Audi Q7 first drive review
Making engines smaller, drivelines less thirsty, packaging more efficient and vehicles lighter is the new black.
No surprises there, and we're constantly seeing incremental gains in all those areas as car makers chase ever-tougher government standards and a constantly greening target audience.
But when your product is getting on for a decade old and is from a market segment not known for its planet hugging credentials, then you can suddenly turn those incremental steps into giant strides.
Which is precisely what Audi has attempted to do with its new full-sized SUV, the Q7.
Perhaps the biggest step has been to pare back the original Q7's rather enormous kerb weight.
That was tackled in a variety of ways, starting with the use of hot-formed steel in structural areas as well as plenty of alloy suspension components.
Aluminium was used for the doors and the end result is a staggering 325kg reduction when the Audi steps on the scales these days.
Mind you, the end result still tips the scales at a couple of shopping bags shy of 2000kg, but it's still a remarkable result.
Another strategy was to make the new car physically smaller. So it is: about 30mm shorter than before and 15mm narrower although it retains the old vehicle's height.
Despite that, both front and rear tracks are wider than before and the wheelbase has been stretched 10mm, giving the Q7 more of a wheel-in-each-corner look than before.
And even though it's smaller, interior space is increased with a spacious feeling up front thanks to the low dashboard line and a rear seat that has both more leg and head room.
Crucially, the Q7 remains a seven-seater (or will be In Australia) with better access to the third row which now also folds flat at the touch of a button.
There are other clever things, too, such as underbody cladding and flaps within the grille opening that close when the extra cooling is not needed, both features adding up to a slipperier shape.
If you don't like the look of big SUVs, then the Q7 might not be radical enough to alter your opinion.
But if you were a swinging voter, then the tauter, more compact look of the new car might be enough.
To our eyes, it looks a bit like a scaled up A3 Sportback, but that's hardly a bad thing given the rotund appearance of the previous car.
Happily, the more athletic looks are backed up by some important dynamic changes.
The new car now has four-wheel steering which steers the rear wheels up to five degrees counter to the front wheels at low speed to improve manoeuvrability. At higher speeds, it will steer the rears up to two degrees in sympathy with the fronts to aid stability in lane-changes.
Four-wheel-steering is unlikely to be standard on Australian-delivered cars, but should be available as an option.
Of course the new Q7 retains Audi's quattro all-wheel-drive system, in this case set up to split the torque 40:60 front/rear in normal conditions, but also able to send as much as 85 per cent rearward.
A 50mm lower centre of gravity rounds out the new dynamic package.
Engine-wise, the days of the thundering V12 with its 1000 Newton-metres are, predictably, over.
Audi will eventually have a hybrid model available, but for now, we'll see just one of the two V6 variants Audi will launch with internationally.
The 3.0-litre turbo-diesel is the obvious choice for Australian buyers and it's fundamentally the familiar package that's been seen in many other Audis in recent years.
The V6 petrol engine, however, now uses a supercharger rather than a turbocharger to boost power to 245kW versus the diesel's 200kW, although the oil-burner trumps the petrol engine on torque (600Nm to 440Nm).
There's also a fuel economy edge to the diesel, too, and its 5.9 litres per 100km figure (7.9 litres for the petrol) is amazing for a vehicle as big as this.
Both those factors, plus the Australian market's preference for diesel power in this segment, says Audi Australia spokesperson Anna Burgdorf, made the turbo-diesel the natural choice for us.
Both engines are teamed with an eight-speed automatic transmission but there's no low-range ratios, suggesting Audi has worked out that its Q7 customers never feel the need to go bush.
The vehicles we drove were all fitted with the optional air-suspension which will be available in Australia at something like a $4000 premium over the conventionally sprung version.
But other features that will be optional in some markets will be made standard on local cars.
So, Australian-delivered Q7s will launch with standard 19-inch wheels, the virtual cockpit (an animated dashboard display), 360-degree camera, Xenon headlights, park assist, blind-spot and cross-traffic warning systems, a memory driver's seat, eight-inch colour screen, and, of course, those seven seats.
Optional will be things like a head-up display, all-wheel-steering (probably $2800 or so), a premium sound system including the option of 3D sound and 21-inch wheels and tyres.
Dealers will also be asking extra for a package of driver assistance programs such as autonomous braking, Pre Sense City (which will steer and brake the car in heavy traffic; a precursor to full autonomous operation) and Turn-Assist (making intersections safer) all based around adaptive cruise-control.
There is also, options aside, a price to pay for this new and lighter technology.
While the price of a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel Q7 from the current range is $91,500, the new entrant tips in at $103,900, but does represent the sort of new thinking that is a fair bet to drive all future full-sized SUVs globally.
Australian sales start in September this year.
A couple of things become very obvious very quickly with the driving character of the new Q7: It feels much smaller than before and it's utterly refined.
The former is a function of moving the exterior mirrors to the doors rather than the corner of the front-side windows, and drastically lowering the dashboard line under the windscreen.
Even then, the corners seem easy to place on what is still a fair lump of real estate.
But the airiness continues to all three rows of seats and the third row will accommodate bigger folk if necessary.
The turbo-diesel engine fires up with such subtlety you almost check the tachometer to see if it's running and even the stop-start function doesn't intrude like it does on most diesel drivelines.
The usual Audi crispness of the controls is retained and, once you're moving, the third revelation hits: Just how quiet this vehicle is.
The air suspension fitted to our test car did a better-than-usual job of ironing out small amplitude bumps and ripples, as well as maintaining the car's balance through the corners.
No, it's not a racing car, but it has plenty of grip and can be hustled along up to a point - way beyond the point most Q7 owners will be familiar with, we reckon.
There's a little tyre roar on coarse surfaces, but it's never bad and would be worse in just about any other SUV.
The eight-speed auto is a great match for the engine, too, which in this 200kW tune is about as sweet as a diesel ever was.
It's smooth and silent and if you told your passengers it was a petrol engine, they'd probably just nod in agreement.
The steering responses are not the dynamic highlight, but the Q7 nevertheless tracks faithfully and the driver's input is matched well by what happens as a result of that input.
As a freeway cruiser, the Q7 would really take some beating but even as an urban go-getter, the improved vision and greater athleticism suddenly make it not only more viable, but one of the top handful of choices out there.
And that's the bottom line, really: As far as hitting the wants and needs of the target market, the new big Audi is some kind of a bullseye.
2015 Audi Q7 Pricing and Specifications
On-sale: September 2015
Price: $103,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel
Power: 200kW at 3250rpm-4250rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1500-3000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic, all-wheel-drive
Consumption: 5.9L/100km