2015 Detroit Motor Show: Latest-gen Audi Q7 revealed

The latest-generation model of the Audi Q7 has arrived at the 2015 Detroit Motor Show. The full size luxury SUV has made its public debut exactly a month after its official online reveal. 

While the 2015 model looks all too familiar, it is now a whopping 325kgs lighter and roughly 26 per cent more efficient than the outgoing model.  The Q7 now weighs 1995 kilograms and has managed to pull off this task thanks to an all-new chassis and multi-material body composition. 

The 2015 Q7’s front-end design reflects the German automaker’s new design philosophy which now sees its cars moving away from rounded edges to sharper features. The side profile, meanwhile, appears to have 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. The rear again gets sharper lines giving a square appearance to the overall design but thanks to the forward rake of the glass does not look out of place. The entire mid-section below the tail lamps has been reworked and there are two bulging design elements on which the badges have been placed. Round off the upgrades, the tail pipes have been changed and thanks to the new design philosophy are now flatter and rectangular in shape.

Inside, the steering, instrument panel and climate control system all appear to be new while the screen has moved from being in the dashboard to the top of it and has now also become larger as well a touchscreen unit. It now uses Audi’s latest MMI system while offering support for Android Auto as well as Apple Car Play.

Under the hood, the Q7 is being offered with the 3.0-litre TDI which in higher spec models produces 272bhp and 600Nm of torque. It is available in a lower spec configuration where it produces 218bhp and 500Nm of torque. On the petrol front, there’s a 3.0-litre unit that produces 333bhp and 440Nm of torque.  Also expected is a 2.0-litre petrol engine which produces 252bhp and 370Nm of torque. This engine will be offered only for the Asian markets.

The 2015 Q7 will head first to Europe and America sometime during mid-2015. As for the Indian market, Audi India is expected to launch it by the end of the year. When launched, the new Q7 will compete with the Porsche Cayenne, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class and the Range Rover.