[Omkar]

2024 Audi Q7 Facelift Review

Audi Q7 Facelift Pros

• Good looking German SUV. Clean and timeless design has a certain appeal
• Extremely well-priced for a full-size luxury SUV (discounts available from Audi dealers)
• 3.0L V6 with 8-speed automatic is fun to drive! 0-100 km/h in 5.6 seconds
• Air suspension offers a very comfortable ride
• Spot-on ergonomics and high-quality materials used all over the cabin
• Good overall space with comfortable 2nd row seats and a big boot
• Features like 4-zone climate control, 19 speaker Bang & Olufsen 3D Sound System, Matrix LED headlamps, auto-dimming ORVMs, electrically foldable 3rd-row seats, etc.
• 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating, 8 airbags, Park Assist Plus with 360-degree cam, lane keep assist and TPMS

Audi Q7 Facelift Cons

• Shows its age. This 2nd-gen Q7 is now 10 years old, with an all-new gen on the horizon
• Offered with just one engine option. Competitors offer diesels as well
• 3rd row of seats is strictly for kids. Not suitable for adults at all
• Missing features like ADAS, a spare wheel (!!!), head-up display, wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, ventilated seats, etc.
• The interiors feel very similar to other cars in the Audi range

Introduction

We all know the Audi Q7 as the all-rounder of SUVs. It is a car that can seat 7 people, has a nice V6 engine under the bonnet and air suspension for comfort. It does all the things right and that is also one of the reasons why it is an important car for Audi. The second generation was introduced in India back in December 2015 and a facelifted version was launched in 2022. In 2024, the car has received another facelift. The new generation will most likely come in 2026, but till then, we have this.

Audi has updated the Q7 with some modern-day features to bring it up to speed with its competitors, but the overall package is still the same. You get a 3.0L, V6 petrol engine that puts out 335 BHP and 500 Nm and is mated to a ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox. Power is sent to all four wheels through a Quattro all-wheel drive system.

2024 Audi Q7 Facelift Price & Brochure

The Q7 will be available in five exterior colours: Sakhir Gold, Waitomo Blue, Mythos Black, Samurai Grey and Glacier White. The interior will be offered in two colour options: Cedar Brown and Saiga Beige. There are 2 variants on offer - Premium Plus priced at Rs. 88.6 lakh and Technology priced at Rs. 97.81 lakh. Compared to the competition - the BMW X5 and the Mercedes GLE, Audi’s pricing seems aggressive.

You can download the 2024 Audi Q7 Facelift brochure here - 2024 Audi Q7 Brochure.pdf

[Omkar]

2024 Audi Q7 Facelift Exterior Review

New front end does well in distinguishing the 2024 Q7 from the outgoing car. You get a new radiator grille with a thick chrome border and vertical chrome inserts. The bumper has also been redesigned:


Changes to the rear are more subtle. You get a new bumper design and also dual exhausts:


Not much has changed on the side except for the new 20-inch wheels:


In terms of dimensions, the Q7 is longer and higher than the outgoing car. It measures 5,072 mm in length (an increase of 8 mm), 1,970 mm in width (2,122 mm with mirrors) and 1,705 mm in height (an increase of 2 mm). It has a wheelbase of 3,000 mm (an increase of 1 mm):


The Q7 is a full-size SUV with good road presence:


Radiator grille houses Audi’s 2D logo. It also has vertical chrome elements which are a big differentiator from the outgoing car. Front camera is located in the middle just below the logo:


Audi’s Matrix LED headlights have integrated DRLs:


Vents at the ends of the bumper provide for additional cooling:


Long bonnet gets subtle creases:


Instead of the 19-inch wheels of the outgoing car, you now get 20-inch wheels:


Design of the new 5-twin spoke alloy wheel looks better than the outgoing model:


ORVMs get integrated LED turn-indicators. Side cameras (for the 360-degree display) are placed underneath:


New on the Q7 is the lane watch camera feature:


You also get a massive panoramic sunroof:


LED tail-lamps have dynamic turn-indicators. Blacked-out Q7 badge looks good. You no longer get an engine badge on the tailgate:


New rear bumper houses a silver skid plate and rear fog lamps. The dual exhausts with chrome tips look good:

[Omkar]

2024 Audi Q7 Facelift Interior Review

If you’ve been in the previous Q7, you will find it really hard to find many changes to the interior. Not much has changed and you get a spacious cabin with a clean dashboard. On the centre console, you get a twin-screen layout and also Audi’s Virtual Cockpit. Overall, it’s a nice cabin with good-quality materials and ample space:


A simple-looking steering wheel is very nice to hold. You get paddle shifters at the back:


Audi’s virtual cockpit has a 12.3-inch display. While this MID is fairly advanced and has clear graphics and a bunch of options, it has started to show its age compared to the competition:


MID has a lot of features and the display is customizable as well. You now get the Lane Keep Assist feature, but you don’t get the full ADAS suite:


Big and comfy leather seats offer excellent support. The Okapi Brown upholstery has been replaced with Cedar Brown which is a slightly lighter shade, but not very different. The other option in the upholstery colour is Saiga Beige. You don’t get seat ventilation or heating, but there is a memory function:


The dual-screen setup. The unit on top is the infotainment head-unit while the screen below is for the A/C controls. You still don’t get wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity. The infotainment system is mated to a 730W, 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen 3D audio system which sounds amazing:


Apart from the preset drive modes, you can also configure individual settings for the engine, suspension and steering. Notice the manual control for the air suspension on the right:


The Q7 gets 4-zone climate control and you can set the temperatures for the rear passengers as well from the touchscreen. On top, you have the buttons for auto start-stop, downhill descent control and park assist. Below the screen, you have the controls for drive select, traction control and front and rear defoggers. You also get a manual knob for infotainment controls and switches for more parking-related controls:


Below, you have two cupholders along with a 12V socket which also gets a lid:


Classy-looking transmission mode selector! Electronic parking brake and auto hold buttons are placed behind:


Centre armrest is wide and set at a nice angle. Underneath the armrest, you have a wireless phone charger which also doubles up as an Audi Phone Box. What it does is amplify the signal through the shark fin antenna of the car:


IRVM covers the entire rear windshield very well:


Passenger side of the dashboard features a large slab of piano black with a silver insert and "Quattro" lettering. Knobs to control the direction of the vents look odd on the piano black section:


Being a full-size SUV, there’s enough cabin width to seat 3 people in the back seat. Floor hump, however, makes it a bit uncomfortable for the middle passenger. Headroom is plentiful despite the sunroof and the seats offer good comfort as well. Under-thigh support is also good for tall passengers and the Q7 gets all the basics right:


With the front seat adjusted to my driving position, I had a healthy amount of knee room. Bosses can always have the front seat pushed all the way forward to free up more room. Unfortunately, you don’t have a boss button on the front left seat:


Middle passenger also gets an adjustable headrest:


Centre armrest is set slightly high and gets two retractable cupholders:


You get manual sunshades for the rear windows:


As mentioned earlier, the Q7 comes with a 4-zone climate control system. Below, you have a 12V socket and two USB-C charging ports:


Third row of seats are more of a novelty feature and they’re certainly not for adults. Kids can manage, but for short journeys only. You get 3-point seatbelts and adjustable headrests for both passengers:


Once you fold down the middle row of seats, you can see the controls for the third row just behind them:


With the third row of seats in place there is 295 litres boot space available:


This is how most people would be using the boot. There’s plenty of space with the third row folded down. You can even fold down the middle row of seats (40:20:40 split) for more luggage space:


No spare wheel. The space underneath the boot floor is taken by the subwoofer, amplifier and a puncture repair kit:


On the left, you have the controls for the air suspension to lower or raise the loading lip height. You can also fold down the last row of seats electrically:


Our test car came with these accessories for separating luggage:

[Omkar]

Driving the 2024 Audi Q7 Facelift

Powering the Q7 facelift is the same engine that is found in the Q8 which we drove recently. It’s a 3.0-litre V6 TFSI petrol unit that makes 335 BHP and 500 Nm. It’s mated to a ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox that sends power to all four wheels through Audi’s Quattro all-wheel drive system:


The EA839 3.0L V6 TFSI engine also has a 48V mild hybrid system to assist it. It comes with Audi Drive Select with six customizable driving modes. This engine is shared with the Q8 and the base variant of the Porsche Cayenne and other vehicles such as the S5, etc.

As expected, the engine refinement at startup is excellent. At idle, it purrs quietly. This V6 is known for its butter-smooth nature and you will immediately understand why when you start driving. You don’t need to use much of the throttle to get the car going. The engine does its job well and provides a good amount of torque and power in the city. The throttle calibration is just right and you can drive around in the city quite easily.

Get on the open road and the engine continues to impress. It gets to high speeds pretty quickly and there’s never an issue with power delivery. It’s still very linear and smooth and you can effortlessly cruise for long hours. This is not a car from which you should expect supercar-like performance. The V6 under the hood offers solid performance that’s perfect for highways and long-distance cruising. It is fairly quick as well, 0-100 km/h is done in 5.6 seconds and the top speed is limited to 250 km/h. This means that your overtaking manoeuvres are easily taken care of.

The ZF8 Tiptronic gearbox, as always, does its job well, going through the gears quickly in comfort mode without making the shifts known. In the sportier settings, it holds the gears at higher rpms and provides some quick shifts. Overall, the engine and gearbox are paired well, and do what one would want, when one would want. So no complaints here.

The Q7 is not E20 compliant. The minimum octane rating for fuel is 91:

Suspension

Another big talking point on the Q7 is the air suspension which is also offered by some of its competitors. Switch the drive mode to Comfortable while driving in the city and the air suspension works beautifully. The low-speed ride quality is very compliant and the small potholes are absorbed with ease. The overall, the bump absorption is very good. There is some side-to-side movement over bad roads, but it is controlled. At high speeds, the ride quality remains compliant.

Switch to Dynamic mode and the suspension stiffens up noticeably. Straight line stability is excellent. There is no unnecessary vertical movement and the Q7 maintains its composure very well. Chuck it hard into a corner and you will notice that there is some body roll and while the car manages to hold its line, it’s not very enjoyable. You can feel the big weight that you are carrying into the corners. The air suspension, though, is definitely a highlight for the Q7 as it isn’t offered on the Q8 any more. So, if you’re looking for a comfortable ride, the Q7 is clearly the one to go for over the Q8.

The steering is nice and light at city speeds. It weighs up well on the highways and even in Dynamic mode. The steering feels direct enough but doesn't relay much feedback. It’s again focused on comfort which is something it does well. The brakes do a fair job of stopping the Q7 from whatever speed it may be doing and the pedal feel is good too.

[Omkar]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[buzzy_boy]

No E20 compliance and no spare wheel? I can understand manufacturers skipping the spare wheel in small cars, which are primarily city runabouts. It even makes sense in EVs with the skateboard design. However, I don’t understand why they’d do the same for something meant to be a mile-muncher. Not that I can afford this, but if I were in the market, I’d skip the Q7 for these two reasons alone.

[GTO]

Old, but timeless. I love the Q7 and would buy it over same-price smaller competitors from say, Mercedes. It's a very clean design, much like the W222 Mercedes, F10 BMW and of course, other Audis.

There are great discounts which make it quite an awesome SUV. 6-cylinder turbo-petrol, air suspension & top quality. Its age will also mean that the product is mature & all issues sorted, although there is no doubt that it feels outdated. This one is only for those who don't care about the latest & greatest.

[Akmal]

The Factory options included in the car are not listed on the Audi India website. Hopefully heat insulating glass for windscreen, side and rear have been included. Else that would be a miss as well compounding the issue of the missing seat ventilation.

[Shreyans_Jain]

How are car companies still launching models that are not E20 compliant? Forget ethical, how is this even legal? If your car can’t run on the spec of fuel that is available in the country, you have no business being there. All petrol being sold in Delhi is E20 nowadays, which means this facelift Q7 is simply not compatible.

[abhisheksahas]

Kudos on the brilliant review ( as ever ). I love the Q7, it is such a timeless car. The lack of E20 support is going to further dissuade drivers towards the other German alternatives.

[Cresterk]

The Audi Q7 and the Volvo XC90 are now the oldest 3 row luxury SUVs on the market, both being launched in 2015 with just facelifts keeping it propped up.

[shauryadabas]

Add NO VENTILATED Seats and NO HUD on this list as well. How can they skip these on a 2024 car priced at 1CR.

[Axe77]

Great review Omkar, nice and crisp.

Without getting into other limitations like dated interiors etc, many Audis would get off my list purely on this one criteria alone - NO SPARE WHEEL. The Q5 doesn’t have it, neither do the Q8 and Q7.

Where Mercedes and BMW are backtracking on this decision and providing donuts in concealed wheel wells in as many models as possible (I recall the GLC didn’t have it a couple of generations ago but now does; similarly BMW has retrofitted this design even in their sedans) Audi seems to be going firmly in the ‘no spare wheel’ direction.

I use my car a LOT for touring and very often via extended remote and desolate stretches. There’s no way I would be comfortable without a spare. Yes, I could buy one separately and plonk it in the boot but even that is an extremely inconvenient set up from a general luggage loading convenience standpoint.

[GeeTee TSI]

What an irony with great fundamentals (engine, gearbox, suspension) and poor convenience features (even for 2024 Indian market).

I agree with an earlier comment that new launches without the regulatory compliance (E20) should not be allowed by law.

[ajmat]

The Q7 is one of the cars that ticks all the boxes but remains invisible. The previous Q7 looked butch and ticked the boxes. The current Q7 looks like the previous Q7's gentler brother. More like a big station wagon.

The problem with the Q's are that they look too much like the previous generation. I nearly considered a used Q5 second gen but it really did not feel that special