Audi Q7 2009 News

As the new global boss of VW promises to compensate customers for a loss in resale value, lawyers are lining up in Australia to represent more owners of cars with software that can cheat diesel emissi

The solution to a problem that causes embarrassment in caravan parks across the nation has been invented, but we can't have it.

Audi has revised its Q7 SUV lineup, improving spec levels and value – and adding more than $5000 worth of kit to the V8 for an extra $500.From September, the range-topping Q7 4.2 V8 diesel will be fitted standard with 21 inch alloys (up from 20), the S-Line exterior package, heated front seats, and Audi Connect internet connectivity. All except Audi Connect are currently available as options totalling more than $5000, but the SUV’s asking price will increase by just $500 to $129,300. The V8 revisions – which follow running changes to the volume-selling 3.0 TDI V6 diesel earlier this year – join the current model’s adaptive air suspension, memory seats,  satnav with hard drive storage, xenon headlights and proximity keys,   parking system plus with front and rear view camera, Bose audio and digital TV.Earlier this year, Audi added satnav with hard drive storage, xenon headlights and proximity keys to the Q7 3.0 TDI, in addition to the previous model’s parking system plus, rear view camera, Bluetooth audio and telephone, leather seating for seven, and automatic tailgate. All Q7 models are unchanged mechanically, with the 3.0 TDI sending 180kW/550Nm through an eight-speed automatic to Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system. Average fuel consumption is therefore unchanged at 7.4L/100km. The 4.2 TDI makes 250kW/800Nm, and is rated at 9.2L/100km with the same eight-speed auto and quattro setup.The supercharged petrol V6 3.0 TFSI model is unchanged, with its 245kW/440Nm outputs paired with the same eight-speed auto/quattro combination as the diesel models, and a combined fuel consumption of 10.7L/100km Pricing for the Q7 3.0 TDI starts at $90,500, while the mid-range 3.0 TFSI is unchanged at $95,200.  

The biggest change in the switch to a new VW Group platform - that will also be the base of everything from the Volkswagen Touareg to the Lamborghini Urus - is a body change that means the next Q7 will be about 400 kilograms lighter.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover

Audi is looking to take over the world. Well, the world of luxury automobiles not the actual world. They don't like when you make those jokes. Audi has sky-high sales targets and it needs nearly every vehicle in its lineup to sell, and sell well. There are some vehicles it needs to sell... that haven't even arrived yet. Case in point is the oft-rumoured Audi Q8, a full-size SUV that has its sights set on some serious competition. According to Autocar, Audi is prepping the Q8 to arrive and tackle a rather legendary name among the SUV set. We're talking about Land Rover. More specifically the Range Rover Sport. The story goes that Audi will essentially build up the bodywork of the A8 sedan and plop it down on a revised version of the MLB platform. If the Q8 does come to see the light of day, it wouldn't be a surprise to see a potential flagship-grade SUV on the automaker's current favourite platform. Still, just as Bentley and Lamborghini were set to bring their respective sport utility vehicles out to dealerships around the country club, it would surprise no one if the idea of an Audi Q8 faded into the ether just the same. If Audi wants to see itself reach the lofty sales goals the company has placed upon itself, perhaps a near halo-like SUV isn't the right way to go. Of course, we still wish Audi went ahead with the R8 V12 TDI, so stay tuned for the Q8. www.motorauthority.com  

The Q7 — known as the QE7 because of its size — began Audi’s push into SUVs and the updated model is expected to set a new benchmark for the class. This exclusive Carparazzi computer generated illustration shows that Audi is sticking close to the current successful recipe for the new model.

Starring British actor Jason Statham from Snatch and, of course, the first two Transporter movies, Transporter 3 takes the high-speed action right across Europe.In this film, Statham, as Frank Martin, is forced to transport two bulky bags and a young Ukrainian woman from Marseille to Odessa.In Transporter 1 & 2, most of the action scenes lasted 30-40 seconds. Transporter 3 features almost unlimited stunts.Bond film stunt expert Raacemi Julienne said they shot all the car chase scenes at high speed rather than speeding it up later."All the car chases are filmed at real speed, without models, to capture the pace and inertia of a car going into a spin," he said.Unlike most modern action movies, 3D was used sparingly with most stunts being performed on set."That's where you have to come up with new ideas," Julienne said."How do you jump a car on to a train without it smashing up? How do you slide it down the side of truck?"Every day was a different challenge and most of the solutions were dreamed up on the spot. That's what made the shoot so exciting and such fun."Most of the chase scenes were structured like action symphonies, which resulted in crumpled fenders, high-risk chopper flying and even the use of a purpose-built quad bike in the streets of Marseille.The car star of the action flick is the six-litre, 331kW, W12-powered Audi A8 quattro luxury saloon, driven by Statham's character; at one stage on two wheels between two trucks on a high-speed Autobahn.Although how he manages to do so many handbrake slides with an electronic parking brakes defies logic.The A8 also replicates the spiral jump first seen in the 1974 James Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun.Transporter3 also features a cornucopia of vehicles including an Audi Q7 SUV; BMW 3 and 5 Series; several Citroens and Renaults; a Hummer H1; Kenworth, DAF and Scania trucks; a Kia Cee'd; Range Rover Sport; Lada Samara and Peugeot police cars; and even a tractor that pulls the A8 out of a river.Statham is a bit of an Audi fan owning an old RS6 Audi and waiting on the release of the RS6 V10 twin turbo with 426kW of power.The rugged action flick actor with a background in martial arts did most of his own stunts in the first two Transporter movies, including car chases, scuba diving sequences and fights.Statham is no debutante to car action films having also appeared in last year's Death Race, which was a reworking of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 featuring David Carradine.Audi is also no debutante to the silver screen, having featured in the previous two Transporter movies, Ronin, I Robot, Mission Impossible 2, About a Boy, Legally Blond 2, Hitman and The Matrix 2.It also starred its R8 supercar in last year's action film, Iron Man, with Robert Downey Jr who arrived at the Australian premiere in a silver R8. Supporting roles in Iron Man were played by a S5 sports sedan and a Q7.The first two Transporter movies earned more than $50 million worldwide.Transporter3 hits the big screen on February 5. 

The German prestige brand already has its revitalised TT here, and the TT convertible and R8 supercar are coming next year.But Audi believes it needs more new models to broaden its appeal and continue its attack on Mercedes-Benz and BMW.It has just confirmed a $17 billion offensive that will put 10 more models into the Audi family by 2015, including the mid-sized A5 coupe.The additions will also include an all-wheel-drive Q5 to sit below the Q7 off-road flagship."There are tremendous opportunities in segments that we have not been in before," Audi Australia managing director Joerg Hofmann says."Our company has a very long-term approach, and part of achieving 1.5 million cars by 2015 is to have a big product offensive."We are doing it to compete in every segment with our premium competitors. It's a combination of new variants and new models."I would definitely expect half a dozen new models. We already have the R8, which is the first mid-engined sports car, then the A5 and the Q5."Audi will stretch its line-up from 22 models today to 40 by 2015. It will spend about $3.2 billion a year on research and development. Total spending on new models will be more than $11 billion.Hofmann is in Germany for management conferences to discuss the newcomers. He is also pushing for extra cars for Australia and the early introduction of new models.He has very high hopes for the A5, which will sit between the TT and the R8. It will go head to head with BMW's 3-Series coupe and the Mercedes CLK."It's a stand-alone, separate product," Hofmann says."It's bigger than the A4. This is one of the niches that Audi is finally filling."It is one of the most beautiful cars that Audi has ever done."The A5 is not expected here before 2008."We will try to get it as soon as possible. I would be very happy if we have a few cars in the country before the end of next year."Hofmann says the A5, and the smaller Q5 AWD cannot fail because they will be tapping areas where his company has not been able to compete.He believes they will have a similar impact to the Q7, which has been a sellout Down Under."Look at the number of BMW 3-Series coupes they sell in Australia each year, and the X3. If you add up the BMW numbers, it is 6000-7000 cars just in Australia," he says."The Q7 is the best example. And the Q5 will be another. That will give us the volume to push us for further growth."

Remember four-wheel-drives? Hulking, slabby, graceless sods of things derived from - and sometimes even called - Jeep.

As you read this - hopefully in a relaxed and comfortable kinda way - a convoy of 15 Audi Q7s are within a few days of Broome. They're on a three week transcontinental crossing to launch the marque's long-awaited SUV here in the widest and brownest of lands. At least, there should still be 15 of them. We joined the roadshow for last week's 1100km leg between Broken Hill and Birdsville via Tibooburra, Cameron's Corner and Innamincka. Apart from four flat tyres - pretty much a given on the gibber - this procession of luxo soft roaders proved to have considerable off-road (or at least off the main road) application, proving their build quality (and dust proofness) beyond reasonable doubt. Indeed, it was with some bemusement that a couple of gen-u-wine four-wheel-drivin' bush bashers watched the Q7s race with impertinent ease up the famous Big Red dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert near Birdsville. The only concession to the extra-urban conditions were off road tyres and a barrier between the front seats and the load area. The 4.2 FSI V8s made the most stirring sound, but the 3.0 TDI V6s lost little by comparison. Four of the latter came sans the air suspension set up that gave slightly more off road facility, but also slightly denuded feel for the road. In terms of the real world, at highway speeds on the bitumen between Broken Hill and Packsaddle, our TDI (weighing almost 2.7 tonnes with an immense load of gear) returned 9.8 litres per 100kmh. Seldom did it much exceed 12 litres even in the most trying conditions with try-hard driving. For Q7 owners, the wilds of Woollahra and Mosman need hold no fear. Paul Pottinger is a senior roadtester on the CARSguide team, and also editor of the Sunday Telegraph CARSguide. A version of this review, as well as other news, reviews and analysis will appear in the Sunday Telegraph.