Bosch European Motors
Nimble, agile, and even tossable aren鈥檛 words that you鈥檒l often find in driving impressions of a big three-row utility vehicle. Yet they most definitely apply to the 2017 Audi Q7. The new Q7 manages to provide a driving experience that, on tight, curvy roads, feels like that of a tidy mid-sizer. You might actually forget you鈥檙e in a tall utility vehicle that鈥檚 around 200 inches long鈥攖he length of a full-size sedan. The 2017 Q7 is essentially the same size as its predecessor, yet it has a new aluminum-intensive body construction (alloy body panels and a structure using high-strength steels) and completely new platform. It鈥檚 nearly 500 pounds lighter (or by official U.S. But it also has its tricks鈥攍ike all-wheel steering. In top-trim form, with all the right option boxes clicked, this big utility wagon has a sophisticated, height-adjustable air suspension and well-tuned suspension that really work to maximize this vehiclesride quality and cornering potential.
The Q7 is the first SUV with four-wheel steering since GM鈥檚 Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon XL models offered it more than a decade ago. Victor Underberg, the head of chassis dynamics at Audi AG, rode along with us for an hour or so, and he helped us understand how the all-wheel steering works in the Q7. According to Underberg, there are some serious differences in the behavior of the rear wheels between the Q7鈥檚 Drive Select modes (Comfort, Dynamic, Auto, and Individual, as well as Off-Road in some situations). The Q7鈥檚 Dynamic Mode not only reduces the maximum angle of the rear wheels in tight cornering but changes the entire way the system works in quick maneuvers and nearer to the limit. All-wheel steering is now offered in the Porsche 911, and in the Acura RLX sedan. The Acura system requires a bit of a learning curve to understand exactly when the rear wheels are going to pivot and give you a predictable, pronounced nudge鈥攈opefully back onto your intended, non-understeer trajectory. Compared to that Acura system, the Audi system provides less of the nudge and more of a consistent, French-curve-tightening of your cornering arc.
From the driver鈥檚 seat it feels as if the vehicle is no longer pivoting around its rear wheels but, momentarily, a point a lot closer to your tailbone. It鈥檚 slightly unsettling in maybe the first few tight hairpins, as you might actually dial in more steering input than needed; but beyond that it鈥檚 completely intuitive and fluid. Reduced to its essence, all-wheel steer helps correct for improper lane positions on curvy roads and acts as an additional window of safety. It erases some weight and pretends the wheelbase is shorter, making this three-row model feel like a two-row crossover. There鈥檚 a very big asterisk attached to this. 70k mark with other options). Audi expects Q7s with that option to comprise less than five percent of U.S. This sounds a lot like what happened to GM's Quadrasteer, which at the time was impressive technology鈥攖hough never properly packaged. GM spokesman Otie McKinley today points to the cost of that system as being more than customers were willing to pay. Let's hope Audi finds a way to bring this system to more Q7s.
The good news is that the standard-issue Q7, with its steel-spring suspension (yes, there are plenty of aluminum alloy components underneath, too) drives nearly as well. It doesn鈥檛 tweak the laws of physics in quite the same way, or completely quell side-to-side pitchiness in quite the same way, but it鈥檚 predictable and progressive and still makes this big crossover feel quite nimble. And what you get in powertrain performance is the same across the entire model lineup, for now. The Q7 is powered by Audi鈥檚 now-familiar 3.0-liter supercharged gasoline V-6, making 333 horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, and mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. Towing capacity is 7,700, provided you鈥檝e ordered the towing package, and that capacity is the same whether you have the rear-wheel steering system and air suspension or not. The Q7 has a tremendous amount of active-safety features built in. Packaging has been rejiggered. Q7, with the second and third rows both placed farther back within the cabin and lowered slightly.
Through some other packaging magic, including a somewhat thinner seat design, the Q7 makes some significant gains in passenger space. The lower cargo floor, enabled by better suspension packaging in the new platform, help bump cargo space behind the third row up to 14.8 cubic feet. Yet in seat folding, Audi should take a long look at its Japanese and American luxury rivals, as this one offers neither convenient one-hand operation nor a space-maximizing layout that tucks the second row completely forward or down. Audi has topped off this top-notch cabin ambience with some old-fashioned noise insulation and smart sealing throughout; they鈥檝e managed to pull off such a quiet cabin without the use of active noise cancellation technology. Three-row utes don鈥檛 often bring a satisfied smile to your face during rapid driving on twisty two-laners; yet the Q7 breaks free of that third-row stigma. And it does so with plenty of tricks that parents are bound to appreciate.