Audi Q7: Long on looks, short on space

Somebody's going to have to explain the appeal of the European pseudo-SUV to me.

European automakers have built appealing station wagons such as the Audi A6 Avant and Volvo V70 for decades. More recently, they've created a number of excellent SUVs, such as the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GL450.

Now Audi becomes the latest European automaker to try navigating the tricky mid-ground between traditional SUV and station wagon, with the 2007 Q7, a five- or seven-seat SUV with car-like proportions. The German luxury brand is following Volvo's tracks, after the Swedish automaker scored a hit with its XC90 SUV in 2002.

If you like Volvo's XC90 SUV, you'll probably love the 2007 Audi Q7. That's probably a good thing for Audi, but it leaves me cold.

The XC90 has been one of Volvo's best-selling vehicles since it went on sale, and the Q7 accounts for nearly a quarter of Audi's total U.S. sales this year, so it's hard to argue with the vehicles' success.

But both vehicles strike me as an uneasy compromise between the station wagons Audi and Volvo build brilliantly and the big SUVs they don't build at all. The Q7 and XC90 are less elegant and economical than the wagons, but less useful than an unabashed SUV.

The Q7 is brand new for the 2007 model year. It shares its basic engineering with the Volkswagen Touareg and Porsche Cayenne SUVs, but distinctive Audi styling and wagon-esque proportions set it apart from its corporate cousins. (VW owns Audi, and Porsche has long done engineering work for both brands and is now the largest stockholder in VW, putting the sports car specialist in the driver's seat at Germany's biggest automaker.)

The verdict on the brands' joint foray into SUV-making is decidedly mixed. The Cayenne quickly became a mainstay for Porsche, winning droves of buyers who love the brand's image but need more room than its little sports cars provide. The Touareg has been a disappointment from the word go: overpriced and underpowered.

The new Audi also comes up short, done in by a big price and a teeny back seat. Prices for the new Q7 start at $39,900 for a base model powered by a 280-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6. Quattro all-wheel-drive comes standard on all Q7s.

Models with Audi's 350-horsepower, 4.2-liter V8 start at $49,900. I tested a V6 seven-seat model with the Premium trim package and options that raised the price to $54,530. All prices exclude destination charges.

The Q7 competes with upscale seven-seaters such as the Acura MDX, BMW X5, Buick Enclave, Mercedes GL 450 and Volvo XC90. The Audi compares well with those models on style points, but suffers on practical criteria.

The Q7's high beltline, curved roof, creased hood and swept-back headlights give it a crisp, modern look. Its lines get a bit bland from the waste down, suggesting Audi's designers weren't quite sure what to do with the volume of sheet metal inherent in a big SUV.

And it is big. At 200.2 inches long, the Q7 is 1.3 inches shorter than the Enclave, 0.1 inch shorter than the GL 450 and a whopping 9.1 inches longer than the X5, 9.5 inches longer than the MDX and 10.9 inches longer than the XC90.

Oddly, however, that generous length doesn't translate into a usable third-row seat. While the Enclave and GL 450 both offer legitimate third rows, rear legroom in the Q7 is nearly nonexistent. It's also difficult to step in and out of the third row, despite sliding mid-row seats.

Cargo space behind the third row is very limited -- 10.9 cubic feet, compared with a generous 18.9 in the Enclave, 15.0 in the MDX and 14.3 in the GL 450. The Q7 does offer more luggage room than the X5, but I've had dinner with women whose purses held more than the BMW's 7.1 cubic feet.

As a seven-seater, the Q7 makes a great five-seater. But Audi already builds terrific five-seat wagons, such as the A6 Avant wagon that lists for $48,000 and scored 17 city/25 highway on the '08 EPA test.

So would somebody please explain the appeal of paying more -- at the dealership and the pump -- for the pseudo-SUV?

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