The 2023 Audi SQ7 is a family SUV that’s quick off the line, has surprisingly nimble handling for such a big car, and offers the ability to cruise in comfort on extended stints on the highway. Sitting above the standard Q7 in the lineup, it slots in below the mighty RSQ8 in terms of potency, but it doesn’t have the curb appeal of that coupe-style SUV. It looks slightly subdued in comparison, but it can be livened up with a popping paint job and some exterior kit, both underscoring its sporting potential.
The SQ7 provides a wonderful blend of performance and luxury, with a sumptuous cabin boasting three rows of seating, a phenomenal twin-turbo V8 engine that sends 500 horsepower via an eight-speed automatic to all four wheels in classic quattro fashion, and superb driving dynamics. We spent a week with the SQ7 to see how it stacks up against rivals.
Classic Good Looks, But Choose Your Paint Color Wisely
Our first impression of the Audi SQ7 when it got delivered for a week-long test drive in the UK was that this was more a large wagon than a hulking SUV, with handsome, albeit uninspiring, looks. The quad exhausts and subtle roof spoiler give the SQ7 a sportier rear end than its bland Q7 sibling, and the Matador Red Metallic paint elevates its racier nature even further. Never underestimate the power of a good body color, as it can transform your SUV from family hauler to feisty brute instantly.
At the front, bigger air intakes that provide cooling to the mighty V8 engine combine with an enhanced bumper design and high-gloss black Singleframe grille to provide a familiar face: chiseled, sporty, and instantly recognizable. The Black Optic package, as on our tester, also adds high-gloss black to the roof rails, bumper inserts, mirror housings, and door blades, while the Carbon Optic package adds smatterings of carbon fiber to the exterior mirrors and door inlays.
Our test car sat on a set of 22-inch 5-V-spoke Aluminum Star’ wheels in matte grey – a design exclusive to the top trim in the UK and, sadly, not offered in the US. We think it would be very popular here.
Family Friendly Interior With An Executive Touch
Audi builds some of the best cabins in the business, but after being handed the keys to the SQ7 on the same day I handed back a Range Rover Sport test car (it’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it), the cosseting and indulgent feeling the Range Rover Sport imparts just wasn’t there with the Audi. The high quality in the Audi’s cabin is apparent, though, from the quilted Valcona leather sport bucket seats to the black and chrome finish, but it’s more executive office than first class lounge.
From behind the wheel, you get a lovely clear digital display with as much or as little information as you want. For focused, spirited driving, switching to Sport mode presents a rev counter, while if you’re driving in areas unknown, a full-color map can be displayed alongside a plethora of other pertinent information. The center stack hosts a comprehensive and intuitive infotainment system which is spread over a pair of screens with haptic feedback buttons. It’s one of the best systems, in our experience, yet despite years of complaints, a solution to greasy finger marks that get left behind on the screens has not been found.
Comfortable With Room To Spare
The Audi SQ7 is plenty spacious for a family of five with a cavernous trunk and a panoramic roof that helps shed light into a somewhat dark cabin. You get between 35.7 cubice feet and 69.6 cubes for cargo if you treat it as a five-seater, but if comfort for your passengers is more important to you, the Q8/SQ8 may be more appealing as that model steals some trunk space for more room for people. That said, not once did I receive complaints from rear-seat passengers, even with a baby seat strapped into the middle perch.
As a seven-seater, the SQ7 offers a third row that’s easy to set up and access. For short trips and with small children, the seats are perfectly fine – on par with the Volvo XC90 Recharge. But if you’re regularly chauffeuring a family of six or seven, there isn’t much in the premium segment to consider until Lexus decides to bring the LM stateside or Volvo does the same with its new minivan.
Wonderful Highway Cruiser With Buckets Of Power
The SQ7 is big, powerful, and heavy, yet from behind the wheel, it feels agile and composed, giving the driver supreme confidence. Maneuvering around narrow city streets and parking in a tight spot is made simple thanks to the standard rear-wheel steering, while the air suspension and smooth-shifting gearbox enable the SUV to effortlessly glide over the tarmac.
The ‘S’ in the SQ7 is most apparent when tackling serpentine country roads. It accelerates like a sports car, with 0-60 mph flashing by in 4.3 seconds, and the Bridgestone rubber in concert with the traction of the quattro AWD system provides plenty of grip and confidence when driving hard through corners. While it doesn’t boast the athleticism of a Lamborghini Urus or Porsche Cayenne, you can have fun on a twisty road.
Audi has done well to disguise the SQ7’s 5,200-pound-plus curb weight, and the faux V8 sound pumped through the stereo adds to the drama, although not everyone will find that necessary. Drivers can also switch to manual mode and use the paddle shifters if they want more control over gear changes; you’ll pay for it at the pumps, but expect frequent fill-ups regardless.
Once you hit a stretch of highway in the SQ7, you can settle back, switch from Dynamic to Comfort mode, and let the German cruiser do its thing. The 569 lb-ft of torque makes easy work of joining fast-moving traffic and overtaking slow-moving trucks, and when you get up to speed, the suspension lowers automatically.
The SQ7 can drop lower than the Q7 in its lowest suspension settings, but you don’t lose any comfort doing this and the front seats do well to keep you in place and absorb any excess stiffness the suspension doesn’t smooth out. And that all-wheel steering that provides a tight turning circle at low speed also aids stability at high speed, with the rear wheels turning in the same direction as the front wheels.
$100,000 Buys You A Lot Of Car
The Audi SQ7 starts from $90,400 for the Premium Plus and $94,900 buying you the top Prestige trim. To get close to the SQ7 ‘Vorsprung’ trim we tested in the UK, you’ll have to go with the Prestige and add a bunch more packages and options.
The Matador red metallic paint costs an extra $595 but this appears to be an unavoidable cost as Audi charges this for any color. The 22-inch wheels were part of the Vorsprung trim, but upgrading from 21 to 22 inches in the US costs $1,500. That’s also the price of the Carbon Optic package that adds carbon fiber goodies to the exterior, while the Black Optic package adds high-gloss black exterior bits for $1,150 – you can have both. The Luxury package for $2,900 adds the extended leather package, massage function for front seats, and a Black Dinamica headliner. And, if you want your sporty SUV to be versatile, you can throw in the towing package, which increases towing capacity to 7,700 lbs by adding a tow hitch receive and seven-pin connector for $750. Add all that up and you’re looking at $104,490, including the $1,195 US destination charge.
That’s a few hundred bucks more than a standard SQ8 Prestige and in the ballpark of a similarly equipped Porsche Cayenne S.
As a luxury seven-seater, the Audi SQ7 competes with a foot on either side of the mid-size segment. It sits somewhere between the Mercedes-AMG GLE and GLS and BMW X5 and X7 in terms of size, with the former being over $145k at the top end of the range, and the latter being just a bit more expensive.
All of these are great cars that are likely to give you a hard time deciding which one to opt for. But if you want something that is comfortable and classy with the ability to have a bit of fun from time to time, the SQ7 won’t disappoint – and it also won’t break the bank.