Test drive Audi Q7 2006 - 2009 SUV

One hundred troubles of loneliness

Recently stumbled upon an interesting essay. In an affordable and clear manner, a certain giving hope for the schoolboy accurately and penetratively outlined the meaning of the novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez for a hundred years of loneliness. As you recall, works of multi -layer, complete analogies, as well as empirical images. And your correspondent has come to your correspondent is an absurd revelation: in order to convey the energy of the first SUV from AUDI with the Q7 index, preserving a certain share of mind and skepticism, I will have to learn from my novice Peru colleagues.
 
The task standing in front of the Audi Q7 designers and designers team was not easy. They had to create something that fully unites the traditions and addictions of buyers of America, Europe and Asia. The new car was obliged to absorb all the positive models-classmates, to cut off their shortcomings, while maintaining the charisma of Audi cars. Otherwise, why did the concern pause and for decades refrained from the release of SUVs?
 
Freedom of lines of Q7 in a good way is far from typical American suitcase jeeps. Outwardly, Audi is not as modest and concise as the BMW X5 and VW Touareg, its main competitors. Mercedes ML in the FAS, perhaps, will yield Q7 in terms of sports and aggression, but Porsche Cayenne is the opposite. The fastest SUV, although it looks less frightening, but there is no trace of heavyweight and authoritarianism Q7 in it. In addition, if you look from the side, the contours of the back of the roof of our subject resemble similar in a typical family Mercedes R-class. A hint of geographical priorities of future sales?
 
So, the Audi Q7 reached Russia and immediately fell into the hands of Mkobil. The test is over, SUV is returned to the owners. Everything seems to be good, I liked the car. But so he is drawn to let something in the spirit of the depressive alchemy of Marquez, to envelop the text with a flaler of madness and hopeless loneliness. Or maybe the image of the Q7 is generated by the magical realism of the mother Colombian? Behind the ocean, any full -size SUV in terms of equipment is required to resemble the NASA space shuttle. Q7 was no exception. In addition, one cannot fail to note the utilitarian and family role of a new SUV, absurdly sticking out from under the aggressive-powder appearance. In its seven-seater version, Q7 is similar to the bottomless container of children, luggage, drinks and fast food. We counted at least six cup holders in the cabin (we are not sure that we found everything) and two mines for one and a half liter bottles. Ideally, such experiments with the inner space of a serious car are unacceptable. However, behind the ocean, the family theme is in demand. Even the salad, which is painful from under the seats of the second row, not spoiling from the seats, reminiscent of the Zhigulevsky runners. Greetings from America are also perceived by a rustic cheerful carpet. And even he cannot throw a shadow on the general enthusiastic perception of the long -awaited novelty from the Audi worth more than $ 100,000.
 
We got a gasoline version of the Q7 with a 350-horsepower 4.2 FSI engine, for which dealers are asked from $ 107,673. The diesel version of the SUV with a 3-liter turbocharged unit is significantly cheaper (about $ 77,000), but the equipment line for it is more modest. In the database, he is deprived of a number of options, and most importantly, air suspension with five settings. So, a mold in the capital's tank of gasoline. To begin with five hundred rubles. All Audi Q7 advertisements are permeated by the city theme. So, we thought, city slums will wait. For testing, you should get out into nature. On the go, mastering the intricate local electric boards, we jump out to the half -empty MKAD. And it began ...
 
Maybe someone will say that the Audi Q7 is drowned on the go, does not lend itself to high speed control, falls in corners and thinks for a long time when the gas is sharply pressed. Do not believe it - all this is from the first to the last word. Q7 is not like that. It is flexible, warning, for your sake ready and capable of almost everything. And he is also demanding on himself and to the neighbors on the highway, greedy to fuel and high speeds. Various budget auto -breeds scatter in front of him like a flock of fry, fleeing hungry pike perch. Moreover, countless Q7 chins crowned with predatory xenon make the drivers even confident in their own cars.
 
Our Q7 has incorporated most of the proposed options. Only a glass opening roof did not get. Therefore, studying the package of electronic and other equipment took a lot of time. The situation was somewhat simplified by the fact that the front panel, the configuration of devices, and in general, the interior is organized in Q7 to match the Audi A6. Unless the hand brake (electronic at sedans) here, due to the fair weight of the machine (2240 \u200b\u200bkg), received a foot drive. Understanding which speed for Q7 is the most comfortable is quite difficult. It is good in any dynamics. Adaptive Air Suspension adjustable air suspension is a professional drive to driving conditions. For it, you can choose the right operating mode: Comfort, Offroad or Dynamic (here the distance to the ground is reduced to the minimum 180 mm). There are also Lift and Automatic modes. Having chosen the first, you can climb into the currency - the clearance in the maximum 240 mm allows. In automatic mode, the suspension will begin to hang the car itself and adjust the rigidity of the pneumatic system depending on the situation.
 
After 100 km on asphalt from massive climate system deflectors, blurry images of Marquez creeped again into the salon. There is a feeling of uncontrolled flow of time.
 
The open funnel of the story in which all mortal, material disappears. In the case of Q7, it is not only about 98 gasoline. I constantly want to supervise, the machine provokes active actions. Typical Audi Quattro, albeit SUV. Lying in a row for more than 20 seconds - hellish torture. Reservation, jerking, brake, sharply to the right, a few lanes ago ... Behind the back, kilometers are dissolved, traffic police posts, gasoline liters and a mass of spectators with mouths open from admiration. Fingers secretly from the owner strive to move the selection of the 6 -band transmission to Tiptronic to the right - to manual control. And this despite the fact that the automatic mode of Sport is already capable of stimulating the adrenal glands for the release of an additional portion of adrenaline. Nothing distracts from driving - the landing is convenient, the review of the maximum, and the Audi Side Assist system scanning the rear space with light indication on the mirror warns about approaching from the rear. The mark of 140 km/h of the speedometer rifle slips already in the third gear. On the tachometer at this moment about 6700 rpm. The transition to the fourth - and the second hundred is changed at the same revolutions. Further, the rate of acceleration will fade, and get to the declared maximum speed - 248 km/h for version 4.2 FSI with air suspension - not easy.
 
We are at the goal. Snow on the quarry has come down. The earth dries. The ice - the joy of fisherman -Kamikadze - was preserved only in water. With testing Q7 in winter conditions, you will probably have to postpone. Maybe it is for the better, since I do not want to connect the ESP course stability system, it is caring to nausea. Under the only button in Q7, all the latest achievements of the global automotive industry are liable. ESP combines a team of electronic guardian angels: ASR anti-circulation system, blocking the EDS differential, a system for reducing the GMA unfolding moment and something else there. In my careers, electronics honestly tried to help on steep slopes, maintaining constant speed, trying to prevent over -cutting over the necessary wheels. If I am not mistaken, the RSP stability system interferes so.
 
There are no complaints about the company's company QUATTRO. Let it be less compact for Q7 (the benefit of the womb of the SUV is enough) and is structurally solved differently than that of the others, but it is quite coping with its task. The torque between the axes is divided by the latest generation self -locking differential. In normal mode, 60% of the power falls on the rear axle, and the rest is on the front. In the case of slipping, the differential redirects the moment to the axis, the wheels of which have the best contact with the road. To be honest, the capabilities of the Audi Q7, shod in urban summer tires, were not impressed on a heavily crossed sandy road. However, we did not expect any other: the manufacturer did not read the Paris Dakar career for Q7 in the Q7. In general, the lack of asphalt under the wheels will not much complicate the life of the driver. Only recall the next refueling will have to be even more often.
 
Finally, a spoon of tar. All the charges of Q7, which I described so inspired, may fade when you request an on -board computer for the average fuel consumption. Skok-skirt?! And the passport says 13.6 ... Okay, we will make a discount on the excitement of the first acquaintance, take into account the abuse of the gas pedal on the highway and all that ... Thero -adorithmetic 25 liters per 100 km - the robbery of pure water. In addition, in careers in a harmless situation in a general situation, we managed to tear the defense of the crankcase from the Q7 - caught up slightly by the sand. Surprisingly, where a mighty protective piece of iron was intended for even the Lada, the Germans limited themselves to an elegant plastic mud. And the miniature self -tapping screws, with which he was trimmed to the front bumper, apparently disappeared in the Marquez funnel ...
 
Ilya Fisher
 

Source: Mkobil