2007 Q7 4.2 Premium S-line - The Q7 Gets Schooled

2007 Q7 4.2 Premium S-line - The Q7 Gets Schooled

After spending a few months on the west coast, it was time for the Q7 to return to the Rocky Mountains. AudiWorld Managing Editor Jason Teller flew out to the Bay Area in late January to bring the Q7 back to its home base in Denver. The trip was uneventful with the exception of a speeding ticket outside Reno, NV. Of note, the Adaptive Cruise maxes out at a setting of 95mph. The speeding ticket would have been much, much worse if the cruise could have been set at 100mph or above.
In anticipation of a few more months of winter we decided that a refresher course in winter driving conditions would be appropriate. To that end, a day of ice driving was scheduled at the Audi Club's Rocky Mountain Chapter Adult Ice Driving class at Georgetown Lake. The class consists of a morning classroom session and afternoon exercises on the frozen lake and is geared toward experienced adult drivers.

While the stock tires on the Q7 had proven adequate for most driving conditions, an investment in a set of snow tires for the school and the overall Colorado winter conditions would be beneficial. The set of 295/35VR-21 Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow were ordered from Tire Rack at a total cost of $1,099.52. Once the tires arrived, they were mounted and balanced on the stock rims at a local tire shop. We were actually lucky to receive these tires since 21" snow tires are anything but ubiquitous. Having waited a little too long into the winter season it was only our great relationship with Tire Rack that made this possible since these snows were literally impossible to find locally or otherwise.
The night before the scheduled February 9th Ice Driving School, Jason had to back out unexpectedly and asked me to take his place. While I had had plenty of chances to see Q7's over the years, including an undisguised pre-production model well before they had been unveiled, something has conspired against me actually driving one up to that point.
The day of the ACNA School proved to be one of the nicest of the year. The morning was beautiful and provided great weather to get acquainted with the Q7 for the first time. My initial impressions were that it's extremely easy to drive considering its size - feeling more like a mid-sized sedan than the portly SUV that it is. The 4.2-liter V8 was more than adequate to get the heft moving in the mountains and the suspension made the ride nice and smooth. The transmission shifts smoothly, although I've since noticed it to be a little sluggish, accompanied with harsh gear changes, when it has been sitting outside overnight in the cold. One feature I thought was going to be a gimmick, rather than a useful feature, was the Adaptive Cruise control. However, once I hit the I-70 ski traffic, which at one point slowed me down to an average speed of about 5mph, I discovered that the this feature is a wonderful option. During this slow section of I-70 I set the Adaptive Cruise control and as long as the traffic was moving it would keep me at a safe distance from the car in front of me. It would even bring the Q7 to a complete stop if necessary. I've found this feature to be excellent during rush hour when you normally wouldn't be able to use cruise control and it is sorely missed now that I've returned the Q7 to AudiWorld.

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