Audi Q7: Pavement pounder

One of the first articles we have found to actually find that the Audi Q7 is indeed a different SUV. Nice work!

Despite soaring gasoline prices and slumping sales of large SUVs, Audi's new seven-seat Q7 is proving there's still demand for a luxury model.

Key selling points are the more carlike ride and an additional 12 inches in length compared with the Q7's platform-mates, the Porsche Cayenne and Volkswagen Touareg.

George Peterson, president of AutoPacific Inc. in Tustin, Calif., says his consulting company "thought the target was a bit modest." Audi learned a lot by being last into the fray, Peterson says.

"The Q7 is not as hard-core as the Cayenne or Touareg, which concentrated on the ability to go off-road," he says. "When they (VW and Porsche) started development, that is what Europeans thought Americans wanted.

"Audi sat back and watched and said: 'We do not need to do that. We can be something a little bit closer to our own DNA.' "

Brabec says buyers are attracted by the third row of seats. About 90 percent of the V-6 orders are for the seven seats, which are standard on the V-8.

Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Audi Q7

Source: AutoWeek

Audi Q7: Pavement pounder

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