Audi SQ7 Singapore Review - 4.0 TFSI qu Tip 7 Seater (A)

Of all the 7 seater SUVs in the market, the Audi SQ7 has got to be the top dog, combining all the practicalities of a regular Audi Q7 together with quattro all wheel drive, and a 4L turbocharged V8 - producing 500 bhp and 770 Nm of torque, covering the century sprint in 4.1 seconds. As far as chonky cars go, this one is the real deal, bellowing as loudly as its drivetrain is quick. All things considered, it might just be the ultimate family car.

I’m not going to lie - I love big and chonky cars, and of all the interesting and exciting new cars we’ve tested this year, the Audi SQ7 ranks as one of the cars I was most interested to drive. So when the day came around to finally take the SQ7 out on my media test drive, I could barely contain my excitement. After all, we are SG Family Man - we’d be naturally be drawn to a large 7 seater SUV with a 4.0L V8 that is very similar to the one found in the Lamborghini Urus. Frankly speaking, what's not to like?

At first glance, although the SQ7 does come with massive 21 inch wheels, the SQ7 looks quite understated and mild. Styling upgrades from the previous version are subtle and hard to identify unless you put the two cars side by side. What the SQ7 has going for it though, is it’s impressive stature and imposing frame, which helps ensure that you are always seen, whether you’re in the office carpark or thundering down the outer lane toward an unsuspecting road hogger. What I really like about the SQ7 though, is that despite its impressive performance figures, the car still retains its image as a family friendly car, and by extension, helps the driver retain his image as a family oriented man.

Climb into the car and start the engine, and the car awakes with a tremendous roar and a cheeky crackle, giving you a whiff of the hooligan that lies beneath the sensible and boxy dimensions of the SQ7. Do we need the car to make such an impression each time we start it up? Probably not - but owning a car at this price point isn’t really about what you need anymore. It’s about the experience that comes with it. After all, dads need to let out their inner child and have a little bit of fun once in awhile.

The fun continues when you put the SQ7 through its paces up on the road, and the car delivers power in an extremely satisfying way. Under heavy acceleration, you feel the car hunker down on its rear axle, before exploding forward, carrying its large frame from 0-100km/h in a mere 4.1 seconds, which is almost supercar territory. To help put things into perspective, that’s just 0.2 seconds slower than a BMW M3 Sedan or an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio - which is nothing short of amazing. What this also means is that you could easily outrun those pesky hybrid taxis, or for keeping up with your smug friend’s new electric Tesla.

Admittedly, the SQ7’s heft and height does mean that the car doesn’t do so well when chucked into long fast corners, and leans a little bit too much for my liking - but then again, this is probably a good time to slow down a little, downshift, and show off that fruity and bubbling exhaust note.

It’s easy for one to perceive this large and powerful beast of a car to be a gas guzzler, but in truth, this isn’t necessarily the case, as when you’re just driving the car in comfort mode on most days, the car feels light on its feet and feels as easy to get off the line as a much smaller car - which means you don’t always have to rev the car up. Cylinder deactivation is also available on the car - which allows 4 out of the 8 cylinders to be deactivated when coasting - a useful and appreciated feature that really does help it’s real world economy.

Performance aside, the SQ7 isn’t just a car for the driver to enjoy, and is a car that the whole family can enjoy as well. Aside from the massive amount of legroom you get in the 2nd row, you also get 3 individual seats in the 2nd row, which means that the SQ7 is a true 7 seater as opposed to other 7 seater SUVs in the market which are more like 6.5 seaters. The SQ7 also comes with an ISOFIX point on each of its 5 rear passenger seats, which means that you get a lot of flexibility when configuring seating, and also means you can theoretically carry 5 babies in the car - each with its own car seat attached safely to its own ISOFIX points. My personal favourite feature though, has to be the massage chair functions found on the driver and front passenger seats - a luxury befitting a car of the SQ7’s status.

Contextually, the 7 seater performance SUV market is very niche, with not many key competitors to speak off, which does take some of the sheen off when we describe the car as the best in its class. That said, if you consider all the wonderful things that this car is capable of, I think it’s safe to say that the SQ7 could be THE ultimate family car. I for one, would love to have one.