The new flagship seven-seat SUV manages somehow to be bigger on the inside despite being smaller on the outside.
Not only is there more room for occupants to stretch out their legs and enjoy the ride, the new Q7 is also significantly lighter than the car it will be replacing, once its official unveiling at the Detroit Motor Show is out of the way.
Audi has somehow managed to lop 325kg off the Q7's curb weight and to find an average 26% improved fuel efficiency across the vehicle's engine range without diluting any of the performance or luxury that made the first generation Q7 a popular alternative to Range Rovers and BMW X5s.
And aware that the competition has moved on yet again since it first entered the full-size luxury SUV market, the Q7 is packed full of the latest infotainment, connectivity and driver assistance systems. The clearest manifestation being the virtual cockpit concept that Audi first debuted on the new TT roadster, where physical knobs and dials are kept to an absolute minimum in favor of digital displays and touch screens.
The rear passengers get their own special Audi-developed in-car tablet and the car's infotainment system is the first to officially support both Google's Android Auto and Apple's CarPlay smartphone connectivity platforms. As for music, owners can pick from one of two 3D stereo sound systems, from Bose or from Bang & Olufsen.
As well as turning up the volume -- the Bang & Olufsen system drives 23 individual speakers -- Audi has also dialed up the innovation. The New Q7 is the first full-size SUV to get four-wheel steering -- so greater maneuverability at low speeds and better stability at higher speeds.
Despite trimming its vital statistics, the Q7 is still a rather big car so owners will be thankful for the parking assist system that provides a birdseye 360° view of the car's position and which will automatically steer the vehicle into a perpendicular or parallel parking space.
But as well as self-parking, the Q7 is capable of autonomously avoiding, or at least mitigating, collisions. When backing out of a space, the car can spot and notify the driver of on-coming traffic in blind spots and when driving around the city, can spot pedestrians or other road users who are about to cross the car's path and activate the brakes to avoid a collision.
Last but not least is a towing assist system that can steer and maneuver a trailer connected to the car's tow bar -- a great feature for anyone with a mobile home, boat, horses or a track day car.
The Q7 will initially be offered with a range of six-cylinder turbocharged gas and diesel engines when it goes on sale in the second quarter of 2015, and a plug-in hybrid version is set to follow later in the year.
Source: Relaxnews