a little too big. Aside from that, the other things that make it dynamic are great. Smooth braking, shifts that are hard to hear, and no body roll make it easy to approach turns at a reasonable speed.

What is the Q7 like in terms of comfort? The Audi Q7 is one of the more excellent cars in its class. The optional four-zone climate control system sends air evenly to the first and second rows, so there isn’t much noise from the road or wind. Since there are no vents in the third row, people in the third row will have to work with people in the second row to get enough airflow. The seat doesn’t have extreme heating or cooling features, but they do the job.

Even in the top-of-the-line Prestige trim, the front seats are comfortable and supportive for long drives, so it’s strange that they can only be moved in eight ways. At least give us a thigh cushion that can be moved. The standard suspension on the Q7 makes for a smooth and balanced ride. Even with the optional air suspension upgrade, the ride isn’t as smooth as we’d like it to be.

How does the inside look? How well do you know how to use technology? If you said “not very,” Audi’s two-touchscreen entertainment system might be hard to figure out. Even though there are different ways to enter data, the complicated system and menu structure can make it hard to use because it takes a lot of focus.

The inside of the Q7 looks better. You can see far ahead from your seat to the sides and behind you. The first and second rows are comfortable, but only kids can sit in the third row. The front and back doors make it easy to get into the first and second rows, while the seat mechanism can make it hard to get into the third row.

How good is the tech? Aside from problems with the dual touchscreen, the Q7’s interface is sharp, attractive, and responsive to user actions. The navigation system has a clever handwriting feature that makes it unnecessary to look up each letter individually. It knew right away what our chicken scratch was.

Our test model of the Q7 included a charging pad, four USB ports, and a standard 12-volt power outlet. People often use connected Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, but the first one had some problems. The MBUX system from Mercedes is better, but voice controls need to catch up. The Q7 has many modern safety features that work well and come as standard.

What about putting things away? When all the seats are folded down, the cargo space goes from 14.2 cubic feet (behind the third row) to a maximum of 69.6 cubic feet. These numbers show the average of the whole class. You can raise or lower the back end with the optional air suspension, making loading and unloading easier. The fact that the third-row seats can be folded using the power-folding feature regardless of where the second-row headquarters are located is convenient. The large door pockets are the best place to put things for regular interior storage.

There are three sets of kid safety seat anchors within the second row, whereas the third row only has two. This is different for the class and gives you some good options for where to put child seats. Audi says that the V6-powered Q7’s ability to pull 7,700 pounds is enough for many recreational trailers. The four-maximum cylinder can hold up to 4,400 pounds of weight.

How well does it use gasoline? The EPA says that a Q7 with a V6 engine will get 20 mpg combined (18 miles per gallon in the city, 23 miles per gallon on the highway). These estimates are lower than the average of the class, but we found them to be reasonable. On our 115-mile test route, which had both city and highway driving, we got an average of 21 mpg. On our test loop, competitors often get less than one mpg better gas mileage than expected.

Should you buy the Q7? The Q7 comes with a nice set of features as standard and costs about the same as its German rivals. Even though the price of our test car, the Prestige, was a little high for what it had to offer, the lower trims are still good buys. In keeping with Audi tradition, the Q7’s interior is made of and designed with high-quality materials.

The basic warranty is good for four years, and the engine warranty is good for 50,000 miles. Roadside help is given for four years and an unlimited number of miles. All of them fit the typical profile of the segment.

The Audi Q7 shows that you don’t have to choose between towing a family and having fun on the road. The fact that this old SUV, which got its last makeover in 2017, still does better than the competition shows how high Audi set the bar when it first made it.

If you want the best value, consider buying the Premium Plus trim. It has some excellent features that don’t come with the base trim, like adaptive cruise control. We had suggested the V6 engine for engines before. But this year’s four-cylinder engine is better if you want better gas mileage because it has more power.

Audi Q7 models

The Audi Q7, a midsize SUV with three rows of seats, will have three trim levels in 2023: Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige. All Q7 models come with all-wheel drive and three rows of seats. Check out the Q7’s relatives if you’re looking for something more athletic: the V8-powered SQ7, the two-row coupe-style Q8 and SQ8, and the high-performance RS Q8. In terms of pricing, each invoice is looked at on its own.

The Q7 from Audi has two engines. Audi describes the 45 TFSI engine as a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 261 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. It comes standard on the Premium and Premium Plus models. The 55 TFSI is a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 that comes standard on the Prestige and as an option on the other trim levels. It has 335 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque. Both of them are linked to an automatic transmission with eight speeds.