Audi Q7 3.0 TDI 2015 review

Trimmed to two tonnes, Audi's diesel-only SUV is decently agile.

Brainier, lighter and with a more likeable driving personality, Audi's impressive new XXL SUV is also more attractive than the model it will replace. Soon after the unwieldy, bulky-looking first-generation Q7 arrived, some critics unkindly dubbed it QE7.

But the German brand's second attempt doesn't make you want to smash a bottle of bubbly on its nose. It's no great looker but the new Q7's slightly more compact exterior is easier on the eye.

Scheduled for September arrival in Australia, the new Q7 will cost $103,900.

Explore the 2015 Audi Q7 range

• Audi Q7 2015 review
• Audi Q7 3.0 TDI 2015 review
• Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Quattro S-Line LE 2015 review
• Audi Q7 3.0 TDI quattro Tiptronic 2015 review
• Audi Q7 TDI 200 2015 review

Audi's engineers have banished the previous liner-like handling, reducing its mass by an impressive 300kg-odd with no loss of strength, safety or space. This all-wheel-drive seven-seater is also equipped with more driver assistance and safety technology than any other current Audi (though some will not make it to Australia, see panel).

Scheduled for September arrival in Australia, the new Q7 will cost $103,900.

It will come, at least initially, with just one engine. The 200kW 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel is an update of the current version, with a little more power and torque, and improved efficiency.

A 3.0-litre supercharged petrol V6 will not be exported to Australia. Demand for the similar engine in the current Q7 was negligible, according to product planner Esther Kim.

For similar reasons, Audi Australia is also dropping the 4.2-litre V8 turbo diesel. However, a thrifty 160kW version of the turbo diesel is under consideration.

The Q7 costs more than the model it replaces but is very close to BMW's X5 xDrive 30d and Benz's soon-to-be-replaced ML350 BlueTec, neither of which match the Audi's standard seven-seat interior

Extensive and expensive, the options list makes it easy to add the cost of a good small car to the base price of the Q7. Try these: Bang & Olufsen 3D Surround Sound $14,850, 21-inch "Turbine" design wheels $4950, head-up display $3400, basic LED headlights $2800 (Audi's clever Matrix LED headlights will cost more), iPad-like Smart Tablet entertainment screens $2850 each (and every child on board will want one). Electric rear-wheel steering, which reduces the Q7's turning circle by a useful metre, will be a little under $3000.

Still, the Australian-market Q7 has the better version of Audi's second-row seats. It's divided into three sections, each individually adjustable fore-and-aft. The outboard sections also have a two-step fold-and-flip feature to ease access to the rear seats. All five places in the rearward rows can be fitted with child seats.

Large adults will be comfortable in the supremely spacious second-row seats. Smaller counterparts will fit in the rear row but will need the middle seats moved forward to create sufficient leg and foot room.

Switching between five- and seven-seat configurations is easy. The two third-row seats are electrically operated. The second-row seats have to be folded manually but with their backrests tipped forward the Q7 has a truly massive cargo area with a perfectly flat floor.

Audi has a reputation for doing great interiors and the Q7 does nothing to dent it. From good-looking instrument panel to neatly finished tailgate, there is non-stop quality.

There's plenty to please the person at the helm. The smooth and quiet engine has ample urge and the standard eight-speed auto is a slick shifter.

With air suspension — a desirable feature because it adds a self-levelling function and high-clearance off-road mode — the Audi has a super comfortable ride.

The Q7 is decently agile for something weighing two tonnes 

There's little road feel through the steering wheel yet the Q7 is decently agile for something weighing two tonnes and measuring a fraction more than five metres long.

Much of the new technology aims to make the inevitable bulkiness easier to live with. The Audi's big, pop-up centre screen can show a bird's-eye view of the vehicle and its surroundings and the parking assist can manipulate the steering to manoeuvre into tight spaces.

Additional tech warns the driver of oncoming vehicles when reversing out of a space and prevents the Q7 being turned into the path of an oncoming vehicle at intersections (the driver must have the indicator on for this to work).

In an array of safety equipment that includes eight airbags, autonomous braking — which can recognise pedestrians — will be standard.