Audi's Q7, a monster with the face, feel of a luxury car...
Engine: 4.2-liter, V-8, 350 horsepower
Price: $49,900 (base); $62,000 (as tested)
Mileage: 16 mpg city / 20 highway (est.)
Do you hear it? That long, seismic moan underfoot, the thick, serial popping of tectonic fractures as if the Earth's rivets were giving way? It can only mean the arrival of the Audi Q7, the latest full-size luxury SUV to give the planet a hernia.
Pieced together with proven components from Audi's considerable larder, the Q7 has the full measure of Audi refinement and techno-sexual ardor.
No hint of truckiness resides beneath the luxury-sedan gloss. The cabin is beautifully turned out in a variety of wood laminates, leather and aluminum trim. The interior is pianissimo quiet.
The Q7's biggest drawback? Weight — big, raw, don't-sit-near-me tonnage. This is an unavoidable consequence in these sorts of kitchen-sink vehicles that must offer credible off-road capacity as well as luxury on-road performance.
Under the hood of the Q7 is Audi's 4.2-liter, 350-horsepower direct-injection V8 engine (a V6 and a turbocharged V6 diesel will come later) buttoned to a reinforced version of its six-speed Tiptronic transmission.
This powertrain has the requisite oomph to accelerate to 60 mph in seven seconds, and the Q7 cruises effortlessly at 75 mph. But beyond that, you can begin to feel the effects of its weight and aerodynamic resistance in passing performance.
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