Audi
is set to majorly electrify next year’s all-new Q7, but don’t expect to
see a gasoline engine anywhere near that particular version.
Parts of the world are starting to love plug-in hybrid cars—as are European car companies, which benefit from a very optimistic and heavily PHEV-biased Euro fuel-economy test cycle—and every time gas prices start to climb they love plug-in hybrid SUVs even more. But Audi isn’t concerned about gasoline costs for its next such model: It’s going to swim against the tide and give next year’s all-new Q7 e-tron a 3.0-liter diesel V-6 to partner with battery power. We first discussed this development in July, but more information has now come to light.
Parts of the world are starting to love plug-in hybrid cars—as are European car companies, which benefit from a very optimistic and heavily PHEV-biased Euro fuel-economy test cycle—and every time gas prices start to climb they love plug-in hybrid SUVs even more. But Audi isn’t concerned about gasoline costs for its next such model: It’s going to swim against the tide and give next year’s all-new Q7 e-tron a 3.0-liter diesel V-6 to partner with battery power. We first discussed this development in July, but more information has now come to light.
While no official numbers yet exist, we understand that the diesel PHEV version is expected to deliver combined fuel economy that will rub against the 100-mpg barrier—on the aforementioned European scale, of course—and push the seven-seat Q7 e-tron’s range to beyond 800 miles. Both are numbers Audi will be eager to promote on its home continent. Of course, the Q7 also will be sold with more conventional diesel- and gas-burning engines. All models will benefit from weight savings said to be as high as 660 pounds versus the previous model, although we’ll let our test scales tell the final tale there.
Audi plans to show the Q7 e-tron during January’s Detroit auto show, and it will be only the second diesel-electric hybrid from Europe after Volvo’s V60. (An A8 with this powertrain will follow within a few months.) On the pluggable SUV front, the Q7 e-tron will directly battle the Porsche Cayenne S e-Hybrid, the Volvo XC90 T8, and a version of the BMW X5. The Q7 e-tron is said to boast more than 30 miles of pure-electric range; BMW’s PHEV X5, by contrast, claims roughly 20 miles of electric running.
As for U.S. sales, we’re told they’ll happen—this is a global model. Audi R&D honcho Ulrich Hackenberg is convinced that the e-tron’s combination of refinement, economy, range, and performance will prove convincing even to diesel-shy Americans. It will help matters that most people who shop Audi are familiar with the brand’s TDI vehicles and its diesel expertise. The Q7 e-tron will be Audi’s second PHEV to market, following the gas-electric A3 e-tron.
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