Audi Q7 History
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The Audi Q7 is a five- or seven-passenger sport-utility vehicle that shares some of its mechanicals with other Audi models, but is distinguished as a true utility vehicle thanks to high ground clearance and its available quattro all-wheel-drive system. For 2013, the Audi Q7 carries forward unchanged from last year, with V-6 supercharged base and S line versions, and a TDI diesel powertrain available.
Shown first as a concept vehicle, the Q7 was Audi's first SUV when it joined the U.S. lineup in the 2007 model year--although Audi had offered a higher-riding "allroad" version of the A6 Avant wagon in prior years. The Q7 was designed to appeal to sport-ute shoppers expressly. And it was engineered to be distinct from the other vehicles that it's most closely related to--the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg, both of which are five-seat SUVs. The Q7 still competes most closely with those vehicles, though buyers no doubt will also want to take a look at the Mercedes-Benz GL-Class and BMW X5--perhaps even the seven-passenger Lincoln MKT and Acura MDX.
Initially, the Q7 came with only a single powertrain: a 4.2-liter V-8 with 350 horsepower, all-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic transmission. Still, it proved a major upgrade over the usual SUV handling--and most of all, the usual SUV styling, with its sleek side view. In the 2008 model year, Audi addresses the fuel-economy shortcomings of the V-8 somewhat with a new 280-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 option--and then again in 2009 when it introduced a turbodiesel V-6 version of the Q7 capable of 17/25 mpg. A 333-hp version of the gas-powered V-6 has since been added, while the V-8 has been deleted. All three V-6 versions continue for the current model year, with the sweet-shifting automatic transmission delivering power to all four wheels and with an adjustable air suspension tuning the ride quality to near-ideal, in most models. Audi says the Q7 can also tow up to 6,600 pounds in the most rugged diesel versions. For 2013, the Q7 carries forward its 2012 model-year specifications.
The Audi Q7 has been among the safest SUVs on the road. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has given the Q7 its highest ratings for front and side impact protection, and has also awarded the Q7 four stars for rollover resistance, but it changed its criteria in 2011 and has not re-rated the SUV since. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rates the Q7 as "good" in front, side and rear impacts, but no longer calls it a "Top Safety Pick"--due to the addition of roof-crush standards to its Top designation. (The Q7, like many vehicles in the 2013 model year, simply hasn't had its roof-crush durability tested.)
Audi has tested the waters with more powertrains for the Q7, but to date none of the experimental versions--a planned Q7 Hybrid displayed at the 2005 Frankfurt auto show, and bigger V-8 and V-12 diesel versions--have been confirmed for sale in the U.S.
The Q7 is due to be replaced soon, perhaps as soon as the 2014 model year, as its siblings, the Touareg and Cayenne, were new in the 2011 model year.
