If you want a car that can do a little bit of everything, you can expect to pay quite a bit for the capability. And if you want a vehicle that does everything very well, then you can expect to pay a lot. The 2025 Audi SQ7 is an example of an incredibly well rounded vehicle that is spectacular in almost every regard, with a price tag to match.
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The Q7 line is Audi’s seven-seater offering, so it serves the brand as its family vehicle, but the brand also recognizes that just because you have two or three kids or want a little extra seating and cargo flexibility doesn’t mean you have to be left in the dust by sporty offerings of other brands. The SQ7 offers the same practicality as the Q7, but with elevated performance that moms and dads will appreciate.
Audi SQ7 Power and Performance
The Q7 is fitted with either a 2.0L turbo-four making 261 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque or a 3.0L twin-turbo V6 that delivers a more respectable 335 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque. The SQ7 gets a hearty 4.0L twin-turbo V8 that dishes out 500 hp and 568 lb-ft of torque with a delightful growl under hard acceleration. While sprint times aren’t necessarily the priority for three-row SUVs, the Audi SQ7 can hit 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds, but there is power everywhere, whether ramping up to highway speeds or dropping gears for passing maneuvers. Speaking of gears, there are eight of them in Audi’s automatic transmission, meting out power to all four wheels with the rear Sport differential ensuring there is no excess wheelspin on either side.
With that much power and the reputation of an S badge to uphold, Audi outfitted the SQ7 with a suspension to keep this 2,400-kilogram (5,291-lb) green monster under control. In addition to front and rear independent five-link setup with adaptive air suspension that can raise or lower the ride height, our SQ7 was outfitted with the optional active roll stabilization that firms up the outer side in a corner to keep you flatter in turns and maintain maximum grip. The SQ7 even has four-wheel steering to ensure greater stability at high speeds (on highway lanes changes for example), but to increase maneuverability at low speeds. All of these combined to deliver performance that was well beyond the limits of reason on public roads, tearing away from stoplights, attacking turns and onramps with supreme confidence, and hitting highway speeds in a flash.
This is not a car you take to the track, but it also far exceeds common decency on public roads, so there is a whole level of its ability that will most likely never be tapped. And while modern cars do not offer the level of analog feedback as machines of old, there is the satisfaction in the incredible composure in turns and the growl of a V8 to unleash every so often, and being able to do it with five or six passengers along for the ride is good for some chuckles every now and then.
Audi SQ7 Fuel Efficiency
A long drive to Ottawa gave us a chance to test the Audi SQ7’s efficiency. Natural Resources Canada estimates for the 2025 Audi SQ7 are 16.0 L/100 km in city driving, 11.2 L/100 km on the highway, 13.8 combined. With such an engaging V8 underhood, it was hard to resist dipping into the power as often as possible, but I still finished my time in the SQ7 at a respectable 12.7 L/100 km, and for our drive up to Ottawa that was mostly on secondary highways, I recorded a better than expected 10.1 L/100 km.
When you’re not cruising gently on the highway or stuck in traffic, you can choose from several different drive modes for increasing performance and responsiveness, delivering quicker jump off the line and better handling, but it would come at the expense of this stellar efficiency.
Audi SQ7 Practicality
In a world where Dodge Durangos get Hellcat engines and the most powerful BMW M model ever is a plug-in hybrid SUV, a 500-hp seven-seater is expected to impress with its performance but it better deliver the groceries and the kids to school on time, too.
We had the chance to test the Audi SQ7’s cargo flexibility (and peak efficiency) on the drive to Ottawa for a hockey tournament, and we loaded up with two hockey bags, two hockey players, two parents, one sibling, and all the luggage we needed for the weekend. Rather than cramming three in the second row, we folded just one side of the third row down and my daughter curled up with her best friend (her phone, of course) in the third row. It was a bit of a squeeze for the luggage, but the kids all had plenty of room. I tested the third row during our video shoot and it’s tight and challenging to step into, so it’s not a great place for adults for anything more than short trips because of its low seating position and limited headroom, and even my teenage daughter said it was “small but comfy.”
The SQ7’s second row is more spacious with sufficient room for three, and subtle contouring for the outboard passengers. The front seats are more heavily bolstered and power adjustable in almost every way imaginable (except the fixed headrest), and blessed with massage function that had various modes and intensity levels. The massage was an excellent feature to have for the long drive to Ottawa and kept my back from getting too locked up between stops.
As to cargo capacity, there is enough space in the big Audi for a full luggage set behind the third row (about 400 litres or 14 cubic feet) behind the third row, about 1,000 L (~36 cu-ft) with the third row folded, and a maximum of about 2,000 L (~70 cu-ft). Both the second and third rows are split-folding, so you can carry long cargo while still saving room for three or four passengers. The SQ7 also comes with a respectable towing capacity of 3,493 kg (7,700 lbs).
One aspect that felt lacking in the SQ7 was cabin storage. The space under the centre console armrest was taken up by the wireless charging pad – a great feature to have, but a shame it comes at the expense of a larger cubby that most family vehicles have. Aside from the glovebox, there were only door pockets and some cupholders, so all our road trip snacks were scattered around the cabin by the time we got to Ottawa.
Audi SQ7 technology and luxury
Aside from being a practical and ballistic three-row SUV for Audi fans, the SQ7 is also a $100K+ luxury vehicle, and as such, it has some lofty standards to uphold. Interior quality is phenomenal, with sumptuous leather, supportive and well bolstered seats, and Audi’s shapely steering wheel and statuesque shifter, both wrapped in perforated leather. Our SQ7 was outfitted in very modern fashion with piano black plastics and textured aluminum trim breaking up the monochromatic interior, with a pair of tweeters rising from the dash when the car is turned on for a bit of theatre. My son and his teammates also loved the full-colour puddle lamps that projected Audi’s S logo onto the ground when opening the doors. And speaking of party tricks, this car had the Night Vision that displays a thermal image in the gauge cluster, helping nighttime drivers to spot people and animals more easily after dark.
The 2025 SQ7 also comes loaded with all the expected features, especially when every option is selected as on this model. With the number of kilometres we covered, the adaptive cruise was much appreciated, and although not as advanced as some other systems with auto lane change, it worked well and helped minimize driving fatigue on long stretches of highway driving. Another luxury amenity that was appreciated on the long haul was massaging seats, which provided some good aggressive modes to break up the tension in my lower back. At our destinations, the 360-degree parking camera and parking sensors were crucial because despite appearing fairly trim, this is a wide car, with a wide turning radius despite the four-wheel steering that aids in high-speed stability and low-speed maneuverability.
As expected, a vehicle in this segment needs to deliver high end audio quality, and the SQ7’s Bang & Olufsen was on point, its 3D sound system utilizing 23 speakers powered by 1,920 watts resulting in impeccable sound quality at any volume. Audi’s Virtual Cockpit and head-up display were also mush appreciated for their visual flair and serving their intended purpose, with head-up display even picking up Apple Maps route guidance. That being said, the Bluetooth connection on the car was spotty, so we frequently lost our playlist and sometime could not reconnect to Apple CarPlay whether by wireless or USB cable. That left us in Audi’s native infotainment menu, which is not the most intuitive despite clear graphics and quick response from the touchscreen. Seemed like several functions could have been found in different menus so we were sometimes in and out of the submenus to find what we needed. With wireless charging and wireless CarPlay/Android Auto, you likely won’t have to use the Audi system very often if you choose not to.
Audi SQ7 competitors
The luxury SUV market is absolutely booming in recent years, and even at this price point there are several alluring options. Arch rivals for Germany are the BMW X7 M60i and Mercedes-Benz GLS 580, which also come packing seven seats and 500+ hp and that old-world luxury appeal and driving manners. Land Rover also jumps into this segment with its flagship Range Rover in SE 530 seven-seat LWB trim. The Americans offer more size and towing capacity in the Cadillac Escalade or Lincoln Navigator, and Cadillac also offers the sporty 682-hp Escalade-V. Infiniti mimics the Americans with the truck-based QX80 that has just been relaunched for 2025.
2025 Audi SQ7 Canadian pricing and conclusion
The 2025 Audi SQ7 comes in only the one trim, listing at $114,050 MSRP, and at minimum you will have to add $3,500 Federal Luxury Tax, $2,850 Freight and PDI, and $100 A/C Tax for a starting price of $120,050 before factoring in provincial taxes and dealer fees. Ours came with a handful of upgrades, including that B&O 3D Sound System ($5,750), Night Vision Assist ($2,500), extended leather ($1,350), synthetic suede headliner ($2,000), and massage seat package ($2,450) dressing up the interior. This tester also had the full spread of exterior upgrades, starting with the Sport exhaust ($1,450), Audi Exclusive Oak Green Pearl paint ($7,900), trailer hitch ($750), Black Optics package ($1,200), 22-inch wheels ($1,200), and Carbon exterior package ($2,975), and the Audi Care maintenance package ($2,490). Finally, we also had the pleasure of sampling the Dynamic Package Plus ($7,500), featuring the peak performance upgrade of electromechanical active roll stabilization with the rear sport differential. With $40k worth of upgrades, the luxury tax jumps to almost $10k for a total eclipsing $162,990.
Many of these luxuries and window dressing wouldn’t deter from the SQ7’s intended mission of delivering family practicality with some driving panache and well executed tech. The Q7 is already a fundamentally excellent vehicle, and the SQ7’s 4.0L twin-turbo punches it up to an effortlessly powerful cruiser and the right balance of sportiness and comfort to satisfy the most demanding audience who want it all in one vehicle.
Pros
✔ Effortless performance
✔ Modern tech and styling
✔ Space for the whole family
Cons
✘ Not great in tight spaces
✘ Connection issues
✘ Lack of cabin storage
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