Model tested: Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Quattro S-Line Tiptronic
Price: £41,675
Date tested: November 2008
Road tester: Stuart Milne

Overall rating: 84%
The Q7 is the first SUV from Audi, pitched against some very talented cars, including the BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne and Mercedes M-Class. We spent a week with the Q7 to find out if big can be beautiful.

1. Looks
The Q7 is a big beast, its typically Audi design doing little to hide its girth. It sports Audi's trademark grille up front, there's a pair of sporty exhausts while there are 18 or 20-inch wheels depending on specification.
8/10

2. Looks inside
the cabin is typically Audi, with plenty of sober grey tactile plastics, with a smattering of silver trimmings. The MMI (Multi Media Interface) is similar in concept, but better in execution than BMW's iDrive.
9/10

3. Practicality
There's plenty of space in the cabin while the boot has an extra two seats to turn the Q7 into a spacious seven seater. Boot space varies between 330 litres and 2,000 litres with additional under-floor storage too.
8/10

4. Ride and handling
The Q7 is among the best in its class for ride comfort and handling. The steering is direct and accurate, the ride is smooth, and all models are available with adjustable air suspension.
9/10

5. Performance
The entry-level Q7 3.0 TDI offers 236bhp and a thumping 406lb/ft of torque, which allow the Q7 to hit 62mph in 8.5 seconds, before reaching 134mph.
10/10

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6. Running costs
Full sized SUV are rarely cheap to run, but the 3.0 TDI can manage almost 29mpg. The Q7 sits in tax band G, which currently costs £400 a year.
7/10

7. Reliability
Like pretty much every car Audi has made in the last few years, the Audi Q7 feels solid. It's a complex machine, but Audi has been building tough four wheel-drive systems since the 1980s.
9/10

8. Safety
The Q7 has a four-star EuroNCAP rating, but it comes with driver, passenger front side, full-length curtain and side head airbags for the middle row occupants. There's also ESP, with a trailer stabilisation system for safer towing.
8/10

9. Equipment
Standard kit includes 18-inch alloys, adaptive air suspension, climate control, MMI with eight speakers and a monochrome screen, acoustic parking sensors, four 12-volt electrical sockets, cruise control and trip computer.
7/10

10. X-Factor
Audi is the car maker of the moment, and seems to do no wrong. And when those four rings are on car which oozes ability, it reinforces Audi's reputation as a manufacturer to be reckoned with.
9/10