2018 Audi Q7 vs 2020

What's the difference?

It's difficult to pick between the 160 and the 200. Neither are particularly cheap but this is another of those occasions where it would be a waste of money to bring in a comparatively stripped-out entry level that nobody would buy.

If pressed, I'd say spend the extra on the 200 - it's got a fair bit more gear for the extra outlay and in both the theoretical and real worlds, it doesn't really use that much more fuel for the decent performance boost.

The e-tron is a long shot for a bigger wad of cash and is really only for those keen on a plug-in hybrid Q7. The limited competition isn't any better.

The Q7 is a belter of a large SUV - quiet, refined and reasonably capable off-road, despite its decidedly on-road focus. It goes about its business quietly, confidently and with a minimum of fuss . You know it's big, but it doesn't shout about it and, crucially, it doesn't feel like it from behind the wheel. That's a neat trick.

The Q7 was at risk of irrelevancy due to the unfortunate timing of its rivals' life cycles, but Audi made sure that wasn't going to be the case.

As far as mid-life facelifts go, Audi has knocked it out of the park with the Q7, so much so that the case can be made it's now the class leader.

In many ways this Q7 feels like an all-new model, which is quite something. More importantly, the positives well and truly outweigh the negatives.