Audi Q7 V12 TDI (2008) CAR review

There are big numbers at play with the Audi Q7 V12 TDI. Try these for size: 2635kg (big SUV), V12 (the first 12-cylinder diesel engine yet fitted to a passenger vehicle), 493bhp (it’s the most powerful, too), 738lb ft (that’s one hell of a stack of torque) and £96,295 (yes, you read that right). The question is, do all the numbers add up?

Hmm. 738lb ft? In an Audi Q7? Tell me how that feels

Short answer? Fantastic – but with provisos.
This car is all about its engine. We’re used to the Q7, and most of us would be happy to ‘make do’ with the V8 TDI – at £50,695 it’s barely half the price of the V12. Audi is playing on the V12 TDI’s sheer scale (remember those numbers), and the fact that its engine is related to that of Audi’s R10 Le Mans-winner, to market it at the top of the SUV pile.

Start the engine and you’re immediately aware of its presence. It throbs quite vocally, almost malevolently. Slot the selector into Drive, a blast on the go-pedal and you’re away. Immediately, the thrust feels like the kind of experience you’d more normally associate with Boeing badges and a runway. Yes, 738lb ft, even in something this heavy, feels quite extraordinary.

Extraordinary, yes. But what’s the catch?

Well, all too soon you run into the red line. That’s fine in itself because you’ve got six ratios to play with, so the mad assault on the horizon continues unabated. Yet you feel slightly cheated because you just want the thrust to continue seamlessly, with the revs rising to match. It would be churlish to call it frustrating.

So maybe the Q7’s put me in a churlish mood, because there’s another problem too. It just doesn’t sound alluring. Vivid, yes. Threatening, yes. Belligerent, dramatic, exciting, even. But it’s not remotely appealing for its own sake, just a loud, booming resonance, with no hard edges nor any subtle tones with which to enthrall you. No, it just bullies your ears then hits the red and shifts up a gear.

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