LIVE24SEVEN // Motoring, Sport & Entertainment AUDI SQ7 - MOTOR ING R E V I EW
Technology & performance Audi SQ7
When (usually) German manufacturers produce their top of the range SUV, they follow a pretty well tried and tested method…
Start with a more powerful engine, add bigger wheels, stiffer suspension and garnish with some sporty body styling and you have your top of the range performance SUV. Not this time. Here we have genuine world first engineering technologies for a road car that will eventually filter down through the Audi range, probably starting with the new Q5 which is due in Audi showrooms in April.
I picked my test car up from Harrison Foster, the Sport Specialist at Listers Audi in Birmingham. Staggering in size, with the new car display downstairs, as well as public and private handover areas and a used car showroom ‘upstairs’ that is accessed by its own lifts and escalator, this showroom really is enormous, whilst also retaining a truly welcoming atmosphere.
Upstairs also plays host to a rather exclusive CPL, (Customer Private Lounge) where you can sit comfortably (with shag pile style carpet under foot) in front of a 60-inch screen, and create your own perfect Audi to visualise in all its glory, a great way to dwindle down those thousands of options, colours, accessories etc. You can then email it to yourself so you can remember your perfect spec whilst the unique QI code will retain your preferences, in case you need them in the future!
Like every Listers Audi centre (Birmingham, Coventry, Stratford-upon-Avon and Worcester) there is a specialist on hand with almost encyclopaedic knowledge to guide you through the Sport range.
With a car that weighs well over 2 tonnes, but can still get to 60 in less than 5 seconds, we had better start this review with the engine – and what an interesting one it is. On paper, it’s a big 4-litre V8 forced induction diesel that produces 435PS, which means in a standing start duel a Range Rover Sport SDV8 or Porsche Cayenne S diesel wouldn’t stand a chance. However, the important words here are ‘forced’ and ‘induction’, as Audi has devised a whole new (and more efficient) way of getting air into the cylinders. There are two turbos, which is not unusual, but the electrically powered compressor, driven by a 48V battery is. Such a thing has never been seen on a production car before and it works alongside one of these turbos, spinning it at low revs to give an instant response and so completely eliminates turbo lag. The end result means another gargantuan figure - 900Nm of torque is available from just 1,000rpm. That is insane power, it’s the same as a LaFerrari, and I can’t describe what that feels like in prose, it must be experienced, and for that please speak to a Sport specialist!
/ 126
Review by Tina and Adrian Bassett-Thomas
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