Audi Q7 Mild Hybrid 3.0 TFSI qu Tip 7-Seater (A) Facelift Review

If you're in the market for a luxurious flagship SUV that can also offer dynamic handling and eager responsiveness, I'll save you a bit of reading: This Audi Q7 is not for you.

Instead, what you're getting with the Q7 is the final word in relaxing comfort, even over thousand-mile journeys.

Enhanced looks

Handsome, and not quite as brash about its size as the Mercedes-Benz GLE, is the overall design of the Audi Q7.

This facelifted model is now 11mm longer than before, although you're unlikely to notice the change given its already generous 5,063mm total length.

What you will notice, however, is the new grille, which now sports vertical chrome slats as opposed to horizontal ones. That grille is also flanked by redesigned head lights, which come powered with Audi's HD Matrix LEDs as standard.

The rear also gets a new distinctive chrome stripe, which ties together the taillights that also sport new graphics.

Supreme isolation

On the go, the Audi Q7's drive mirrors its strong SUV looks well. The steering wheel offers up good heft, and you have to dig very deep into the accelerator pedal before there's even any chance of convincing the 3.0-litre unit up front to offer up more horses.

The net result is that the Audi Q7 always feels like a heavy vehicle from behind the wheel. The dull responsiveness may make driving smoothly easy in situations where boots are the appropriate footwear, and perhaps it is a driving sensation more befitting of the Q7's flagship SUV status, but I personally would have preferred a more urgent throttle responsiveness.

Nonetheless, leave the city's narrow streets for the highway and any faults with the Q7 are soon forgiven.

The SUV offers up top-notch cabin insulation, even at high speed. The engine's murmur is kept to an absolute minimum, and more impressive still is the fact that wind noise is well suppressed, despite the car's massive size.

Also adding to the excellent quiet levels in the cabin is the 48V mild hybrid system, which seems a bit more eager to switch off and let the car coast when driving on the highway compared to the Audi A8 we drove a few weeks ago. You won't notice the engine start/stop system at the traffic lights either, save for a short brrrp from the exhaust as the engine rekindles itself. Fuel economy averaged 8.3km/L after three days with the car.

Adaptive air suspension is also standard for the 3.0-litre variant of the Q7, bestowing the car some proper ability to simply float over any bumps and ruts in the road.

Effortless journeys

The Q7 is also effortless when it comes to carrying your family around. Getting in and out of the vehicle is easy, thanks to a door sill that is practically flush with the floor, and passengers in the second row are also generously accommodated for, getting their own touchscreen panel from which to adjust their air-conditioning settings.

They are also going to be kept cool even if you opt for the panoramic sunroof, thanks to air-conditioning vents located both on the B-pillar and behind the centre console.

Leg and headroom here is easily competitive with the best limousines out there.

Raise the passenger count and things can get a little trickier. All Audi Q7s headed to Singapore come with Audi's Rear Seat Bench Plus, which gives you plenty of adjustability with all three seats of the second row being able to slide fore and aft individually.

Push them all the way to back, however, and legroom for those at the third row is non-existent, so if you frequently need to ferry seven, you'll want to leave them in a slightly forward position because those second-row seats are heavy.

Thankfully, the third-row seats fold and unfold automatically so you'll still have some breath left to load in everyone's luggage. Capacity here stands at 740 litres with the third-row folded down.

Big car, big budget

At $392,163 (price as of 1 April 2021) the Audi Q7 is closely priced against the Mercedes-Benz GLE450 and asking for a smidgen more than the more dynamically-oriented BMW X5 xDrive40i or the Porsche Cayenne 3.0.

It's still a fair bit to cough out for any car, but you'll be paying for one that can cross continents and still leave you arriving at your destination feeling as fresh as when you first stepped into the vehicle.

And I think that's something that is truly priceless.

Want to see more of just how comfortable this hulking SUV is? Why not join us in our video review as well?