2025 Audi SQ7 Road Test and Review

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

For a solo drive on a summer weekend, a sports car is a delight. Engineered in the pursuit of speed on smooth tarmac, it excels under those optimal conditions. But when it’s snowing or you need to bring the whole family along, it’s time to park your sports car – unless your sports car is a 2025 Audi SQ7. 

The SQ7 is the high-performance version of the Audi Q7 three-row mid-size crossover SUV. Audi fits Q7’s “S” version with a 500-horsepower turbocharged V8 along with a sportier suspension. Yet it’s otherwise the same spacious, practical, and comfortable luxury SUV. The SQ7 starts at $90,800, and it can reach well into six figures with options. We just spent a week testing the updated 2025 SQ7 to learn more about its pros and cons. Keep reading to learn more about the SQ7 and see whether it’s the right luxury SUV for you. 

Newly Updated This Year

The SQ7 came out for the 2020 model year, and it’s part of the Q7 generation that dates all the way back to 2017. That’s pretty old in the automotive world. Still, a timeless shape and continuous updates keep this SUV looking fresh to our eyes. 

The SQ7 has the proportions of a compact hatchback but scaled up into SUV size. Simple lines and big windows are no longer in vogue, but we find it classy rather than boring. For more aggressive details and a lower, less boxy shape, Audi sells the SQ8 “SUV coupe.”

This year’s biggest SQ7 update is a new grille and headlights that now press up against it. But only an Audi expert would notice the change. The rear end has even subtler changes. It’ll also take an Audi expert to distinguish an SQ7 from a standard-issue Q7 – at least to look at. The biggest clue is the quad exhaust pipes that lurk quietly in the rear bumper.

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

500 Horsepower

The SQ7 fires up with a rumble that removes any doubt about its performance. Its rumbly 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 makes 500 horsepower and 568 lb-ft of torque, and Audi says it’ll rip to 60 mph in just 4.0 seconds. That’s 1.5 seconds faster than the Q7’s top engine, a 355-hp V6, and 2.7 seconds faster than the Q7’s base 261-hp four-cylinder. It's also a couple ticks faster than the SQ7's closest competitors.

Every SQ7 has an eight-speed automatic transmission and Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system. They work together well with the throttle and engine to deliver smooth acceleration whether you’re driving gently or in a hurry. And the Quattro system puts power to the pavement whether you’re gunning the engine or working your way up a snowy hillside. 

Now, the downside to this old-school eight-cylinder engine is old-school fuel consumption. Many of today’s fastest luxury SUVs are electric vehicles with ultra-low fuel costs. The SQ7 gets an EPA-estimated 15 mpg in the city, 21 mpg on the highway, and 17 mpg combined using premium-grade gasoline. We matched that 17 mpg average during a weeklong test but never had a single drive above 20 mpg, even on the highway. 

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Exceptional Ride and Handling

A lot of SUVs are fast. But where the SQ7 really stands out is its ride and handling. This Audi is tautly tuned for high handling limits, and it’s one of the world’s best-handling three-row SUVs. The steering is responsive without being unnaturally darty, and the SQ7 can maintain a high speed along a winding road. An electornically controlled anti-roll bar also keeps the SQ7 from leaning as you swerve, and all-wheel steering tightens up its responses. This is still a 5,300-pound SUV, so you won’t get the extra-quick changes of direction that you’d get in a low sports coupe. But it inspires great confidence going around less-extreme curves and corners. 

All the while, the SQ7 rides comfortably and quietly. It feels like a solid vault moving down the road, tracking straight and true like the best luxury sedan. An air suspension is standard, which helps take the edge off bumps. This isn’t the cushiest crossover you’ll find, since the underlying tautness does mean you’ll feel the pavement’s imperfections. But it’s a smoother ride than you’ll find in a Mercedes-Benz GLE AMG – along with superior day-to-day steering and handling. 

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Shiny Dashboard

The SQ7’s dashboard hasn’t changed much since its debut back in 2020. The overall shape of its dashboard is angular and cleanly minimalistic, and that hasn’t gone out of style. But all the shiny plastic on the dash belongs to a trend that’s behind us. Storage space is also skimpy, with small cupholders and a shallow console bin. 

The interior’s twin touchscreens – a 10.1-inch unit for the infotainment system and an 8.6-incher below it for the climate controls – blend into the background, with their muted colors and flush fit into the dash. That’s great if you hate the modern trend toward digital dashboard domination. But it comes without an ergonomic advantage; you still need to use the screens to operate most controls, which is distracting. Even the headlights require careful taps at a touch-sensitive panel. It’s a particular pity because meticulously precise moving parts are an Audi hallmark, and this $91,000 Audi has replaced moving parts with screen taps. And if you do love modern digital displays, the SQ7’s will look dated – except for one trick we’ll get to in a moment. 

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Bonus Screen Space

Audi created the Virtual Cockpit in 2016 – a vibrant, customizable digital instrument cluster. Many automakers have used digitally rendered gauges before and since, but this is still our favorite. 

While most automakers treat their digital gauges as little more than a toy, Audi’s is clearly useful. You can dedicate most of the space to a Google Maps display – even a satellite view. This means you can leave the central screen on, say, your radio settings while you watch the 12.3-inch map in front of you. Audi is no longer the only automaker to let you show maps in your gauge cluster, but it still does it best. And if you prefer something more traditional, digitally rendered analog gauges are just a tap away. 

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Supportive Front Seats

The SQ7 has the high, supportive front seats and commanding seating position of an SUV. This isn’t one of those low, sporty crossovers that’s barely elevated from a sedan. Our test vehicle’s Arras Red leather upholstery is attractive and feels rich, and the standard “sport seats” provide decent bolstering to hold you in place going around a corner. 

Standard comfort amenities include heated front seats, quad-zone automatic climate control, and a power-adjustable steering column. You can also upgrade to ventilated and massaging front seats (with a choice of massage styles and intensities) and heated second-row seats. 

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Family-Friendly Spaciousness

A notable SQ7 advantage is its family-friendly accommodations. Many luxury SUVs have big engines, but Audi has a big, comfortable backseat as well – without ultra-massive exterior dimensions or ultra-wild price points. The three-passenger second-row bench is high and supportive, with plenty of knee clearance. And you can slide it forward a bit to make more room in the small third row. This third row, which pushes total seating capacity to seven, isn’t great for adults but it’s more usable than what you’ll find in many mid-size luxury SUVs and crossovers. 

You can also simply fold the third row flat for a big, well-shaped cargo hold. You get 36 cubic feet behind the second-row seat and 70 cubic feet with all the rear seats folded down. That’s no more than you’d get in something like a Honda CR-V, but the boxy shape makes it more useful than the numbers suggest – especially if you aren’t packing things to the ceiling. With just 14 cubic feet of space behind the third row, you’ll have to fold it down to carry anything deeper than a pizza box. Or you can hook up a trailer – the SQ7 is rated to tow up to 7,700 pounds, which is more than some pickup trucks. 

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

SQ7 vs. the Competition

The SQ7’s closest competitor is the BMW X5 M60i. These two SUVs are similarly sized, almost identically priced, and deliver nearly identical horsepower and acceleration specs from their turbocharged V8 engines. Between the two, the BMW feels lighter and has more infotainment flash – for better and for worse, in both of those cases. It also gets a couple more miles per gallon of premium fuel. On the other hand, its backseat is smaller than the Audi’s and no third row is available even as an option. (For that, you’d need the bulkier, heavier, and more expensive BMW X7.) 

The Porsche Cayenne S is another two-row competitor. Its own V8 comes up a bit short of the BMW and Audi in a straight line, but this smaller, lighter Porsche lives up to its brand reputation in corners. Turning to the other extreme, the Mercedes-Benz GLE 580 delivers V8 speed and sound without the handling precision you’ll find in the SQ7, X5 M60i, or Cayenne. (The Mercedes-AMG tuning division also sells a stiffer-riding, slower six-cylinder GLE 53 AMG or a 603-hp V8-powered GLE 63 AMG that costs $40,000 more than the SQ7.) We prefer how the Audi drives to any of the Mercedes models, but they have more traditionally opulent interiors. 

Finally, we’d shop the SQ7 against the Audi Q7 with its optional V6. That’s already a fast, fun-to-drive SUV with a great towing capacity. You’ll want to be sure you’re getting your money’s worth before paying $20,000 extra for the “S.” 

2024 Mercedes-Benz GLE 63 AMG ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Useful Speed Demon

Both spacious and delightful to drive, the 2025 Audi SQ7 is a useful speed demon. Powerful, agile, yet comfortable, it’s an all-weather sports car with room for the whole family. Even so many years into its life, it’s a class leader for acceleration while delivering high handling limits and a natural heft to its responses – all with a comfortably smooth ride. 

As a luxury SUV, the SQ7 might not sit well with someone who expects a more modern exterior or interior appearance. Nor does it have the simplest controls, ideal cabin storage, or the best gas mileage. And, like the competition, it’s an expensive vehicle. But for someone with a big budget who loves how it drives and values its roomy interior, it’s easy to overlook the SQ7’s foibles and justify its lofty price tag. 

2025 Audi SQ7 Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt