What's the difference?
You never want to be left behind by the competition, especially in the automotive world, where things change at a breakneck pace. Case in point: The Audi Q7.
If Audi is well-known for its subtle mid-life facelifts that make you question the difference between new and old, then the second-generation Q7 is the exception to the rule.
Make no mistake, the large SUV has been given a major facelift – one that it needed to keep up with its new-generation rivals.
So, has it been worth the extra effort? We put the updated Q7's volume-selling 50 TDI variant to the test to find out.
This version of Tesla’s Model Y is the new frontier for enthusiasts. How do you make an electric performance car?
It should be easy, right? Just up the power of the motors - no need to fit a larger, more complex engine, and make sure you’ve got a battery with the appropriate outputs.
There’s far more than meets the eye. The big question is, is it worth the significant additional spend over the base Model Y?
We grabbed one of the earliest examples of the Performance to hit Australian shores to find out.
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.
One thing is for sure, it’s definitely a performance car, but not as we know it.
This version of the Tesla Model Y is the ultimate tech gadget on four wheels. It’s incredibly fast, has unbelievable, unnerving handling, and importantly what seems to be the best software in the business. Coming in significantly cheaper than its European performance EV rivals, it doesn’t even seem like bad value.
But. Enthusiasts be warned. There is an element of drama missing here, the Model Y is almost too good at attacking the road, there’s no roaring feedback or imperfections for you to correct, and for this reason alone, even if it’s the future, I don’t think it’s going to be for everyone.