2015 Audi Q7 35 TDi Travelogue Review: The Last Hurrah

Last minute change of plans mostly lead to disappointment, however, for a change, we experienced something contrasting. Five of us, from the office, which included Amit, Ayan, Rohan, Saeed and me were about to pack ourselves in Amit’s hatchback and head to the pristine beaches of Western Maharashtra in search of some brief solitude. As Ayan and me we were making our way to the meeting point, cracking Brokeback jokes, wondering who’d be sharing whose lap in a dinky little car, a large surprise awaited in the boss man’s driveway.

Almost 17 feet long, 6 feet wide, with a butch, aggressive face that could terrorize someone who finds one in his rear view mirror, the Audi Q7 sure made every other car appear dinky in that parking lot. While we were loading the lord sized four ringed SUV with our weekend luggage, a barbeque kit and three grown men, our minds took a diversion from corny humor. We tried to figure, what could we possibly do with so much square feet area? Ayan, who is as light as the wind, was shuffling between the last two rows in excitement, trying to get a feel of some open space. Being new to Bombay, that much seemed too much to him.

Escaping city limits in the wee hours, leaving a smog filled island in our rear view mirrors, some sudden realization dawned on us. On our way to a rendezvous point where we were to pick two of our colleagues, Rohan and Saeed from Pune, we realized that this would be more of a last hurrah, not because some of us were to come back and find ourselves in the final list of the Mars One mission (We did apply, thinking we’d review a space shuttle for a change, but then they told us it’s a one way ticket), but more so because the car we were travelling in is about to transform and adorn a new set of clothes, maybe even a new character, whenever the new 2016 Audi Q7 arrives.

This review will not just focus on the car in question here, but will also contain glimpses of our experience with a family sized, premium vehicle, as we traveled along with it to some quaint, sleepy locales, dotted across coastal Maharashtra. Travelling like a bunch of friends or a family as we call it, we spent three crazy days and even crazier nights under starry skies, among crashing waves and even atop a tree. The pictures you’d browse through, most of which have been shot through the lens of a cell phone camera, for a change, will reflect our relaxed side. But then, that’s what the Audi Q7 does to you. Towering at almost 5.7 feet in height, being a premium product, it sure attracts attention, but not in a way that gives you the jitters for the fear of someone messing with it. For some reason, the Q7 announces its presence in a powerful way that sends a strangely strong message about its occupants being people who are high up there in the societal food chain. Good thing? Sure it is.

So then, harping some more on the looks of the Audi Q7, the design template has been around for over a decade now! Long in the tooth for sure, however, it still manages to look menacing, especially the front. The largish proportions dominate the road in a manner, only a few other vehicles on sale right now can manage. The Q7 looks like an imposing barge (The only time we’re gonna call it that) that in a baffling manner embodies the athleticism of a Jet-ski in its gargantuan proportions. It even manages to drive like the latter, well, more on that later.

For those who buy such vehicles for their sheer road presence, the Q7 still emanates loads of character while on the move and even at standstill. People gawked in awe and admiration, as we were heading towards our meeting point to pick our two lost colleagues, who had gotten off at the wrong meeting point, maybe reeling under depression that they would have to endure three days in a hatchback packed with five grown men. While we were scouting for Rohan and Saeed, who were walking somewhere on the Expressway, expecting to see us in a white little hatchback, we surprised them by pulling over in style.

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