5 things you need to know about the all-new third-gen Audi Q7

KUALA LUMPUR: The Audi Q7 has been around since 2005, and for two decades it's been one of the go-to choices for anyone wanting a large, premium seven-seater SUV with proper all-wheel drive.

Now in its third generation, Audi has gone through the Q7 with a clear head and updated pretty much everything that matters. Here's what you actually need to know.

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1. The engine is a diesel, and it's genuinely clever

No electric powertrain here, at least not at launch. The new Q7 gets a 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel in two states of tune: 245 PS with 500 Nm, or the punchier 299 PS version making 630 Nm. Both use what Audi calls MHEV plus technology, which is essentially a 48V mild-hybrid system with an electric-powered compressor thrown in.

That compressor is the interesting bit. It spins up to 90,000 rpm in just 250 milliseconds, meaning turbo lag is basically eliminated. Combine that with a powertrain generator that can chip in an extra 18 kW (24 PS) and 370 Nm during acceleration, and you've got a diesel that doesn't feel like one.

Audi also says the Q7 is approved for HVO fuel, so you can run it on used cooking oil derivatives if you want to bring the emissions down further.

In Europe, pricing kicks off at €87,900 for the 245 PS version.

2. The seating and space situation has been properly sorted

The Q7 comes standard with five seats, but you can spec it in six or seven-seat configurations. The six-seater swaps the rear bench for two individual captain's chairs in the middle row, which Audi is positioning as a more business-class setup for longer journeys.

The seven-seater keeps the bench and adds two rear seats, with Audi noting that child seats in the middle row don't block access to the third row thanks to a power comfort-entry function.

Boot space ranges from 722 litres in seven-seat configuration up to 806 litres with five seats, and you can fold everything down to get up to 2,075 litres.

The new centre console also fits two smartphones for wireless charging at 25W each, with USB-C fast charging available in the second and third rows too. It's the kind of practical detail that matters when you're actually living with the car every day.

3. The lighting technology is doing things no other car does

Audi has always leaned hard into lighting tech, and the new Q7 goes further than before. The headlights use digital Matrix LED with micro-LED modules, which can project patterns directly onto the road and link up with the driver assistance systems to show lane guidance information in the driver's actual field of view, rather than just on a screen.

The genuinely new bit is what Audi calls advanced turn signals, which they're claiming as a world first. When you indicate at night, a turn signal graphic is projected onto the ground in sync with the indicators front and rear.

The idea is that cyclists and pedestrians can see where you're about to go before your wheels even start turning. The rear lights are third-generation digital OLED units, and they'll flash a warning signature if someone gets too close to a stationary Q7.

When you open the door, a rhombus shape unfolds on the ground below as a welcome light, and it doubles as a warning if someone is cycling past.

4. The panoramic roof is actually different from most

A glass roof is standard on a lot of cars at this price point, but the Q7's panoramic sunroof has a few things the usual setup doesn't. The transparency can be adjusted in nine separate segments, switching between clear and opaque, and the glass itself is lit by 78 LEDs that sync with the ambient lighting inside the cabin.

When you park and lock the car, the roof automatically turns opaque so people can't see in. It goes back to your last setting when you start the car again.

Audi also says a redesigned mechanism means the roof structure is slimmer than before, which translates to more headroom across all three rows. No conventional blind needed.

5. The driver assistance and parking tech has moved on significantly

The Q7 now has a feature called trained parking, where you manually drive through a tricky parking manoeuvre once and the car memorises it.

After that, it can repeat it on its own for up to five stored manoeuvres, each up to 200 metres long. A separate reverse assist function lets the car memorise around 50 metres of a reverse path and then drive it back independently at up to 10 km/h, handy in narrow parking garages or dead-end roads.

There's also a new emergency assist function that can steer the Q7 onto a motorway hard shoulder if the driver becomes unresponsive. It does this between 50 and 30 km/h, activates the hazard lights, and triggers an emergency call after a few seconds.

It's not the first car to have emergency lane assist, but the shoulder-steering part is a meaningful step forward.

The new Q7 goes on sale in Germany from June 2026, with deliveries beginning in September.

As Audi CEO Gernot Döllner put it: "For more than 20 years, the Audi Q7 has represented the perfect premium SUV. With its new generation, we carry this mission forward. It combines a sporty, powerful design with a highly versatile interior, first-class materials, and a wide range of technologies."

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