Debating in the Pub

Found myself in one of those pub debates at the weekend. An old friend is considering upgrading his car to one of the Range Rovers with the new TDV8 engines and reckons that combination must give it claim to being the best car in the world. I’ve always had a soft spot for these cars, but as you’d expect was soon trying to persuade him that an Audi Q7 equipped with our latest V8 diesel engine would give it a run for its money. Frankly, both cars would prove capable of transporting all the family in effortless luxury, and the conversation moved on to other subjects.

It was only when I got back to the office, that I pulled up the detail on both cars and saw how (if only my product knowledge had been better!) all the arguments were there to support me.

Compare an Audi Q7 4.2 TDI quattro S-line with the Range Rover TDV8 HSE and you’ll see that they match each other exactly on emissions (294 g/km) and economy (25.4 mpg combined). However, while the Range Rover develops 275 PS, the new 4.2 TDI engine in the Audi develops 326 PS. It’s a similar story with torque, the Range Rover’s impressive 640 Nm beaten by the Audi at 760 Nm.

Combine all this with sleeker aerodynamics from the Audi, and the fact that the Range Rover is 267kg heavier (that’s the equivalent of three big blokes…) and the difference in performance is astonishing.

0-60 takes a perfectly respectable 9.2 seconds in the Range Rover, but just 6.4 seconds in the Q7 – that would put many a sports car in your rear view mirror. Top speed is 124 mph in the Range Rover, and 146 mph in the Q7, which explains how the Q7 felt so quiet and composed at speed last year in Europe.

If that wasn’t enough to swing the argument my way, how about seating for seven instead of five and a saving of £7,400?

There are only two conclusions we can draw from this exercise. Firstly, our Audi Q7 must genuinely be one of the most all-round impressive cars on the market today. Secondly, I need to work on my pub debating skills…