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2008 Audi Q7 3.6 Premium Road Trip

Sometime last month, it hit me: I needed a break. The combination of constantly

The Audi Q7 is a fantastic road trip vehicle - it's spacious, luxurious and quick, even in V6 form. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

shoveling snow and a busy stretch at the office was bringing an overbearing sense of burnout. Jet setting to a location with beaches and warm temperatures wasn't in the budget, so the search for a more local destination began. A friend suggested something a little different. Every year, since 2000, Red Bull hosts an event called Crashed Ice. It's been held in all sorts of places, from Sweden, Finland and Russia. This year's event was being held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It's a pretty distinctive sport, that's like a cross between Super-G skiing and hockey – and yes, there's lots of contact amongst competitors. It's staged in the middle of Quebec City's downtown core by the St. Lawrence River, and the only thing as good as the on track action are the parties. Who would want to join this crusade for R and R with a bit of action on the side? A small email blast was sent out, and a crew was assembled. All of the sudden, we had the makings of a stellar road trip.

If this was to be a truly great vacation, the getting from Point A to Point B (a 500 mile trip each way) would need to be done in style and in comfort. I put in a request for a car, not knowing what I'd be getting, but I was open

Available in either five or seven passenger configurations. The third row does take up quite a bit of trunk space, though. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

to pretty much anything. Reservations for a sports car or luxury sedan notwithstanding, my managing editor came through with something that I had not entertained as a possibility: an SUV. Normally I prefer my center of gravity closer to the ground, but I agreed to do the test. The vehicle of choice was Audi's Q7, the world's first SUV equipped with Quattro all wheel drive. Your humble author has a weakness for anything with the four rings spread across the grille, so I happily accepted. A small voice of despair rose up from my inner horsepower junkie; the 3.6 badge on the back meant that this wouldn't be the 350-horsepower 4.2-liter V8 engine. Nevertheless, as I'd learned, this was not a bad thing. The following morning we excitedly hit the road.

As we made our way out of the city, traffic began to (thankfully) thin out to the point where the Q7 was able to settle into a comfortable cruise. It was the perfect time to get some answers about how this large SUV would fare as a long distance companion. First up was the engine. At 3.6-liters, it's Audi's biggest V6, and the arrangement of the cylinders is actually

V6 not nearly as brisk as the V8, but the fuel economy is much better. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

considered to be narrow. They're setup at just 11 degrees apart, compared to the usual 90-degree layout. This makes the engine more compact, allowing it to be fit under the hood of other vehicles... such as the Volkswagen Passat.

A maximum of 280 horsepower is what the Q7's V6 makes, which is quite decent in terms of power. That's more than what you'll find under the hood of six-cylinder-powered BMW and Lexus SUVs, and less than 20 horsepower shy of what you'll get under the hood of a V8-powered Range Rover. Even with four guys on board plus luggage, the Q7 didn't feel that hard worked when passing 18-wheeler after 18-wheeler.

The next thing that made an impression on me and my passengers was the rate at which the Q7 consumed its favorite food - premium unleaded. No one is going to confuse this baby with a diesel-powered smart car in terms of mileage, but we found the consumption to be more than acceptable. Driven with fuel economy as the top priority, we were surprised to see the

Interior is nice and airy in this light gray color scheme. Build quality and ergonomics are up to the usual Audi standards. (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

digital readout telling us we were traveling between 20 and 24 miles for every gallon of fuel burned, thanks in part to the engine's efficient FSI direct injection. Our elation was brought back to earth at the pumps when we were slapped with a bill for over $100 dollars from empty. Luckily we didn't have to go through too many of those, as the Q7's tank is a giant 26.4 gallons in capacity, which makes for good range.

Speaking of impressions, one that never seems to fail is just how much an Audi revels in highway driving. The steering has a great sense of where straight ahead is, and the Q7 never deviated from the path set out by its pilot. It also provided a good degree of feedback, with frictionless movement from lock to lock. That coupled with a chassis that can be fooled into thinking it's a sports car. OK, not exactly, but for a vehicle that weighs as much as the Q7 does combined with its size, it feels quite nimble and predictable. The suspension tuning does a good job of mimicking other products on Audi's stable, finding an ideal balance of tuning for ride quality and handling. The standard steel spring setup absorbs bumps quite well even with those beautiful 20-inch wheels. And while the

Heated rear seats make all the difference to the levels of noise in the vehicle on cold days... (Photo: Justin Couture, American Auto Press)

optional air suspension would've allowed the Q7 to float over Quebec's notoriously bad roads as if it were on a cloud of air, no complaints were heard with regards to comfort. The brakes were good too, the pedal giving accurate feedback with confident stops, albeit a little grabby at low speeds.

Of course, the interior served up what we've all come to expect from Audi, meaning seats you could sit in comfortably all day, intelligent controls via MMI, and fit and finish that sets the bar in the segment. Although there was a pretty good chill in the air, we had a chance to try out the huge panoramic sunroof. A large chunk of sky is visible through it, and it never rattled or leaked, and the fact that the rearmost panel actually tilts upwards for ventilation (rather than being just a skylight) is a nice touch. Countering the cold was a quick-acting heater, and heated seats for all.

Pulling into my home driveway, the Q7 looked like a road warrior. Coffee cups filled every cup holder and junk food wrappers were stuffed in the door pockets. The Q7 was completely covered by that white film so familiar to those logging many highway miles, a product of wet roads mixed with too much salt. After a wash and vacuum, it returned to its usual good looking self. The trip was a great success, and having the Q7 at our disposal proved to be a revelation. Hmmm... I wonder how the R8 would do on the route we traveled? Methinks it's worth investigating...

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