Why the Audi SQ7 is one of motoring’s best-kept secrets

Hardware shared with $500,000 super-SUVs makes this prestige machine a twin-turbocharged bargain.

3 min read

August 20, 2024 - 8:04AM

Motoring

The Audi SQ7 is one of our favourite prestige SUVs, thanks to quality hardware shared with some of the most exclusive prestige cars on sale.

This is one of the best-kept secrets on the road.

Audi’s SQ7 is a cracking car. The fastest and most luxurious version of the brand’s seven-seat SUV represents not just the best of Audi, but the broader Volkswagen Group.

It shares core hardware with some of the best sports SUVs on sale, including the Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Lamborghini Urus and Bentley Bentayga.

Audi’s SQ7 brings Porsche-rivalling punch in a practical body. Photo: Supplied

Those heavy hitters cost twice as much as the $175,000 Audi, which has the same twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8, eight speedo automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive system as its big ticket items.

Sure, it has been detuned a little to prevent exotic cousins from being embarrassed. But there’s nothing wrong with 373kW and 770Nm, or a claimed 0-100kmh time of 4.1 seconds. It’s quick.

The SQ7’s V8 is found in cars like the Audi RS6 and Lamborghini Urus. Photo: Supplied

No, it’s not a diesel

Back when Audi was all-in on diesel – remember its efforts at Le Mans – the big wagon was a halo model for alternative fuelled performance cars.

The SQ7 originally launched back in 2016 with a 4.0-litre, triple-turbo diesel that produced 320kW of power and a whopping 900Nm of torque, figures that made it one of the mightiest SUVs on the road.

And that car succeeded a truly ludicrous Q7 V12 that had 368kW of power and a staggering 1000Nm of torque.

While the latest petrol model can’t match their pulling power, it is lighter, more urgent and easier on the ear than the complex diesel. Probably better to own in the long run, thanks to its less complex motor.

But you’re going to spend a few bucks fuelling it. Claimed economy of about 12L/100km is closer to 20L/100km in the real world, too.

Later SQ7 models swapped diesel for petrol power. Photo: Supplied

This bear can dance

Two-tonne seven-seaters tend to change direction with the agility of a sumo wrestler wearing dance shoes on an ice rink – you can turn the steering wheel all you like, but it’s hard to fight the inertia of all that mass and momentum.

The SQ7 bends the rules of physics by employing enormous 22-inch wheels with grippy tyres backed by clever hardware that wasn’t available in years gone by.

Active roll bars keep the body flat when cornering, allowing cornering forces to be distributed more evenly across the car.

The SQ7 is surprisingly agile. Photo: Supplied

A torque vectoring differential pushes more power to the outer rear wheel when cornering, encouraging the car to keep rotating when others might push straight on.

And rear wheel steering serves to give lend the cornering agility of a much smaller car when turning, and the stability of a larger car at speed.

Of course, it doesn’t drive like a purebred sports coupe. But it is surprisingly capable when you check it into a bend.

It’s a luxury car

While it goes without saying that a six-figure Audi is going to be plush, this one is quite special. Our test car had a $14,400 “sensory package” delivering soft leather with a quilted pattern that looks properly premium.

The stereo? Some 21 speakers by Bang & Olufsen, including gorgeous metal tweeters that bounce sound off the base of the windscreen.

There are perfumes. There are sunshades. There are soft-close doors. There are large touchscreens with beautifully rendered displays.

Few cars match the SQ7’s luxury. Photo: Supplied.

There are laser matrix headlights that sound like something from the old sci-fi section at Video Ezy, and OLED tail-lights that get super bright if someone tailgates you – though you need to pay an extra $3950 for those.

It’s unique in the family

The main selling point for an SQ7 over alternatives such as the Porsche Cayenne is that it has seven seats. That additional versatility really works in the Audi’s favour, giving it a point of difference compared with other cars in the VW Group. It’s a spacious and well thought-out machine that handles family duties with ease.

Expect Porsche to get in on the action in the near future. And you could always consider an equivalent BMW or Benz. But for now, the SQ7 really does hit a sweet spot.