Clever in-car tech to whisk away the miles
As the flat farmlands of northern France flash by in bursts of green and brown, we can’t help but be impressed by the Q7’s sense of effortless pace. There’s a real purpose to the way it covers miles – it wants to get to the destination just as much as you do.
But, alas, progress is short lived as we soon encounter heavy traffic around Brussels. However, this acts as another crucial test of the Q7’s capabilities. No long-distance drive is ever without congestion, so being able to deal with it well is a must.
Up until this point of the journey, we’ve had the Q7 in ‘Auto’ driving mode, which means the live navigation system has worked with clever predictive sensors to seamlessly blend the electric motor and 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine for maximum efficiency.
But now, as we slow right down, the system switches to full EV mode, which means despite the stunted stop-start traffic, progress is silky smooth and whisper quiet – and it also means we’re saving on fuel.
The Q7’s 26kWh battery offers up to 52 miles of electric-only range* when fully charged – one of the best in class, and topping up from a 7.4kW wallbox takes as little as 3 hours and 45 minutes.
Or, as we’ve been doing on this trip, clever regenerative braking and energy recapture during coasting can pump power back into the battery for later use.
Twenty minutes later we break free of the traffic, and after a whistle stop tour of Belgium and a short flash through the southern tip of the Netherlands, the signs finally switch to German.
Now by this point, almost eight hours into our 12-hour drive, it would be easy for the endless motorway miles and fairly monotone landscape to become tiring for both driver and passengers – but that’s where the Q7 reveals another long-haul strength: its ability to keep you fresh and focused, mile after mile.
As standard, the Q7 comes with a wealth of advanced driver assistance systems that take the sting out of long journeys like this. In our top-rung Vorsprung-spec car, for example, adaptive cruise control keeps you a safe distance from the car ahead at all times, and can even bring the car to a complete stop in traffic, while lane assist will stop you from wandering off course, and traffic sign recognition means you’re never in danger of creeping over the speed limit – particularly useful in continental Europe, where speed limits seem to randomly change every few miles.