In anyone's estimation, the Audi Q7 is a large vehicle. Nearly 17 feet long, 6.5 feet wide, and nearly 6 feet tall with more than 8 inches of ground clearance. And 5,467 pounds? In the words of Ghostbuster Winston Zeddmore, "That's a big Twinkie."
But it doesn't feel like a big Twinkie...
The Q7 is incredibly manageable. I'm all about sight lines, and they are fantastic on this car. It's very easy to tell right where the front and sides are, and while the Q7 has a kickass back-up camera, it's completely unnecessary. I am no fan of huge SUVs. But the brilliance of the Q7 is that it drives like a big station wagon. It's not intimidating like a Tahoe or an Expedition. Very easy to manage. And fits about as much as you ever need to carry.
Doug Lloyd, Senior Copy Editor @ 22,201 miles
redliner says:
01:11 PM, 12/12/07
hmmm, if only it weren't so butt ugly....
daytona_500 says:
01:26 PM, 12/12/07
Agreed, that color only makes it worse. I'd rather have the Enclave or CX-9.
mopar424 says:
02:03 PM, 12/12/07
Is that your Bimmer in the background? nice.
z479 says:
02:51 PM, 12/12/07
I really think it's just the wheels and color of the Q7 that is making it ugly. Otherwise, its such a beautiful vehicle in black or white, with the optional machined wheels. It would be tough between the Q7 or Enclave, as both are curvy and classy, but the image stands with the Audi IMO.
carfreak8394 says:
04:10 PM, 12/12/07
Personally, I think the black Q7 with the 20-inch rims looks a lot better than this car.
zach101 says:
04:44 PM, 12/12/07
I saw a dark blue one with the machined wheels at a car show a month ago. It looked pretty nice. That would be my choice if I were to go with the Q7.
cah11705 says:
07:27 PM, 12/12/07
This really is a nice looking car if you get the right color and wheels
and it really does look HUGE
bemanix88 says:
07:53 PM, 12/12/07
Also must echo the comments of the Q7 looking awful and huge. The front end looks especially overwrought, no matter what color you get it in.
estreka says:
01:18 AM, 12/13/07
Geez @ 17 ft
I've seen bowrider ski boats smaller than that thing.
sddoc07 says:
02:35 AM, 12/13/07
I don't want to point this out - but did Audi put you up to this post? You do realize that they're throwing out tons of TV ads about how "small" the Q7 drives right? I've seen their "Avoiding the 18-point turn" commerical 3 times in the last 2 weeks!
1487 says:
07:16 AM, 12/13/07
without the big rims this SUV looks wimpy. The small wheels leave a huge gap between tire and fender. Just like the Toureg.
SubyTrojan says:
11:21 AM, 12/13/07
Big wheels = unnecessary unsprung mass
No thank you, sir.
funkymunky says:
12:14 PM, 12/13/07
Sddoc7:
I appreciate your skepticism, but I assure you, I can't be bought. In fact, my friend was recently contemplating the purchase of an Audi product, and I suggested something else. The Q7 really rides very nicely.
sddoc07 says:
01:52 PM, 12/13/07
sorry, didn't mean to poke at your journalistic integrity. I had to ask though b/c in this age of auto-journalism...such things are not unheard of....(cough - NAAIS awards to GM!)
altimadude00 says:
02:33 PM, 12/13/07
This is a little off-topic, but I noticed that all of the tail-lights are mounted on the rear hatch. Do the little lights in the bumper take over for stoplight duty when you have a load too big to close the hatch?
SubyTrojan says:
12:13 PM, 12/14/07
Here's something slightly off-topic. You gamers out there will love this!
There's something strange in the neighborhood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zQstaIX8os
m23mc says:
01:10 PM, 12/14/07
Dr. Egon Spengler: "[L]et's say this Twinkie represents the normal amount of psychokinetic energy in the New York area. According to this morning's sample, it would be a Twinkie thirty-five feet long, weighing approximately six hundred pounds."
I think Egon is thus implying the Q7 uses the equivalent fuel/energy as does the city of New York.
Right, the Q7 is "so" big, last week, I saw the STAY PUFT MARSHMELLOW-MAN driving one!
Thanks for the GB allusion...
bimmerjay says:
02:31 PM, 12/17/07
altimadude - interesting that you should ask that. I saw a Q7 loading up the other day, and it looked like the lights in the bumper took over while the hatch was open. The lights on the liftgate actually shut off.