The $ 76,000 Q7 is vital for Audi – and above expectations

So what is the judgment?

When I last tested the Q7, I found that it was completely and utterly compelling.

“Audi has really done an excellent job of making everyone comfortable with its premium SUV lineup,” I wrote. “The luxury is there, the comfort is there, the spaciousness and the versatility are there from New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.”

Nothing has changed since 2016, except that Audi has sold tens of thousands more Q7s to happy customers. The 2020 iteration is by no means a letdown. The big difference between the pre-rendered Q7 I tested four years ago and this newbie is the turbocharged V6, which replaces a supercharged six. All things being equal, I favor supers for turbos for larger trucks, so missed some of the power from the old Q7. But the six of the turbo is punchier, and there is more torque. That, improvements.

As far as I could tell, the time of 0-60 mph is about the same, a shoe under six seconds – pretty fast for a car this size. The handling of the Q7 is also superb. I would say that it is almost car-like, except that Audi’s cars have been treated with brilliant paint. That I will qualify and say that for a 5,000 pound ute the Q7 manages some magic. In my tests, I switch between the Comfort and Dynamic driving modes, and although Dynamic oomph adds to the throttle and turns up the steering wheel, Comfort is very sporty. This is a big advantage of all Audis – they feel brains, even if they should not.

I have nothing to do with the Q7, but the rating is fantastic at almost 8,000 pounds. Unfortunately, my test week did not coincide with a family trip, so I could not sample the true capacity and comfort of this SUV. But it should be excellent for most owners, for both full-time weekend / weekend getaways and shopping, as well as summer road trips.

The bottom line here is that Audi has updated with Q7 without much change above the drivetrain, which is probably better now. That means this three-row, seven-passenger hauler remains among the top tier of luxury utes.