Autobild Test: Q7 vs. X5 Vs. Cayenne S

[SilverBullet]

Q7 interior is very ugly. Exterior is not that bad. I like the Porsche Cayenne all the way around. I like the new X5 exterior. I do not like the joystick in the interior.

[BG624]

Originally Posted by Cairns

Yes I think the Q7 is fugly at least from the front. But I don't think I've ever seen one in person. The test tells me they're worth a look. The website says (to me) that they're quite reasonably priced and have a much better interface than the I Drive. $500 for an installed trailer hitch is a lot more reasonable the 12 to 16 hundred BMW wants.

The Porsche, IMO, is just hideously overpriced and represents a very poor value. While I own one (a 911 not a Cayenne) and love the marque everything- and I mean everything- is optional at an extra cost. If you want poor reliability why not get the Toureag and save thousands? You can buy the Porsche logo and stick it on for less than $20.

On the other hand, unlike BMW, Porsche can apparently supply the options it advertises.

Yeah Porsche options you to death. A fully optioned Cayenne S is much more $ than an X5. You can probably add $25000 in options if you wanted to. I'm a Porsche guy but when it comes to SUV's I think they missed the mark unless you want a high performance off road capable machine, then maybe. However when it comes to high performance sports cars it's a different story.

[art4.8i]

i had a Hertz Audi Q7 3.6 rental for a whole week. Boy, am i glad not to drive this bus anymore! honestly, it is long, clumsy, and as mentioned before fugly! dont get me wrong, but compared to the Q7, the new x5 seems to be so much sexier, more driver-oriented and exciting. Driving the Q7 required so much more attention that it would in the X5. When it came to some fast driving, the Q7 behaved rather unpredictably.( initial understeer, but suddenly too much oversteer; all that with absolutely no feel in the steering wheel. WOW! past 70mph, the car felt extremely top heavy and again clumsy. Thus, it is just not pleasurable to drive this car fast. Oh, lastly, the throttle response was very imprecise and made the transmission shift unexpectedly. Alright, enough of negativity; compared to its american rivals, it is an S-class, but for some reason it doesnt go along with my personal driving habits. However, if one wants a comfortable car but yet requires no driving exhilaration, the Q7 is perfect.OK, i must give it to audi, the materials are quite nice inside and everything is nice to touch, but driving it................................................ ....... sigh
On the last note, the car i drove had xenons, but it seemed that they would only adjust vertically but not horizontally. they might have been broken, it is a rental after all!
So, after a week of crazy driving all around Napa Valley. The bus made me miss my x5 every moment!
P.S this i just an opinion, not hatred! i do love some audis, mostly the S and RS line!

[Cairns]

Well if I can check it out I'll let y'all know what I think. I have NOT driven the new X5 yet but have a 2001 4.4 sport with 20s that I love (the wife drove the new one on our one test drive). I've driven the Cayenne (S), pretty extensively, I prefer my X. Makes for arguments at the local Porsche events believe me. We put both my x and a 2002 Cayenne on the skid pad one day (I'm a PCA DE Instructor) and while they were both great the x was firmer, more direct and better IMO. Most preferred the Cayenne but it was a Porsche event.

[BG624]

By PCA DE instructor do you mean you are a Porsche PDE instructor in Birmingham. I took the 2 day performance driving course there and I'm taking the Masters Class this year. It was an amazing experience and I learned a great deal not to mention the fact that i had allot of fun. All the instructors were great. I also prefer the X5 to the Cayenne other than the Turbo but that's over $100,000.

[Cairns]

No I instruct at Porsche Club Driver Education events. These are a bit different from the Porsche factory PDE in that there are no lead/follows. Every beginning student has their own instructor and is allowed to drive at their own (or instructor dictated) pace. Students move up within five groups based on their skills and at the third (middle) level they may participate without an instructor. They may pass but with a signal from the car in front.

The upper groups are for people like me- club and wanna be racers without big bucks or club racers testing. I've been doing it for about ten years now.

Try to join your local club and check them out- they are terrific fun and a natural way to keep honing your skills after a PDE (cheaper too).

BTW I took one of the first PDEs at Road Atlanta about eight or nine years ago. It was a blast- my instructors were the famous Hurley Haywood and Doc Bundy. I've heard Barber is a fantastic track but I've never been there. If you are a New Yorker NNJC may be your local club and your "home" track would be Watkins Glen. A terrific, fast but unforgiving track in that there is little room for mistakes. We go there every fourth of July.

[ron_jeremy]

Thank you so much. Based on this I'm going to look at a Q7 this weekend. Before we bought BMWs we used to own Audi's. It can't hurt to look.

It can't hurt to look, well, i think regarding look, the Q are damn ugly.It looks like Audi tried to make the Q look bigger than it actually is, and it is really BIG.
I don't get it.

A ton of buttons in the interior as well.

[E61Silver]

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

I think the Q7 looks a bit odd, but not bad. Unfortunately it seems like they're having some trouble moving the Q7s off the lot..........my local Audi dealer has a zillion sitting while the E70 X5s are moving relatively quickly.

I agree that the Q7 looks odd and is not selling well. Based upon this test it is close to the X5 and at this time will cost a fare bit less.

[Cairns]

It's funny how beauty (or perceived beauty) can sell cars. I do have to hold my nose when looking at that "horse collar" on the front of the Q- a fairly big strike against it IMO. The rest of it isn't bad but not exactly compelling either.

IMO the X is far and away the best looking SUV. Thank God Chris didn't go radical on it.

[BG624]

Originally Posted by Cairns

No I instruct at Porsche Club Driver Education events. These are a bit different from the Porsche factory PDE in that there are no lead/follows. Every beginning student has their own instructor and is allowed to drive at their own (or instructor dictated) pace. Students move up within five groups based on their skills and at the third (middle) level they may participate without an instructor. They may pass but with a signal from the car in front.

The upper groups are for people like me- club and wanna be racers without big bucks or club racers testing. I've been doing it for about ten years now.

Try to join your local club and check them out- they are terrific fun and a natural way to keep honing your skills after a PDE (cheaper too).

BTW I took one of the first PDEs at Road Atlanta about eight or nine years ago. It was a blast- my instructors were the famous Hurley Haywood and Doc Bundy. I've heard Barber is a fantastic track but I've never been there. If you are a New Yorker NNJC may be your local club and your "home" track would be Watkins Glen. A terrific, fast but unforgiving track in that there is little room for mistakes. We go there every fourth of July.

Doc Bundy was my instructor in Birmingham, a real nice guy and a great driver. Barber is a beautiful track, I'm looking forward to going back for the Masters class. I'll check out the NYNJ club events, sounds like fun. I'm looking to track my GT3 a bit so it sounds lke a good idea.