Audi previews new Q7 generation as its big SUV prepares for the Q9 era

Q7 finally gets a new generation

The third generation Audi Q7 is approaching its full reveal. This is no longer another facelift, but a proper model change for a car whose second generation arrived in 2015 and received its second major update in 2024. Audi describes the new Q7 as a sportier, more powerful looking SUV with a versatile interior, higher quality materials and more user focused technology.

The image released so far shows only a detail from the front section of the side, but it already says something. The S line badge is visible, along with a more strongly sculpted side surface and a conventional door handle. The Q7 keeps traditional exterior door handles and moves towards cleaner side graphics with its new generation.

Design points to something stronger, not revolutionary

Audi is not yet showing the whole car, but the information so far suggests evolution rather than experiment. The Q7 must remain recognisably large, upright and practical as a seven seat SUV, because a shape that leans too far towards a coupé would leave too much space for the Q8, while a position that feels too luxurious would collide with the Q9.

The first Q7 was Audi’s first large SUV and the strong starting point for the brand’s Q family. Now the Q9 will sit above it, with Audi set to present that model at the beginning of the second half of the year. In its own strategy statement, Audi stresses that the Q7 and Q9 will expand the brand’s presence above all in the US market. For Europe, though, that means a clearer division of roles. The Q9 takes over as the biggest and most prestigious model. The Q7 must remain the more rational, more manageable and more credible family car choice.

The engine line up must solve Europe’s hardest problem

Audi has not yet published technical data for the new Q7. The current generation still gives a clear indication of the level the new car must beat. The existing Q7 45 TDI produces 170 kW and 500 Nm, the 50 TDI 210 kW and 600 Nm and the 55 TFSI 250 kW and 500 Nm. The SQ7 TFSI uses a 4.0 litre V8 engine with 373 kW and 770 Nm, taking the large SUV from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds. All V6 versions can tow up to 3.5 tonnes.

In Europe, the third generation has to do three things at once: keep diesel alive as a long distance and towing asset, increase the electric range of the plug in hybrid and reduce CO2 pressure. The current Q7 55 TFSI returns an official fuel consumption figure of 10.1 to 11.0 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 228 to 250 g/km, placing it firmly in CO2 class G. A car with figures like that can still suit a wealthy private buyer, but in company fleets the next Q7 generation will definitely need a stronger plug in hybrid.

BMW and Mercedes are pushing hard with plug in hybrids

The competition is not waiting. In Germany, the BMW X5 xDrive50e uses a battery with 25.7 kWh of net capacity, charges on AC at up to 11 kW and already offers a strong plug in hybrid package. BMW lists the X5 xDrive50e in Germany from 97,900 euros.

Mercedes Benz plays the same card even more aggressively with the GLE. According to British technical data, GLE plug in hybrids can travel up to 67 miles on electric power, or about 108 km, and charge on DC from 10 to 80 per cent in 29 minutes. That shows where the class is heading. A large premium SUV must be able to handle everyday city driving on electricity, while still feeling convincing on the motorway and with a trailer behind it.

This is where the new Q7 faces its most important test. If Audi gives it a V6 plug in hybrid with a long electric range, preserves the 3.5 tonne towing capacity and keeps diesel in markets where customers still need it, the Q7 could remain a very strong choice beside the X5 and GLE. If Audi settles for design and screens, the model will lose its historic advantage.

The cabin has to leave old school compromises behind

The current Q7 offers 867 to 1993 litres of luggage space as a five seat model and an optional third row. That is still impressive, but the dashboard and user interface come from an earlier Audi generation. The new Q7 needs a fresher digital concept, although Audi must not repeat the overly touch sensitive era, when the driver had to look at a screen for every simple command.

Audi talks about “user focused technologies” for the new model. That sounds like marketing, but in the Q7’s class it has a practical meaning. A family car must do the basic things quickly. Climate control, seat heating, cameras, trailer mode and driving modes must be easy to find and logically arranged. In a large SUV, technology is not valuable because of how many screens it adds, but because of how little it distracts the driver.

The Q7 matters for more than sales volume

The third generation Q7 arrives at an important moment for Audi. The company is renewing its model range broadly in 2026, officially naming the Q9, A2 e tron, third generation Q7, updated Q4 e tron and new RS 5. This is not a single model update, but part of an attempt to make the whole range younger and more technologically consistent.

In the global competition, the Q7 now has to play smarter than before. It is no longer Audi’s largest SUV, but it may be the brand’s most important large SUV in Europe. The Q9 can sell prestige and space. The Q7 has to sell balance: seven seats, proper towing ability, long range, a lower tax burden as a plug in hybrid and a design solid enough to remain believable for business users.

Technical brief

Audi officially confirmed the arrival of the third generation Q7 and released the first preview of the new model.

The new Q7 will sit in the range alongside the Q9, which takes over as Audi’s largest SUV.

The current Q7 offers V6 engines from 170 to 250 kW, while the SQ7 uses a V8 with 373 kW and 770 Nm.

The existing Q7 can tow up to 3.5 tonnes in V6 form, which remains a critical benchmark for the new generation.

Success in Europe will depend above all on a strong plug in hybrid, because the BMW X5 and Mercedes Benz GLE are already moving firmly in that direction.