AUDI ‘S NEW q7 continues to be on the lane of success AND LOOKS READY TO MAKE A BIG IMPACT.
The full-size luxury SUV, Audi Q7 has been the pride of the German car manufacturer ever since it was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2005. The first luxury SUV offering from Audi that
shared its platform with the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne continued to be the best-loved luxury pet of the super stars of Bollywood, business tycoons, young entrepreneurs and celebrities for about ten long years. This trend helped Audi to improve their brand value in the premium luxury SUV segment and also assisted Audi to stay stiff against its rivals in the tough
competition without facing any hassle on its way. No matter how innovative and efficient is any product, it needs to be improved and changed with time in order to stand out from the grey and boring. That is the reason why Audi introduced the All New Q7 at the Detroit Motor Show of 2015 and brought the car in the world market by the latter half of the year and reached the Indian market by the end of 2015.
As of late, very automaker is redesigning and shaping their traditionally heavy vehicles by trimming a lot of fat to boast colossal weight savings by using more lightweight materials. On that note, the all new Q7 is a perfect example for one such transformation that the classic new SUV is 325kgs less than the outgoing model and as far as the weight of a car is concerned, that is a big number. The outgoing model (whose look I personally loved more) used to be a great car if we ignore the heavier and beefier bones used to design the underpinnings of the car which in turn delivered etter off-road capabilities but were quite unnecessary for those cars’ day-to-day tasks.
Judging the appearance, the new Q7 stands at a fair distance from the design of old Q7 by all means. The new design proves that Audi didn’t want the new car to look much like the outgoing model. Which is why the new Q7 gets a stunning 3D grille and sharp and elegant arrow-like day time running lights to turn numerous human eyeballs towards the front end. The sides follow the same old proportion, but loses its muscular characters that makes the car now look a bit decent and discilplined like a front bench student. The rear side also gets the same angular feel of the front part with a new pair of tail lamp, tail pipe and spoiler. Thanks to the four ringed brand’s engineering team for incorporating a lot of India favorable features like the Premium variant getting a well carved five spoke 19” alloy wheels and the Technology variant getting 18” alloy wheels.
Audi has given a major emphasis in making the interior posh and upmarket and therefore the new Q7 is way more heavenly in the inside. Perhaps, the interior gets a dashing dashboard that is functional and aesthetically pleasing with the full width AC vent that looks like it’s ready to set a new benchmark in class. The 12.3-inch TFT instrument-cluster display that arises from the dash top is very user friendly and uses the most advanced and intelligent graphics. One of my favorite feature in the interior is the new digital instrument console with high quality graphics that transforms according to your requirements like displaying odo & rev meter, navigation, changing colors according to the drive modes, etc. In order to control the revised MMI, there’s a conventional rotary knob and touch pad with minimum buttons affixed around it. The car gets the new BOSE’s 3D Sound System to entertain you with ahead of the class beats and bass. In ddition to being nicer to the eyeballs, the Q7’s cabin is also great to occupy.
The front and rear seats offer the finest travelling comfort with enough space for head and foot. Seats, door pads and other interior components are covered with the finest quality materials and designed luxuriously like anything. The best place in the interior is undoubtebly the front seats, but the rear seats are not too far behind in terms of providing comfortable and cushiony feeling. Though the car falls in the category of 7-seaters, the third row of the car tolerates only kids of upto 10-12 years, as it has a compromised knee and head room. But in the case you try utilizing the boot by folding the third row seats forward, you get enough space to load all your cargo. The feature loaded Q7 has even more attractions like the Park Assistance System with 360 degree camera, five different driving modes, navigation and multi function steering wheel, sufficient storage space, yacht-inspired gear liver borrowed from A8 and what not…?
The adaptive Air Suspension can confirm that it isn’t just comfortable, but also distinctly soft and comfy in efficiency and Auto modes. The acoustics of the car blocks maximum amount of exterior
Profile
Mr. Hani Musthafa is a renowned auto-journalist; he established the brand name FlyWheel in 2008 as an
Auto show. He is active in automobile media industry from 2003 and has already test-driven over half a million miles around the globe – undoubtedly the maximum kms to be testdriven by any south Indian media person. He is the only South Indian to be a
Global Media member of most of the automobile manufacturers around the globe.
noise trying to penetrate into the cabin resulting a calm and peaceful ride. Even in other modes like the dynamic or sport mode, the suspension gives out a refined travelling comfort which is without doubt a key factor for choosing luxury SUVs by Indian customers.
However, the sport or dynamic modes stiffen up the chassis and the whole system to make your drive sportier and enjoyable like that of the Audi A8. The all new Q7 is ready to play a new innings in India like the extraordinary batting skills of Audi’s brand ambassador, Virat Kohli that leaves everyone mesmerised by just watching him making moves on the field. At present, the new Q7 is powered by only one Drivetrain that is the new 3 litre V6 TDI diesel engine. The engine that produces 249hp power at 2900-4500rpm and 600nm of torque at 1500rpm is mated to a an 8-speed Tiptronic auto gearbox. Power from the drive train is delivered to all four wheels via Quattro 4 wheel drive system.Even though the Q7 with its Quattro system can play some naughty off-roading, it is not actually meant to be taken onto a serious hardcore slush or rocks. Hence the Quattro plays a different role here by helping out to deliver a quick traction game which helps Q7 to hit 100kmph in just 7.1 seconds. The top speed of the car is electronically limited to 234kmph. Weight loss have also resulted in 20 percent better fuel efficiency than the predecessor which is 16 kmpl clocked during our test in mixed road conditions.
The new Q7 has not only shed some weight but also shed a notable price number compared to the predecessor. Audi will be charging the Premium variant of the new Q7 a price of 73.7lacs(Ex-Showroom Kerala) and the Technology variant a price of 79.3lacs(Ex- Showroom Kerala). Finally, it is not only in India but also in the entire automobile market that the SUV is on the take of control. When the renowned ultra premium and supercar automakers are developing and innovating with their own players in the SUV segment, it is again a game of experiment but Audi
with their proven flagship SUV, are already on top of the chart with an attractive figure of strike rate.
Text & Test Driven by Hani Musthafa Photos: Nithin Nambiar Vehicle Provided by Audi India