Audi Q7 review - Reliability and safety

The Audi Q7’s engine and gearbox are developments of pre-existing technology, so they were already proven in the real world, while the interior is solid enough to stand up to the knocks and scrapes of family life.

The Q7 didn’t feature in our 2023 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, but Audi did score rather poorly as a brand and finished 30th (out of 32) in the best car manufacturer rankings. Key rivals BMW and Mercedes came 21st and 25th, respectively.

The Q7’s electrical systems are incredibly complicated, though, with an arsenal of cameras, sensors and high-power computer processors all built into the car. Only time will tell whether they can remain glitch-free. What we do know is that the Q7 is packed with cutting-edge technology that should help to take some of the stress out of driving, but also keep you out of harm’s way.

Standard safety and assistance kit includes lane departure warning, a reversing camera, traffic sign recognition, hill-hold assist, cruise control with speed limiter and all-round parking sensors, along with automatic emergency braking. Audi offers a Tour Pack for around £2,000 that adds adaptive cruise, predictive safety assist and a range of other high-tech safety systems; higher-spec models get much of this as standard.

The latest Q7 achieved the maximum five stars when subjected to the stringent Euro NCAP crash tests, although interestingly, its performance in most areas was narrowly shaded by the Volvo XC90. The Audi achieved scores of 92 per cent for driver protection, 86 per cent for child protection and 71 per cent for pedestrian safety, as well as 72 per cent for on-board safety systems. In contrast, the Volvo was awarded ratings of 97, 87, 72 and 94 per cent, respectively.

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Warranty

As with every other Audi, the Q7 comes with an unlimited mileage warranty for two years, with a 60,000-mile limit in the third year. If you're willing to pay a little extra you can arrange cover for an extra year and up to 75,000 miles, or a five-year/90,000-mile warranty

Servicing

Audi offers a range of servicing and maintenance packages for the Q7 through its dealers, at a cost that varies according to the level of cover required. Rates are broadly competitive with competitors like BMW and Volvo.