Audi SQ7 Vorsprung
FIRST DRIVE Special is icing on flagship SUV cake, at a price
IF you thought a five-metre-long SUV couldn’t be any more conspicuous, think again, because Audi has launched the SQ7 Vorsprung Edition. It’s a special version of the brand’s biggest, most powerful SUV, and it’s made an already imposing vehicle even more menacing.
It’s expensive, too. The Vorsprung Edition costs the best part of £90,000; that’s about £15,000 more than the standard SQ7. The package is offered on the regular car, too, where it adds £25,000 to the price of a 3.0 TDI S line.
What do you get for the money? The SQ7 Vorsprung rides on a huge set of exclusive Audi Sport 22-inch alloys, and its front grille, roof rails and side window trims are all blacked out. Side running boards have been added beneath the doors, while Matrix LED headlights and scrolling indicators complete the external modifications. Inside, the seats are trimmed in soft leather with diamond stitching. There’s more leather on the door pulls and armrests, while the headlining is finished in Alcantara. The seats are heated front and rear, but aren’t cooled.
Audi’s Virtual Cockpit is standard, too, although the 8.3-inch infotainment system shows how quickly tech moves on; it feels its age compared with the latest set-up in the firm’s A8 and A6.
There aren’t any mechanical changes relative to the standard SQ7, so the Vorsprung Edition remains the same to drive. It handles like no 2.3-tonne car has any right to. It feels its weight when moving off, but at speed it remains stable, agile and flat through corners. Yet it’s comfortable, too. The 22-inch wheels add just a tiny bit of fidget to the ride – and a smidge more road roar from the wide tyres – but despite this, it remains one of the most comfortable and refined cars on the market.
The 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbodiesel throws the SQ7 along at a stunning rate, with crisp throttle response and a subfive-second dash from 0-62mph.
It even sounds great, with the tone of a growling petrol-powered V8 under acceleration, and a bit of old-school Subaru WRX flat-four throb at idle.
The extra large wheels decrease fuel economy to an official 37.2mpg – that’s 2mpg less than claimed for the standard SQ7 – but amazingly in the real world you can expect around that figure at a 70mph cruise.
“The 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbodiesel throws the SQ7 Vorsprung along at a stunning rate”