2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI 218 SE first drive

The previous Audi Q7 was the first SUV Audi ever built and an unequivocal success story. It sold as the school run Panzer for a full decade, and despite feeling dated at least halfway through that period, Ingolstadt will keep shifting them until they’re all gone.

That’s because the way the Q7 drove had little to do with why people bought it. Many, if not most, liked the space, power and price primarily, not to mention the image - a millennial power suit of jostling, unapologetic intent.

Its replacement, utterly new from the inside out, is little different in that regard. Chiselling space for the brand’s huge grille has hardly enhanced the look, but the jutting posture is much the same, despite some dimension shrinkage.

Its previously colossal mass, however, is dramatically reduced. Audi’s 325kg headline claim is likely based on the petrol-engined, five-seat model that we won't be able to buy in the UK, but nonetheless, it’s clear that the lighter, second-generation MLB platform has inspired a remarkable slimming session, with the engineers extracting 67kg from the overhauled multi-link suspension set-up alone.

With this weight loss come the usual benefits, this Q7 being simultaneously quicker and more economical than its predecessor, despite coming far better equipped. By way of example, the 268bhp launch version we drove recently in Namibia would trounce a Fiesta ST away from the lights.

Audi expects that to be the more popular model, but the lower kerb weight has opened the door for the slightly less propulsive version we test here, ahead of its arrival in the summer. Developing 215bhp from the same 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine, the cheaper model still manages 0-62mph in 7.4sec and extends the claimed combined economy figure to 51.3mpg. 

Thriftiness is hardly the car’s pre-eminent vibe. Inside, the upgrade from its frayed predecessor - and a necessary advance upmarket were a given - is a near perfect synthesis of internet-age material, tech and style.

Audi has taken aim at the BMW X6 and landed a bullseye on the cockpit of a Hollywood-style Mars lander. One colleague boldly cited the cabin as superior to that of a Bentley. It isn’t, but as a specimen of supreme Audi-ness - that seamless integration of starch-sharp plastic, leather crease and LED ambience - it stands alone.

Once inside the techno-bubble, Audi is keen for you not to be disturbed. Isolation from the outside world is impressive. The rickety, anvil-heavy presence of the previous Q7 has been totally eradicated, replaced by the still air of loft-thick insulation and a highly polished, easy to manage drive experience.

The 215bhp variant comes on smaller 19in alloys, and with the adaptive air suspension fitted (part of a £2800 Dynamic Pack on top of the SE trim) it rides, in Comfort mode, with a more obliging long-wave wallow than its costlier sibling manages on 20in rims.

Just as unmistakable, though, is the power deficit. Predictably, it’s the 1500rpm introduction of 368lb ft of peak twist that the Q7‘s relative briskness relies upon, and the subtraction of 74lb ft means progress is business-like rather than commanding.