Yaz

From the New York Times Auto. Section.
By TED WEST
Published: June 25, 2006



IN response to mankind's unending search for the One True S.U.V., automakers have given us vehicles that were off-road tough and on-road soft, vehicles that were long, tall or small. We've been offered vehicles that were square, round, creamy or chunky-style, in shapes and flavors that pandered to everyone from baby boomers to Gens X, Y and Z.

All these trial runs bring to mind a line from a 1938 Marx Brothers movie, "Room Service." Groucho is trying to woo investors for a Broadway production, but Chico confides to a bystander, "It's a terrible play — but it makes a wonderful rehearsal."

Amid the false starts and scattershot attempts to reach S.U.V. shoppers, only a few companies resisted building sport utilities altogether. Those that did remain committed to sedans and wagons — Audi, for instance, whose counteroffer included the excellent four-season quattro drive system — lost sales doing so. Audi estimates that 12 percent to 15 percent of its owners defected to other auto brands because it had no tall, lumpy S.U.V.'s to offer.

Audi may entice some of those customers to return with the arrival this month of its first S.U.V., the less-than-lumpy Q7. Built in Bratislava, Slovakia, in the same factory as the Volkswagen Touareg (though the two share few components), the Q7 starts at $50,620; with Premium trim, the price escalates to $60,620. Audi expects the Q7, in its first year, to be its second-biggest seller.

Those accustomed to Audi moderation, as expressed in a range of agile, attractive models with quattro all-wheel drive — and better stability than taller, heavier S.U.V.'s — will find the Q7 startling. It's a big sport utility, second in length and width among its class of competitors only to the charging-rhino Infiniti QX56.

If photographs do not confirm its enormous size, that is only because the Q7's curving, coupelike roofline makes this full-size watermelon look like a medium-size zucchini.

Why so big? The answer is fashion. Gasoline prices notwithstanding, a serious luxury S.U.V. these days must have a V-8 engine and three rows of seats. The Q7 can seat seven; with a tug of various releases, the bleachers collapse to become a flat carpeted floor for a 72.5-cubic-foot cargo space. The Q7's 4.2-liter V-8 (smallish for this class) delivers 350 horsepower; it hauls this hefty truck around at a government-estimated 14 miles per gallon in town and 19 on the highway. If you routinely use the Q7 for interstate commerce or to haul the entire commuting pool, the mileage is tolerable. But those frequently driving a Q7 with six empty seats will find their gasoline dollars poorly spent. A V-6 engine will be available in the fall.

For those who actually need a full-size S.U.V., this Audi is winsome. The V-8 is as smooth as an electric motor, trotting to 60 miles an hour in less than eight seconds. And with quattro as standard equipment, the all-wheel drive is always engaged, though it does not offer the low range gear selection that many truck-based S.U.V.'s do.

The six-speed automatic transmission shifts undetectably, and better still, its manual-shift provision is splendidly obedient, delivering the gear you want right now. There is one exception: you cannot downshift to first gear without stopping. But with 325 pound-feet of torque, you would only need first when drag racing for pink slips anyway.

An optional adaptive air-suspension system gives this serious S.U.V. a normal ground clearance of 7.1 inches, but the chassis can be raised to 9.4 inches, helping you drive over obstacles. Conversely, when speed exceeds 75 miles an hour, the system automatically squats down to a clearance of 6.5 inches (and lower yet in excess of 100 m.p.h.), for better stability and aerodynamics.

Accommodations at Chateau Q7 are sumptuous. The front two rows, seating up to five people, are roomy and comfortable. On long trips, the Q7's slinky roofline limits the third row to children; in the name of domestic tranquillity, make it the neighbor's youngsters.

But whether you're in the front box seats or back in the third-row penalty box, the Q7's picture-window three-panel sunroof (optional on the base model, standard with the Premium) gives all a superb view of incoming asteroids.

In front, the vast sunroof slides back, but in the last row the roof only tilts open — it's the neighbors' kids, remember? At 60 m.p.h., the open sunroof is free of wind buffeting and noise, and a finely perforated fabric roof screen can be drawn forward, letting you have fresh air while protecting you from the sun's direct rays. That is a good idea.

Like many of its competitors, the Q7 has a rearview video camera for backing up; unlike most of the others, this display adds curved lines to the screen when you are in reverse and turning, indicating just where your turn is going to take you. And the video clearly indicates exactly when your rear bumper will nudge whatever lies behind — very smart.

Another first is Audi Pass Assist. Radar beams on either side scan the zones alongside and just behind the Q7, where a vehicle in an adjacent lane may not be visible in the mirrors. When the beams detect a car in these blind spots, a yellow warning light on the inner edge of the side mirror alerts the driver — very smart.

The video screen holds down a second job as the display for the Q7's electronic interface, controlling climate, audio and other systems. But instead of another overcomplicated German nightmare, the Audi system is as close to intuitive as cursor-and-mouse automotive controls get. Adjusting the audio system is even reasonably transparent — not the case in a BMW or a Mercedes. After one or two attempts, the Audi system makes sense, and miraculously, you remember how to do it the next time you try. (Still, old-fashioned pushbuttons were so, I don't know, inviting.)

The steering wheel has a button for a voice-recognition feature that makes it simple to change the preset stations and programming for conventional and satellite radio channels. As little as I am charmed, generally, by such miracles, the minute this system identified me as a backsliding analog oaf it automatically delivered a brief, straightforward tutorial to cure my backsliding analog oafishness — very, very smart.

For teamsters in the audience, the Q7 will tow 5,500 pounds. Parents will be happy that there are six cupholders and four bottle receptacles on board. The Q7's adaptive cruise-control settings remain in effect even when you've come to a stop in traffic, so there is no need to reset every time you resume — just brilliant.

Like all contemporary Audis, the Q7 has that puckered, sour-mouth grille that suggests Charlie Chaplin's mustache when he's sucking a lemon. Ah, well, nobody's perfect.

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