74 Audi Q7: Lighter, yes, but definitely not lightweight

More caring and sharing, but still a bad-boy SUV

The Audi Q7 is surprisingly frugal in both economy and emissions
The Audi Q7 is surprisingly frugal in both economy and emissions

Big, brooding and just a bit hulking, the new Audi Q7 is actually a useful 300kg lighter than the old one, but you'd never know that when you see the massive grille lurking in your rear-view mirror. This Q7 might be lighter and more caring and sharing under the skin, but up top it still looks like a bad-boy SUV of the old school.

Inside, you get the usual Audi interior treatment that looks a little too predictable at first, but which feels better and better the more you use it. Quality is almost untouchable in this segment, and the big 3.0-litre V6 diesel is surprisingly frugal in both economy and emissions. Mind you, that economy will swiftly dip below the 30mpg mark if you’re pressing on.

Perhaps you should go for the fuel-saving e-Tron plugin diesel hybrid, which will whisk you around town on just the batteries for as much as 50km at a time. You do have to sacrifice the seven-seat layout to have somewhere to put the batteries, though, so maybe just go for the intoxicating 435hp SQ7 diesel V8 instead?

Price range: €72,125 to €119,050

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C02 emissions: 50 to 190g/km

Which one? Take one of the extremes - e-Tron or SQ7

PCP from €759 per month