From the November 2016 issue
I?m finding it impossible to summon the level of righteous indignation expected of Audi/Porsche/VW diesel owners these days. My SUV is just too good.
The go-to vehicle in our family is the 2014 Audi Q7 TDI. It does it all. It schleps the kids and their friends and their gear to softball practice, to camp, to wherever the hell kids go to chase Pokémon these days. It charges away from stoplights, drawing on a store of low-down torque that can only be described as elemental. Both its interior and its ride somehow manage to be simultaneously uncomplicated and sumptuous; it?s a no-BS affair built for long, stressless days behind the wheel. I have managed to coax nearly 700 miles from its 26.4-gallon tank.
It has an understated road presence for something so very large and so very in charge. I even like the way it looks better than the new one. This almost never happens. I?m usually desperate to keep up with the product, cursing the relentless march of ever-improving style and engineering. Even though the new Q7 drives marvelously and is loaded with aluminum and all sorts of glass-cockpit electronics, I just can?t see us in it. It looks like an overfed Dodge Journey.
Long-Term Test: 2011 Audi Q7 TDI Quattro
2017 Audi SQ7 TDI Diesel First Drive
Audi Q7 Research: Photos, Reviews, Pricing, and More

And now that there?s no diesel available for VW Group products, our Q7 is looking increasingly irreplaceable. I don?t want to sell it back to Audi, and I ...