07-12-2016, 10:27 AM
Not really a rental, but my gf's family asked me to drive their 2011 Audi Q7 TDI down to the beach last week and it was definitely a quality experience.
Exterior: Pretty par for the course for Audi. You look at it and get the sense that "Yes, this is Audi." I like the DRL LED strips that Audi does and it's a pretty aggressive looking SUV overall. They don't really seem that big, but that changes once you're in the driver's seat. One thing that bothered me was that you can't close the tailgate without pushing the button that automatically does it for you. I found myself grabbing the gate to pull it down and being stopped when the door stopped moving about 4 inches down multiple times.
Interior: This was really impressive. I've never used any of Audi's infotainment system before, let alone many other manufacturer's, but the system was pretty easy to pick up. It was like BMW where you controlled everything with a little spinny knob by your high hand, but some times the wheel didn't match very well with the screen when you spun it. The speakers were great, but the actual radio/XM radio reception was surprisingly bad. Whether that was because something was wrong, or if it's because of the new fad to not have actual antennas anywhere, but it bothered me. Of course no one else in the car realized it because I guess they were used to it, but it was jarring when riding in a $60,000 SUV. The seats were really comfortable, but after 5 hours of riding, not even a bed made of marshmallows would feel soft anymore. What blew my mind was the fact that the air condition was piped into the seats. Not just heated or cooled seats, but the air condition itself was blown onto your back. The parking assist sensors were really useful when backing it up and the camera was nice on the large display. Another thing I really liked was the cruise control, which I know sounds funny. It honestly was the nicest and most intuitive system I've ever used. It was very nice to see the exact speed you set it at displayed on the HUD thing on the dash and bumping the lever would increase or decrease it by 1 mph each time.
Engine: I honestly never checked to see which of the TDI motors it was, but honestly it didn't matter. It had plenty of get up and go and turbo-spool-whistle-noise-stuff when getting onto the interstate and it crept nicely at low rpm in stop and go traffic. It sipped fuel and it's huge fuel tank (I think 24 gallons or something) made it a rare occurrence to stop at the gas station. It was a really smooth motor even when going through the 6 speed auto, not the 8. I tried the manual shift setting that all automatics have nowadays, which was a mistake. It shifted so slow that I couldn't tell half of the time if it had realized I told it to shift or not.
It also had different settings for the suspension, which is kind of the automotive equivalent of pump sneakers in middle school. They don't really do anything, but if you don't have them, you better be ready for the mean kid of recess to make fun of you. I didn't feel much difference between the settings, but I also didn't have much time or place to test them out. The one thing I can say is that the "Ride level" setting made a huge difference. The car probably lifts of lowers itself 1-2 FULL inches on command. I was very impressed. Overall it was a very smooth ride and it was a far cry from the Miata I drove to Roanoke to meet them.
Very cool car with a cool motor. I'm not sure if I'd ever like to have one because they seem like the vanilla soccer mom car of upper class neighborhoods, but it is certainly a pleasure to put around at the beach in or take a long road trip with.
Exterior: Pretty par for the course for Audi. You look at it and get the sense that "Yes, this is Audi." I like the DRL LED strips that Audi does and it's a pretty aggressive looking SUV overall. They don't really seem that big, but that changes once you're in the driver's seat. One thing that bothered me was that you can't close the tailgate without pushing the button that automatically does it for you. I found myself grabbing the gate to pull it down and being stopped when the door stopped moving about 4 inches down multiple times.
Interior: This was really impressive. I've never used any of Audi's infotainment system before, let alone many other manufacturer's, but the system was pretty easy to pick up. It was like BMW where you controlled everything with a little spinny knob by your high hand, but some times the wheel didn't match very well with the screen when you spun it. The speakers were great, but the actual radio/XM radio reception was surprisingly bad. Whether that was because something was wrong, or if it's because of the new fad to not have actual antennas anywhere, but it bothered me. Of course no one else in the car realized it because I guess they were used to it, but it was jarring when riding in a $60,000 SUV. The seats were really comfortable, but after 5 hours of riding, not even a bed made of marshmallows would feel soft anymore. What blew my mind was the fact that the air condition was piped into the seats. Not just heated or cooled seats, but the air condition itself was blown onto your back. The parking assist sensors were really useful when backing it up and the camera was nice on the large display. Another thing I really liked was the cruise control, which I know sounds funny. It honestly was the nicest and most intuitive system I've ever used. It was very nice to see the exact speed you set it at displayed on the HUD thing on the dash and bumping the lever would increase or decrease it by 1 mph each time.
Engine: I honestly never checked to see which of the TDI motors it was, but honestly it didn't matter. It had plenty of get up and go and turbo-spool-whistle-noise-stuff when getting onto the interstate and it crept nicely at low rpm in stop and go traffic. It sipped fuel and it's huge fuel tank (I think 24 gallons or something) made it a rare occurrence to stop at the gas station. It was a really smooth motor even when going through the 6 speed auto, not the 8. I tried the manual shift setting that all automatics have nowadays, which was a mistake. It shifted so slow that I couldn't tell half of the time if it had realized I told it to shift or not.
It also had different settings for the suspension, which is kind of the automotive equivalent of pump sneakers in middle school. They don't really do anything, but if you don't have them, you better be ready for the mean kid of recess to make fun of you. I didn't feel much difference between the settings, but I also didn't have much time or place to test them out. The one thing I can say is that the "Ride level" setting made a huge difference. The car probably lifts of lowers itself 1-2 FULL inches on command. I was very impressed. Overall it was a very smooth ride and it was a far cry from the Miata I drove to Roanoke to meet them.
Very cool car with a cool motor. I'm not sure if I'd ever like to have one because they seem like the vanilla soccer mom car of upper class neighborhoods, but it is certainly a pleasure to put around at the beach in or take a long road trip with.
Current:
2011 F150 Platinum | 1995 BMW 325i | 1983 BMW 320i | The MMoped | 2008 BMW 128i
Past:
1996 Toyota Tacoma: | 1992 Mazda Miata | 2002 BMW 325i |
2003 Toyota Tacoma | 1995 Miata M Edition | 1997 Subaru Outback |
1992 Mazda Miata | 1990 BMW 325i | 2007 Toyota 4Runner |
1995 Ford Windstar | 1987 BMW 325i | 1987 BMW 325 | 1990 BMW 325i Vert |
2018 VW GTI | 1990 Mazda Miata | 1989 BMW 325i Vert | 2015 Fiesta ST | 1983 BMW 320i parts car
2011 F150 Platinum | 1995 BMW 325i | 1983 BMW 320i | The MMoped | 2008 BMW 128i
Past:
1996 Toyota Tacoma: | 1992 Mazda Miata | 2002 BMW 325i |
2003 Toyota Tacoma | 1995 Miata M Edition | 1997 Subaru Outback |
1992 Mazda Miata | 1990 BMW 325i | 2007 Toyota 4Runner |
1995 Ford Windstar | 1987 BMW 325i | 1987 BMW 325 | 1990 BMW 325i Vert |
2018 VW GTI | 1990 Mazda Miata | 1989 BMW 325i Vert | 2015 Fiesta ST | 1983 BMW 320i parts car