This past Saturday the Oldham family decided to take full advantage of our southern California address. We would enjoy the beach in the morning and the ski slopes in the afternoon. I chose our 2007 Audi Q7 for our adventure for three reasons.
1) It's all-wheel drive while our Buick Enclave and Mazda CX-9 are not...
2) It's much more comfortable on a road trip than our Jeep Wrangler.
3) It's more family friendly than our Toyota Tundra.
The Q7 proved to be the perfect choice. Just the right blend of comfort and performance to satisfy both me and my family. The 118 mile drive (that's one way) from the Pacific to Big Bear Lake is two-thirds freeway and one-third winding mountain pass. The Q7 handled both challenges with equal alacrity.
Although it's highway ride is certainly on the firm side compared to some other SUVs, the payoff is sports sedan handling in the hills. I have no complaints. The Q7's ride still proved compliant enough for my entire clan to zonk out on the return trip, which means dad had fun and a nice quiet ride home.
If you must have an SUV, I'm convinced the Audi Q7 is one of the best. The next time the Oldhams decide to boogie board and have a snowball fight in the same day I hope the Q7 is still around to make the trip.
Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 22,554 miles
redliner says:
11:15 AM, 12/17/07
Nice getway. I just can't get past the ugly wheels.
greenpony says:
11:58 AM, 12/17/07
Is this based off the same platform as the Touareg?
bimmerjay says:
12:05 PM, 12/17/07
greenpony, the Tourag/Cayenne were jointly developed on the same new 7L platform. The Q7 was developed later off a heavily modified version that was named the 4L. So it's loosely based on the Tourag/Cayenne.
z479 says:
12:26 PM, 12/17/07
the wheels look like huge wheel covers from these pictures, not alloys...just ugly on an suv this expensive
orangutan says:
12:56 PM, 12/17/07
I thought it wasn't necessary to have AWD in California. That's the CX-9 introduction told me! ;)
desmolicious says:
03:35 PM, 12/17/07
Living in Venice Beach I'm curious as to what time of day you hit the surf, and what time of day you hit the slopes in Big Bear. That's about a 2-3 hour drive and it's dark by 4.50pm.
No wonder everyone was zonked!
stovt001 says:
11:08 PM, 12/17/07
Hmm, most of the reports on the Q7 haven't been glowing, so it was interesting to see one this favorable. I will admit it was the perfect vehicle for what you wanted to do. And personally, I like the wheels.