Audi SQ7 Review

The SQ7 is a tale of two halves. It first arrived as a real curiosity in the performance SUV world with its diesel V8, shared with the more coupe-esque SQ8. And unlike the SQ8, there wasn’t (and still isn’t) an RS version sitting above it, making it the pinnacle of the Q7 range.

Things changed dramatically in 2020, with both the SQ7 and SQ8 adopting petrol V8s, removing the cars’ USPs but also making them more powerful and, it must be said, more fun. With 500PS on tap and a fabulous soundtrack, driving the SQ7 is a real treat. 

It’s not as sharp to drive as something like a BMW X5 M60i or Porsche Cayenne, but it’s more agile than you might think, thanks partly to its trick rear-wheel steering system. It also remains reasonably comfortable, helped by adjustable air suspension with a good range of stiffness available to suit your driving mood. 

It’s generally as easy to live with as any other Audi Q7. There’s no less boot space, and it still comes with seven seats as standard. The interior is starting to feel its age, but it still provides a plush, high-quality environment. 

Unless you’re going for an early diesel example, it won’t be cheap to buy, nor will it be cheap to run. But as a car that can do a bit of everything, it’ll seem worth the cost of purchasing and keeping it going. 

The SQ7 went out of production in 2026 and is set to be replaced with an all-new version, which will retain the same petrol V8 engine.

There’s only one engine available in the SQ7, which is a 4.0-litre petrol twin-turbo V8, although if you’re looking at older examples, there is the option of the diesel V8 of the same size. The diesel is an interesting engine, but it lacks the theatrics of the petrol V8 and can still be quite thirsty, so we reckon the petrol is the one to go for, given the choice.

The SQ7 came in two forms towards the end of its life – as a Black Edition or a Vorsprung. The latter is considerably more expensive but is loaded up with equipment. So if you were already thinking of adding a lot of options to a Black Edition, it might well be worth upgrading, although it’d probably need to be ordered from existing stock – at the time of writing, only the Black Edition was in the configurator.

It’s £99,495 for an SQ7 Black Edition, and then £119,920 for the Vorsprung. That might sound like a lot, but it’s what we’d expect for a tech-laden, V8-powered SUV of this size. You’ll pay a similar price for a Porsche Cayenne S (which doesn’t have a third row of seats), while the cheapest version of the BMW X7 M60i is nearly £20,000 more than the entry-level SQ7.

Early used diesel SQ7s can be picked up for as little as £20,000. As it came along quite a bit later, values of the petrol SQ7 are higher – it’s more like £40,000 for the cheapest of these.

The SQ7’s chief rival is the BMW X5 M60i. It’s slightly more powerful and will be more satisfying to drive, but it’s not quite as subtle as the Audi, which also just about has the edge in terms of engine noise.

There isn’t a clear competitor from Mercedes-AMG. The GLE 63 is a step up from the SQ7 in terms of price and performance, while the GLE 53 is a six-cylinder, plug-in hybrid affair, making it a very different proposition.

One alternative is very close to home - the SQ8. If you don’t need the SQ7’s seven seats and fancy a bit more style, the SQ8 does that with very similar ingredients. Other than the bodywork, it’s much the same. Another five-seater rival is the Porsche Cayenne. 

Alternatively, you could simply wait for the all-new version of the SQ7. 

Because of the SQ7’s trick rear differential, you do lose some boot space relative to the regular Q7, but 793 litres with the third row stowed is still very impressive. There’s 293 litres behind the third row, or with the third and middle row folded, there’s a sizeable 1,921-litre load area to fill.

To put that in context, the X5 M60i lags behind with 650 litres of boot space, expanding to 1,870 litres. The related SQ8, meanwhile, provides 680 litres of boot space with the middle bench slid all the way forwards, or 1,755 litres with it folded. 

The rest of the cabin is nicely spacious, and although the third row of seats is compact, it’s fine for children, and shorter adults will manage just fine for occasional use. This is a common theme with seven-seaters of this size. 

Handily, you also get six ISOFIX points across the car, just as you do in the standard Q7.

The Audi SQ7 is 5,072mm long, 2,212mm wide (including mirrors) and 1,743mm high, although it can drop as low as 1,690mm on its adjustable air suspension.

The SQ7 shares the same 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system as the standard Q7, with a smaller screen below containing the climate controls. Earlier versions of the car featured a pop-up screen at the top of the dashboard and physical climate controls. 

The newer setup certainly looks snazzy, coming with a very different dash design to boot. But it’s not quite as easy to use the touchscreen climate controls on the move as it was with the old, ‘proper’ buttons and dials. 

The graphics are crisp, though, and it’s easy to navigate your way around the system. The in-built navigation system works fine, if not quite as well as something like Google Maps or Waze, which you can easily use thanks to the presence of wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard. 

For audiophiles, there’s an optional Bang & Olufsen sound system, which is excellent. 

The Audi SQ7 comes with Valcona leather cladding much of the interior, with embossed S logos in the seat backs. The steering wheel rim is also coated in leather, with perforated sections at the 12 and 3 o’clock positions for better grip. 

Post-facelift versions have significant quantities of shiny black plastic cladding the dashboard, while earlier SQ7s have a silver-trimmed panel spanning the dash.

The Audi SQ7 is available with only one engine, a 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 producing 507PS and 770Nm of torque. This makes for a 0-62mph time of 4.1 seconds, and an electronically top speed of 155mph. 

While getting there, it makes a wonderfully rich, burbly noise. Although it doesn’t have quite the performance of the RS versions of the engine, which put out around 100PS more, the lower boot pressure of the SQ7’s turbochargers means it’s slightly more responsive. And it still feels plenty fast. 

Initially, the SQ7 went in a very different direction from rivals with a V8 diesel engine. This had two conventional turbochargers plus an electrically driven ‘compressor’ to combat turbo lag. It’s a lot less powerful than the petrol V8 that replaced it, producing 435PS, but has considerably more torque at 900Nm. Regardless, it’s notably slower than the petrol, taking 4.9 seconds to go from 0-62mph. 

Although more interesting in theory and having some great mid-range clout, the petrol V8 is the more exciting of the two, and the much faster-feeling car. The diesel V8 sounds interesting, but only for a diesel – it’s much more muted and can’t compete with the petrol eight-cylinder for sound.

The car’s ‘S’ designation sets the expectation here. Yes, the SQ7 is a performance SUV, but not quite in the same realm as something like an RSQ8, despite more recent versions using the same engine, albeit in a lower state of tune. You also shouldn’t expect the same level of driving satisfaction as a BMW X5 M60i or comparable versions of the Porsche Cayenne. 

That said, the SQ7 is surprisingly light on its feet for such a big, heavy car. It has a few tricks up its sleeve, including an electronically controlled differential, adjustable air suspension and rear-wheel steering. 

The latter element was originally available optionally before being rolled out on all SQ7s as standard from 2020. It’s able to turn the wheels by up to five degrees in the opposite direction to the fronts at speeds of up to 37mph, aiding agility and making the car easier to manoeuvre. Over that speed, the rears turn the same direction as the fronts, making the SQ7 more stable. 

This works wonders, while a variable steering system, giving a tighter steering ratio the more you turn the wheel, helps the car feel even more agile. It doesn’t feel quite as natural as the steering in the Cayenne, though.

In Dynamic mode, the suspension noticeably firms up, but it doesn’t suddenly make the SQ7 crash over imperfections in the tarmac. And when you’re not in the mood, you can go back to Comfort mode, which softens and raises the suspension, making the SQ7 very comfortable for cruising around. 

In terms of refinement, wind noise is nicely suppressed, but the SQ7’s large wheels and tyres do generate a fair bit of din, which can make its way into the cabin at higher speeds.

The SQ7 is structurally identical to the Q7, so its Euro NCAP score applies here. Its result was the maximum available five stars, but this was back in 2019, which means the rating is now considered expired. 

The standard level of safety equipment is high, including a driver attention monitor, lane assistance, autonomous emergency braking and more.

Inevitably, the earlier TDI version of the Audi SQ7 is the clear winner here, managing up to 39.2mpg according to the official combined figure. It’s not that easy to replicate it, though, and fuel economy soon plummets if you frequently deploy all of its performance. 

There’s a big drop in efficiency if you opt for the newer SQ7 TFSI with its 23.5mpg combined figure. You might get it over 25mpg on a long run if you’re careful, and conversely, drive the SQ7 petrol briskly on a country road, and you’re looking at an MPG figure in the low teens. 

You might well think it’s worth it, though, because the V8 does sound great when worked hard. And in any case, this kind of fuel economy is par for the course – you’ll get a similar return from a BMW X5 M60i.

The Audi SQ7 comes with three years and 60,000 miles of coverage as standard. Extended warranties with three levels of cover are available at an extra cost. Servicing is standard fare with intervals every year or 10,000 miles, whichever comes first. It’d be wise to expect servicing costs to be higher than for a standard Q7.

Insurance for the Audi SQ7 will be steep, with the model ranging from 49-50 (of 50) depending on the spec. It’ll be especially worth shopping around to get the cheapest premium possible.

Along with the standard £200 annual rate, you’ll be spending an extra £440 from years two to six for the Expensive Car Tax Supplement, because all versions had an RRP comfortably above the £40,000 threshold. 

The earliest versions of the Audi SQ7 arrived before these rules came into force, but that’s not necessarily good news, because the rate is £410 a year for these cars, and that won’t ever come down, as it will eventually for the later models hit by the supplement.