Large luxury seven-seater SUV review - We compare the Audi Q7 and BMW X7

What is it about primo German cars and massive grilles? If this trend continues we’ll soon be looking at grilles on wheels with car bodies attached as a cosmetic afterthought.

BMW appears determined to stick to its design guns and the X7’s signature ‘kidney grille’ undoubtedly gives the car presence. As does the flagship SUV’s sheer scale, with narrow (adaptive LED) headlights and huge alloy wheels adding to its imposing look.

BMW appears determined to stick to its design guns and the X7’s signature ‘kidney grille’ undoubtedly gives the car presence (image: James Cleary).

The rear is precisely composed with subtle chrome accents, slim LED tail-lights and dual exhaust openings..

The interior is awash with top-shelf leather, brushed metal highlights, and top-quality finishes, with the dash dominated by twin digital screen displays. Broad, flowing surfaces combined with simple shapes, and the execution is pretty much flawless.

Both these family haulers are big, but the Q7 is slightly smaller than the X7 in every key dimension - length (-88mm), width (-30mm), height (-64mm), and wheelbase (-10mm).

The Audi’s proportions are closer to that of a traditional wagon.

While the BMW’s expression is reminiscent of a certain carrot-chomping bunny, Audi’s ‘single frame grille’ echoes the appearance of a wide-mouth shark. The Q7 also features a narrow, angular LED headlight design which enhances its slightly menacing gaze. 

The big Audi’s proportions are closer to that of a traditional wagon with massive rims filling the wheel arches, and the roofline tapering gently to the chamfered rear end.

Lengthy tail-light units feature distinctive repeating LED graphics, while a horizontal connecting chrome trim piece across the back of the car, accentuates the Q7’s width and lower overall height.

Inside, the seats are wrapped in top-shelf ‘Valcona’ (aniline) leather, and there are no less than three ultra-cool screens in the sleek, sweeping dash and wide centre console - one for the configurable ‘Virtual Cockpit’ instrument display, and two for the multimedia system. 

Space is something a big family needs plenty of, and these premium, seven-seat SUVs open up the great indoors.

The Audi Q7’s wheelbase is close to 2.0m long, which means there’s no shortage of interior space, with heaps of room in the front, and loads of head, leg, and shoulder room in the back. And as you’d expect, boot space is generous.

There’s no shortage of interior space in the Q7.

Even with all seven seats up, capacity sits at 295 litres, which is the same size as the boot in a small hatch or city-sized SUV.

Drop the third row [via handy buttons near the back of the load space], and that grows to 740 litres. 

The standard electric tailgate is a big plus, as is rear cross-traffic alert, especially in the unpredictable confines of a busy shopping or school precinct. 

For a family of five the Q7 is comfortable and roomy.

Likewise in the X7, there’s tons of room up front, and the next row back is vast. At 183cm (6’0”), I enjoyed abundant leg, head and shoulder room. 

But despite the X7’s ample girth, the centre position would be the short straw option for long journeys given the two outer spots are more carefully sculpted and bolstered.

Even those in the ‘way-back seats’ have got it made, with access to the third row appropriately civilised, thanks to the second row’s easy, if glacially slow, electric folding mechanism.

The X7's middle row is vast (image: James Cleary).

Once installed back there I had enough head, leg and toe room for even a moderately long journey. Kids will be swimming in the space available.

With all seven seats upright there’s 326 litres of luggage capacity available (close to 30 litres more than the Audi). Enough to hold the large and medium hard suitcases from our three-piece set, with lots of room to stack to the roofline above.

Even those in the ‘way-back seats’ have got it made, with access to the third row in the X7 appropriately civilised (image: James Cleary).

Fold that 50/50 split third row forward (electrically via buttons in the boot or the side rear door openings) and you’ve liberated 750 litres (just 10 litres more than the Q7), which means you can add the third (smallest) suitcase and the CarsGuide pram with hectares to spare.

The two-piece (horizontally-split) rear door opens and closes remotely, through the key fob or a ‘Comfort Access’ sweep of the foot under the rear bumper. 

And standard air suspension on the Q7 and X7 allow for (stationary) ride height adjustment to help with loading heavy or awkward things. 

Towing capacity for a braked trailer is a hefty 3.4 tonnes for the BMW and 3.5 tonnes for the Audi (750kg unbraked for both). And all you’ll find under the BMW’s rear floor is a cargo cover blind because the tyres on all X7s are run-flats, while rather than a (bulky) spare the Audi provides an inflator/repair kit only.

The Audi Q7 plays a strong safety game, the 50 TDI S line boasting a full suite of active tech, designed to keep you out of trouble, including (deep breath… ), adaptive cruise control (with ‘Stop&Go’ function, traffic jam assist and distance indicator), ‘Audi pre-sense front’ with AEB (up to 85 km/h for pedestrians, and 250 km/h for vehicles), active lane assist, ‘Audi pre-sense rear’ (tensioning front belts, closing windows and sunroof where the risk of a collision is detected), blind spot warning, a multiple camera 360-degree view (including kerb view), ‘Intersection crossing assist’, ‘Collision avoidance assist’, and rear cross-traffic alert.

There’s also ‘Attention assist’, and a tyre pressure loss indicator, although it’s worth noting there’s no spare on-board. A tyre repair/inflator kit is your only option. 

If an impact is unavoidable, there are eight airbags on board (dual front and front-side, rear side, and head level, full-length curtain). All five of the second and third row seating positions feature ISOFIX anchors. There’s even a first aid kit and warning triangle. 

And as you’d expect, the X7 showcases BMW’s latest active safety technology. As well as cost-of-entry features like ABS, EBD, BA and stability and traction controls, the standard suite includes high- and low-speed AEB, adaptive cruise control (with stop and go function), ‘Steering and Lane Control Assistant’, lane departure warning (with lane change assist), lane keeping assist (with side collision warning), front and rear cross traffic alert (with rear AEB), blind-spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, an ‘Attentiveness Assistant’, and dynamic brake lights.

‘Parking Assistant Plus’ incorporates a reversing camera (that pans with steering wheel movement), ‘Active Park Distance Control’ rear, and ‘Reversing Assistant’, as well as ‘Surround View’, ‘Panorama View’ and ‘3D View’.

If all that fails to save the day you’re supported by eight airbags (driver and front passenger head and side, second row side, and knee airbags for the driver and front passenger). And in the event of a crash there’s an ‘Intelligent Emergency Call’ function to get emergency or rescue services on the case immediately.

As in the Audi, there are child restraint/baby capsule top tether points on each of the five rear seating positions, with ISOFIX anchors on the centre row’s two outer positions, and each of the third-row seats (compared to all five in the Audi).

The Q7 scored a maximum five ANCAP stars in 2019, while neither ANCAP nor EuroNCAP has so far assessed the X7’s safety performance.

The Audi Q7 50 TDI S line will set you back $121,872, before on-road costs, with the BMW X7 xDrive30d weighing in at $133,900.

Claimed fuel economy for the Q7 on the combined (ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban) cycle is 6.8L/100km, the big Audi emitting 180g/km of CO2 in the process. The X7 xDrive30d sits at 7.3L/100km and 191g/km.

Over the course of a recent long-term test the Q7 returned an average of 8.4L/100km, which included a fair bit of highway running. During a regular test covering city and suburban kays, with some freeway driving thrown in we saw a real-world figure of 9.3L/100km for the BMW. Both impressive results for cars of this size.

Audi and BMW offer a three year/unlimited km warranty, which has been put to shame at the top end of the market by Genesis, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz with five years/unlimited km cover. But both include 24-hour roadside assistance for the duration of the warranty.

Audi offers a five-year service plan at $3380, for an annual average of $676 (service intervals are 12 months/15,000km).

The BMW’s maintenance is ‘condition based’ with sensors and on-board algorithms (mileage, time since last service, fuel consumption, driving style) determining whether an annual vehicle inspection or oil service is required. So costs are variable and quoted at the time of service.