The New Audi Q7 Is Far More Fun to Drive Than a Three-Row SUV Should Be

[Source: Carwow / YouTube]

The Audi Q7 is a big three-row luxury SUV designed to haul families and their gear in comfort. It’s slightly wider and taller than its predecessor, rides on wheels as large as 23 inches, and offers three rows of seating. It also offers enough technology to make your smartphone feel outdated. But according to a recent Carwow test, there is another side to the new Q7 that might interest Audi enthusiasts even more.

With Audi Drive Select set to Dynamic, the suspension firms up, throttle response sharpens, and additional weight is added to the steering. There is still some body roll, as you’d expect from a large luxury SUV, but available rear-wheel steering helps the Q7 turn in and feel considerably more agile than its dimensions suggest. “Sometimes you can have fun in the most unexpected of cars,” was the conclusion after pushing the Q7 through some corners.

Of course, carving corners isn’t why most people buy a Q7. The good news is that Audi hasn’t sacrificed the things that made the SUV popular in the first place. The cabin receives premium materials, available wood trim, comfortable seats, and an available 22-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system. Second-row passengers get generous space, while the third row can accommodate adults for shorter trips. Fold everything down and the Q7 provides a large, flat cargo floor.

Audi has also leaned heavily into technology. Matrix LED headlights can project light onto the road, available OLED taillights offer customizable signatures, and the Q7 can even warn drivers when its massive wheels are getting dangerously close to a curb.

Not every technological change is an improvement. Mat Watson criticized Audi’s decision to move functions such as air-vent adjustment into the touchscreen and found the automated parking system more frustrating than simply parking the SUV yourself. But those complaints didn’t overshadow the overall verdict. On the highway, the Q7 remains quiet, comfortable, and impressively refined.

That’s arguably the Q7’s greatest trick. It’s still the luxurious three-row family hauler Audi buyers expect. It just hasn’t forgotten that the person sitting behind the wheel might occasionally want to have some fun, too.