This is an expensive, top-end Italian car so you’d expect to be entranced by the beauty of the interior. The Audi Q7 is longer at 5052, but the Levante is a five-seater only. The Levante is slightly larger than most its competitors for example it is 5003mm long, and that compares to 4880mm for the BMW X5, 4731mm for the Jaguar F-PACE, 4850mm for the Range Rover Sport and 4855mm for the Porsche Cayenne. All models share the same basics of a V6 3L 202kW turbodiesel, air suspension and 8-speed automatic, differing only in trim levels and wheel size. We had a chance to drive all three at the press launch, albeit briefly in some cases. There are three models of Levante available in Australia – the Levante, and two equally priced higher-spec variants the Levante Sport and Levante Luxury. Originally, the Levante was to be based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee, but that decision was overturned so it’s now based on the Ghibli platform, and made in Italy. But from the front or side there’s no mistaking the upmarket, Maserati look with the grill, the trident badge, and the smart wheels with the painted brake calipers you definitely don’t see on lesser vehicles. Yet from the back the Levante doesn’t look particularly special, and indeed someone said what I was thinking – you could put a Korean badge on it and nobody would notice. And cross-traffic alert will pulse the brakes (but not completely stop the car) if the Q7 detects a potential collision.To me, it’s luxury, performance, rarefied Italian style and a soundtrack to tremble your knees. Vehicle-exit assist uses the blind-spot monitoring system to warn the driver of oncoming cyclists and cars before opening the door. Turn assist applies automatic braking if the driver attempts to make a left turn into oncoming traffic, although the turn signal must first be activated. There are several innovative features we’ve not seen before. Optional safety features include collision alerts and automatic braking (active up to 137 mph!) night vision with animal detection (big game only, not dogs and cats) and adaptive cruise control with a traffic jam assist, which is essentially a low-speed autopilot up to 37 mph. Q7 models with air suspension also offer two separate drive modes that can raise the vehicle between one and 2.4 inches. A 1920-watt Bang & Olufsen stereo (with 23 speakers, each with their own individual amplifier), 21-inch wheels, a kick-swiping liftgate open/close function, and rear-wheel steering are options. Audi also boasts of its “adaptive ambient lighting” that somehow generates 900 color combinations, as well as the LED headlamps, color heads-up display, and a 12.3-inch version of its “virtual cockpit” digital instrument panel from the TT and R8. A Luxury package wraps the seats-heated, cooled, and massaging up front-with softer Valcona leather, tosses more leather around the cabin, covers the headliner in Alcantara, and includes electric motors to gently latch the doors. The Premium Plus ($59,750) and Prestige ($65,250) models offer more packages and standalone options, which Audi hasn’t yet priced. The supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 is now rated at 333 horsepower and 325 lb-ft of torque (up 53 hp and 30 lb-ft), and adds auto start-stop. Automatic braking, called Audi pre-sense city, is active at speeds up to 52 mph and detects cars and pedestrians. Ingolstadt hasn’t officially approved the e-tron yet, but our contacts at Audi of America expect it here eventually.īeyond the obvious style overhaul, the 2017 Q7 has power-folding third-row seatbacks, a panoramic moonroof, a new Offroad setting for the Audi Drive Select, and power-folding mirrors as standard. As for the Q7 e-tron plug-in hybrid, Audi is expected to use the 2.0T for that model in the U.S. The 3.0 TDI also would have come on stream at the same time, Audi says, but with the VW Group’s diesel emissions scandal and Audi’s TDI stop-sale, that model is in doubt. The 2.0T model won’t arrive until several months after launch, and it likely will be closer to the current base Q7’s $49,225 price. It’s also more expensive: Q7 prices are up 13 percent from 2015 (Audi skipped the 2016 model year), now starting at $55,750 for a base 3.0T Premium.Īudi says it cut 475 pounds from the body, suspension, and other components, which means the Q7 is apparently lean enough for the company’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder to come aboard, tuned to 252 horsepower. This seven-passenger SUV is lighter, lower, and generally more wagon-like than the first-generation car. Audi’s super wagon-at least in America, where we’re denied the RS6 Avant-is the all-new 2017 Q7.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |