Talk about staying power, the Audi Q7 is now in its 10th year without a major update yet sales are still strong. In 2007, the first

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full year the Q7 was sold into the North American markets, Canadians bought a total of 1,235 examples, but that number has steadily grown over the past eight years to 1,959 unit sales in 2014, whereas the first six months of 2015 have already seen 1,084 Q7s drive away from dealer showrooms. If Q7 sales could continue, and they won’t because the last remaining examples will soon be sold before the model awaits a completely redesigned 2016 Q7 arriving early next next year, they’d likely set another record despite its aging design.

Aging yes, but there are still plenty of reasons to choose a Q7 over one of its competitors. It was given a thorough facelift in 2009 for the 2010 model year, the revised version introduced at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterey, California. I was there, and while I took in the unveiling and enjoyed some

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wine, cheese and generous German (and American) hospitality, I must admit to spending more time flinging Astons and Bentleys up, down and around the twisting and undulating extreme verticals of Laureles Grade, a sensational stretch of serpentine tarmac that starts at the Carmel Valley Road and ends at Salinas Highway, right next to the entrance of Laguna Seca raceway. I’ve enjoyed Audis on those roads too, as well as the legendary road course, a particularly lovely R8 4.2 FSI comes to mind, but unfortunately I’ve never had opportunity to target the famed flag up the tree through a Q7’s windshield before plunging down the infamous corkscrew, or for that matter tackling any of its other double-apex off-camber corners, fast-paced right to left to right transitions, hard braking

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zones prior to 90-plus-degree corners, etc. Just the same, I have a feeling it would fare pretty well.

After styling, which is a major reason Audi sales have grown from a mere 7,422 units in 2004 to 24,514 four-ringed examples in 2014, premium buyers flock to the Teutonic brand with undying loyalty because of the way they drive. The Q7 is no exception, in this case due to the Volkswagen Group and Porsche AG developed PL71 platform it rides on, which was developed by a team of 300 at Porsche’s main base in Weissach, Germany. The result was a unibody SUV that had excellent off-road capability combined with superb road manners, which was a rare combination at the time and still is. The rest is history. The two five-occupant

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CUVs were built at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant in Bratislava, Slovakia and hit the market in 2002, three years before the Q7 joined them on the Bratislava line ahead of entering the European market, the big difference with the Audi being an elongated wheelbase boasting optional seven-passenger versatility, not to mention an undercarriage specifically designed for supreme on-road use, not extreme 4x4ing.

This is evident in its taut yet compliant ride and impressive road holding. There aren’t many seven-occupant SUVs that can keep up with the Q7 on a curving road, nor many that keep driver and passenger so comfortably secure. The Q7 inspires confidence, its structural rigidity and solid overall construction being an ideal framework to base its fully independent double-wishbone front and four-link rear suspension setup upon, traditional rack and pinion steering with Servotronic speed-sensitive

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power assist providing excellent feedback for the class and dual-circuit, diagonally split ABS-enhanced four-wheel discs with electronic brake-force distribution, a brake booster, hydraulic brake assist and electronic stability control keeping the hefty 2,355-kilo (5,192-lb) family hauler in line, all backed up by very little road noise intrusion and even less wind buffeting despite a drag coefficient of 0.37; the result of plenty of insulation and additional refinement measures.

That’s a lot of weight for a 3.0-litre six-cylinder to manage, even a direct-injected and supercharged Audi TFSI V6 with a healthy 280 horsepower and 296 lb-ft of torque at its disposal, but the reality that all this torque can be accessed at just 2,150

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rpm and that the Q7 utilizes a state-of-the-art eight-speed automatic before distributing said twist to all four wheels via Audi’s legendary Quattro permanent all-wheel drive allows for a pretty impressive zero to 100km/h time of just 7.9 seconds and Autobahn cruising speed of 209 km/h (130 mph). Alternatively you can opt for Audi’s 3.0-litre TDI V6 that makes less horsepower at 240 albeit a lot more torque at 406 lb-ft, the latter accessible from just 1,750 rpm, but the result is the same 7.9-second sprint to 100km/h, if that really matters to you. I know it doesn’t to me, nor does its top speed, but rather the majority of families consider fuel economy when purchasing a new SUV.

To that end the 3.0 TFSI I tested achieves a claimed five-cycle EnerGuide rating of 15.2 L/100km

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in the city, 11.0 on the highway and 13.3 combined, which is a bit higher than class average. Move over to the TDI and things start to look a bit greener with a rating of 12.6 city, 8.5 highway and 10.7 combined, although you’ll need to step up a bit higher in price. In order to keep fuel usage in either model to a minimum, Audi enlists an energy recovery system that harnesses otherwise wasted brake-sourced kinetic friction and then uses it to power some of the Q7’s electrical systems.

The Q7 3.0 TFSI Quattro Progressiv Tiptronic starts at $59,200 plus $2,095 for freight and pre-delivery prep, while the 3.0 TDI in the base same trim can be had for $64,200. Both come well equipped with auto on/off bi-functional HID headlamps featuring automatic dynamic range adjustment plus washers, separate daytime

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running lights, lots of exterior chrome including bright roof rails, and dark tinted privacy glass, although the TDI gets standard 19-inch five-arm V-design rims on 265/50R19 all-seasons instead of the TFSI’s 18-inch six-spoke alloys on 255/55R18s. My tester, incidentally, was kitted out with a set of optional 21s shod in Dunlop SP Sport MAXX summer performance rubber, but more on that in a moment.

The two un-optioned Q7s also feature aluminum doorsill plates, textured Aluminum Trigon trim, leather upholstery, a heatable and powered tilt and telescopic leather-clad four-spoke multifunction steering wheel, cruise control, auto-dimming rearview and side mirrors, a leather and aluminum gear selector knob and leather boot, dual-zone automatic climate control (the TDI also gets an electric auxiliary air heater), a driver multi-information display (the TFSI’s is black and

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white and the TDI’s is a more advanced colour display), a full-colour high-resolution MultiMedia Interface (MMI) infotainment system featuring a rearview camera with guidelines plus a Cornerview camera to assist the standard front and rear parking sensors with audible beeping and useful active visuals shown on the MMI interface (the TDI ups the ante with a navigation system and voice recognition), an AM/FM/CD audio system with satellite radio plus Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming, and a music interface in the glove box for iPod connectivity with full MMI integration (the TDI ups the audio system ante with a DVD player), as well as power-adjustable front seats with four-way powered lumbar support and driver’s side memory (that also automatically adjusts the steering column and mirrors), front and rear heatable seats, a second-row bench

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seat with a centre pass-through, a reversible cargo load floor, a storage package with side pockets, cargo floor tie-downs, a floor net and bag hangers, a powered liftgate, tire pressure monitoring and the aforementioned safety equipment including a full assortment of airbags.

A $2,500 Seat and Sky package with third-row seating and panoramic sunroof can be had in base Progressiv trim, my tester’s Vorsprung upgrade, and top-line Sport guise. The large sunroof certainly adds an airy atmosphere, whereas the third row made for a much more flexible cabin. Either second-row seat slides forward and out of the way for easy access and, while the gap to get through is a bit tight, the third row itself is roomy enough for someone of my five-foot-eight medium build, albeit not much larger, and doing so means the second row will need to be pushed as far forward as it goes, thus limiting the generous legroom normally available there.

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Just the same, after positioning the driver’s seat to meet my needs I sat directly behind, pulled the second-row seat all the way forward and still had three to four inches of knee room to spare plus almost as much overhead, so therefore any feeling of being cramped is just a feeling, with real roominess no problem unless your second-row passenger is above six-two. It’s all likely a moot point anyway, as most will only be stuffing little Sophia and Aiden in the rearmost third row anyway, but at least those of you with 15 year old Hannahs and Michaels will know that you’ll be able to ferry six passengers when needed.

Back

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to features, a $2,500 Navigation System Plus package can be added to Progressiv trimmed Q7s as well, which includes Audi’s third-generation seven-inch TFT MMI display, a 40-gig hard drive of which 10 can be allocated to a music bank of up to 4,000 songs, advanced speech recognition, seven-digit postal code functionality, 3D map viewing, and two SD cards. Progressiv models can also be fitted with a fabulous set of twinned five-spoke 20-inch alloys for $2,000, while this trim and the other two can also be enhanced with $500 second-row side-thorax airbags and an $850 trailering package with a seven-pin adapter, which incidentally allows for an impressive 2,994-kg (6,600-lb) tow rating; just one of the benefits of the Q7’s considerable curb weight.

Vorsprung TFSI trim starts at $63,600 whereas the TDI version can be had for $67,500, and both include proximity-sensing remote access with pushbutton ignition,

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a driver multi-information system with a colour display, a fabulous sounding 330-watt 13-speaker Bose audio system with five-channel surround and a DVD player replacing the CD, a black headliner (although only with Black or Paranut Brown Seats), aluminum S Line doorsill trims, sporty S Line bumpers, S Line exterior logos, and 20-inch five-spoke alloys in silver or a cool graphite grey on 275/45 all season tires.

As mentioned earlier my Vorsprung tester (yes, I’m going to keep saying Vorsprung because I like the way it sounds) was fitted with a gorgeous set of machine-finished 21-inch split five-spokes with grey painted pockets on summer performance

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tires, which indicates the $5,300 Sportline Style Plus package that also features special Sportline body panel styling and unique aluminum doorsill trim devoid of S Line badging. While it’s odd that the Sportline upgrade eliminates the sweet looking red and silver S Line logo, my Q7 looked so good in its Glacier White Metallic paint that I could hardly complain.

Other extras that could have been added but weren’t include a rugged $2,800 Offroad Style Plus package that Audi claims will let you “take your Q7 wherever the urge takes you,” but I certainly wouldn’t want to chip its 21-inch five-arm rotor wheels on boulders or try to crawl out of a muddy swamp with summer performance tires. The special body panel styling of

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this model looks the part though, and the words “reinforced off-road exhaust pipe” certainly makes it sound tough enough.

I think more Q7 buyers will want the $2,000 Driver Assistant package that adds very useful adaptive xenon plus headlights, active lane assist that reminds you to maintain your chosen lane via steering wheel “alerts”, and lastly Audi side assist that helps during lane change maneuvers.

Last but hardly least a $2,400 Convenience package adds four-zone automatic climate control with an extra set of second-row controls, ventilated seats, and manual rear sunshades.

A number of standalone options available with Vorsprung trim include a universal garage

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door opener for $250, various inlays including piano black at no charge, dark walnut for $500 and carbon for $1,000, plus rear seat entertainment with dual screens positioned on the backsides of the front seats for $2,000, adaptive cruise control for $2,900, and a 14-speaker 1000-watt Bang & Olufsen audio system upgrade for $7,000.  

I’ve mentioned the Sport model a couple of times and while it’s nowhere near as fun to say as Vorsprung it would certainly be more enjoyable to drive. For $72,700 its standard kit starts with a 333 horsepower version of the 3.0 TSFI, good for a more spirited 7.1-second sprint to 100km/h. Rims and rubber include standard 21-inch tripled five-spoke alloys on performance tires, while a few more standard upgrades and most

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of the same options to my Vorsprung model are included.

Long lists of standard and optional features are nice, but the cabin they go into is even nicer. Despite its age the Q7’s interior is well laid out and plenty attractive with mostly high-grade materials used and intelligently engineered ergonomics part of the initial design. The seats are fabulously comfortable while the steering wheel feels wonderful in the hands. My tester’s black woven fabric headliner wrapped down each pillar in premium fashion, the textured aluminum inlays across the instrument panel, doors and console were genuine and very nicely done, and all the leathers very upscale. Of course the dash top is appropriately soft-touch

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synthetic, although this feel good material cuts off about halfway down the instrument panel where it’s replaced with a harder plastic. Likewise for the lower IP next to the knees, and even stranger the glove box lid. I shouldn’t say stranger because this is the norm for Audi, but all premium competitors cover their glove box lids with a pliable composite (other than some models in the compact/subcompact range), so it’s a bit of a letdown. It’s made from nice looking matte finished plastic just the same, and it appears as if it will wear well over the long haul. As for the Q7’s switchgear, some is quite good and other buttons and knobs don’t live up to the storied brand’s reputation, with hollow feeling plastics and poorly damped jiggly action. I hope Audi improves on this in its next-generation Q7, and there’s hope as the similarly styled 2016 Q3’s controls are better.

As

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far as load carrying goes, the Q7 is up to just about any task you throw at it. Power the rear liftgate open and 308 litres (10.9 cubic feet) of luggage space is available, whereas a very useful 1,190 litres (42.0 cubic feet) can be found behind the second row. Lay that row flat, and it’s multi-configurable thanks to a pass-through that almost gives it 40/20/40 flexibility, and a considerable 2,053 litres (72.5 cubic feet) can be had. The rearmost seats fold forward easily enough, but you’ll need to walk around to the side door and (depending on how tall you are) partially climb inside in order to lift and then push them back into place, and that process was a bit awkward as they require considerable reach to do so. The second row is a breeze up or down.

Breeze is a good word to describe Audi’s mid-size contender, but not one normally associated with seven-passenger CUVs. Still, the Q7 remains a breath of fresh air to look at, leaves you breathless on a curving back road, and offers up an open and airy cabin, all for a price that’ll have you sighing in contentment. Little wonder sales are still strong in its final year. With the first generation Q7 being so good, I can’t wait to experience generation two.
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