All-new Audi Q7 to launch in India on December 10, 2015

The Audi Q7 has been in the Indian market for longer than we can remember and despite its age, it has been racking up decent sales numbers. There is, however, an entirely new Q7 that’s headed for launch. Audi India, in fact, will officially launch the new Q7 on December 10, 2015. Until then, here’s all that we know about this much awaited luxury offering. 

While it may look all too familiar to some, the new Q7 is lighter than the old model by a whopping 325kg. It now weighs 1995kg and has managed to lose the flab thanks to an all-new chassis that is lighter than before. As for the comprehensively updated design, the front-end reflects Audi’s new design philosophy which now sees its cars moving away from rounded edges to sharper features. The side profile, meanwhile, has been retained from the outgoing model but the roofline has a sharper rake at the rear end and it appears that the whole roof has also been lowered slightly. Rounding off the upgrades, the tail pipes have been changed and thanks to the new design philosophy they are now flatter and rectangular in shape.

The interior of the Q7 currently on sale in India is a clear giveaway of the car’s age, with its old-fashioned layout for the dashboard and lack of features. Audi, however, has fixed this with the highly advanced and striking looking cabin of the new Q7. Everything right from the steering wheel, the digital instrument panel and the centre console is new. Even the display integrated into the dashboard of the old car has made way for a far more advanced unit that now sits on top of the dashboard.

Globally, the new Q7 comes in both petrol and diesel engine options. The top-selling 3-litre TDI is available in two different tunes with the lower-spec models producing 218bhp and 500Nm of torque while the higher-spec models develop 272bhp and 600Nm. For the Indian market, Audi India is likely to opt for the higher-spec 3-litre TDI unit. The engine will be mated to an 8-speed automatic and Audi’s famed quattro all-wheel drive system as standard. 

Globally on sale since 2006, the existing Q7 feels too dated especially after the advent of newer and more advanced rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Naturally, an all-new model was due and Audi India is almost ready to launch this new iteration. The new Q7 is expected to be priced fairly higher than the outgoing model and will compete with the BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GL and the Porsche Cayenne.