Car India – August 2019

electronically controlled,ofcourse,andyouhavetheoptionof

wavinga footaroundbelowthetailgatetopopit openhands-free.

Wedrovethepetrol 55 tfsiquattro,poweredbyaudi’s3.0-litre

v6 producing 340 hpand 500 nmoftorqueandmatedtoaneight-

speedtiptronicgearboxwithpaddleshifters.thisengine

configurationhasmadea comebackinindia in this iteration of the

Q7 and it is one that also comes equipped with quattro permanent all-wheeldrivealong

with optional electro-mechanical active roll stabilization and optimizedall-wheelsteering

asthecarwedrovehad. Wealsohadtheairsuspensionpackagewhichallowedforupto

90 mmofadjustmentinrideheight,achievinga maximumgroundclearanceof 245 mm.

therearea coolsevendrivingmodestooptfromthankstoaudidriveselect—auto,

comfort,dynamic,efficiency,individual,allroad,andoffroad — the latter-mostisonly

availableif youoptfortheairsuspension,though.

thebiggestadditiontothisiterationoftheQ7,

however,hastobethe 48 vmild-hybridsystemacross

theboard.thissystemeitherregeneratesenergy,

allowsthecartorollinidleorallowsit tocoastforup

to 40 secondswiththeengineswitchedoff,basedon

thesituationandthedrivingmodeyouhaveoptedfor,

whichaudiclaimhasseenanincreaseof0.7-litres

per 100 kilometres(orsevenmlperkm)intermsof

fuelefficiency.

howdoesallofthistranslateintobehind-the-wheel

feel?ratherwell,tobehonest.the acceleration is

smooth andlinear,witha claimed0-100km/htime of

5.9secondsanda topspeedof 250 km/h.thesuspension,whenleftinauto

mode,iswellsortedandoffersa smoothrideevenoverroughsectionswhile

stillallowingyoutocornerhardwithoutwallowingabout.thesteering feel

isspotonandtheQ7handleslikea muchsmallercardespiteitssize.

turn-insaresharpandpredictableandthesteeringweighsupwell.

asimentionedearlier,drivinga left-hand-drivecaronextremelynarrow,

animal-encroachedroads,optimizedforright-handdrivevehiclesshould

havebeenchallenging,butit justwasn’t.thepresenceoftechsuchas

360-degreecameras,proximitysensors,activelaneassist,andeventraffic

signrecognition,amongitsfeatures,madelifesomucheasierwheniwas

behindthewheel.

iwasassuredthatthisparticularvariantwouldmakeitswaytoindiain

thefuture,althoughwedon’tknowwhenit willbelaunchedatthetimeof

writing—mostlikelypostthemid-septembereuropeanlaunch,though.

samegoesfortheprice;however,consideringtheoutgoingmodelhasa

stickerupwardsofrs 80lakh(ex-showroom),weexpectthenewonetobe

pricedinthatsamebracket.

thisnewQ7isanextremelywell-roundedpackageand makes for an

optionthatshouldcertainlyfallinyourcross-hairsif you are out hunting a

luxurysuv by the time it rolls around to our shores.

(Right) The second

row has its own

individual air-con

controls and

chargin ports too

AudiQ7 55 TFSiQuATTro

Price:rs 80-85 lakh (estimated)

Engine:2,995cc,V6,turbo-petrol

MaxPower: 340 hpfrom5,000-6,400rpm

MaxTorque: 500 nm from 1,370-4,500 rpm

Transmission:Eight-speed,automatic,

all-wheeldrive

Suspension: Multi-linkwithair springs

Weight:na

60

First Drive | Audi Q7 55 TFSI quattro

car india August 2019 http://www.carindia.in