Although the SUV has shrunk from the outside, it has grown from the inside. The driving can be tailored to your liking as the seat and the steering have all the adjustments possible. The leather seats provide excellent support and comfort along with a massager for the driver and the front passenger. The driver gets a commanding driving position with very good visibility, now that the wing mirror has moved from the quarter-window to the door, and this especially improves visibility for short people.
The extra cabin space can be felt in the rear with better knee- and head-room. The third row is much better than in the predecessor and now an average Indian can sit for a long period of time without a problem. The infotainment system at the rear has new Audi Tabs as screens to watch movies and at the end of the drive you can take them with you. The SUV is loaded to the gills with driver-assist technology and equipment. If I decided to list all of them, it would take a lot of space. The three D sound system is something you have to listen to to believe.
More than 20 Audi Q7 SUVs with different engine configurations were lined up inside a hangar at the Sion airport for our drive. After a short briefing, mainly about the speed limits in Switzerland, we were ready for the drive. As I pushed the start button the diesel motor came to life but without a sound. The big SUV was parked inside a hangar and even indoors one could not hear the engine from the car’s inside and outside. The V6 3.0 TDI engine was one of the most refined units around but now Audi have improved this further by increasing the power from 245 PS to 272 PS and the torque has gone up from 550 Nm to 600 Nm. What is most impressive is the refinement. The V6 TDI is mated to a ZF eight-speed auto box. The weight loss of 325 kg automatically gives this new-generation SUV a better power-to-weight ratio, and, to top that, there is an increase of 27 PS and 50 Nm of torque, allowing the Audi engineers to use taller gearing.
