ayap

Today was the first time I refueled my A6 Avant. On my trip meter, I got 418 miles when I refueled full tank with 19 gallons, which results to 22 MPG - actual (mix city driving and highway). I'm pretty impressed considering I only get 17-18 on the allroad. I hope to get 26 MPG for long distance driving.

If you:

1) do not need to haul in 7 people, you probably don't need the Q7. The ride and interior of the Avant is about the same with the Q7 I tested. The Q7 will have body roll on twisty roads. The Avant, being lower than the allroad, hugs the road pretty tight.

2) want to save on gas, get the A6 Avant. I heard the real test with the Q7 results to only 14-15 MPG. I got 22 MPG on the A6 Avant! I'm amazed that I was able to do about 420 miles on a tank of gas.

3) do not want to park a wide and huge SUV vehicle, the A6 Avant is similar in size to the AR. The Q7 is huge. But between a Hummer and a Q7 ... get the Q7.

4) the Audi dealers I talked to won't give discounts to Q7 at this time, but would give discounts to the A6 Avant. Maybe it's new

5) I heard that they've already fixed several flaws of the 2005 A6, so the 2006 A6 sedan/avant have upgraded those flaws. The Q7 is rolled out this year and we don't know yet what flaws and problems it may have.

6) Real world test says that the Q7 does 0-60 MPH in about 7.9 seconds (not 7.1 as Audi claims), while real world test of the A6 Avant shows 7.13 - 7.5 seconds.

7) This is a tricky issue. The Q7s are NOT built in Germany, but in Bratislava & Slovakia alongside the Toureg & Cayenna. If you have been to the BMW forums, you know that the BMW X5s are built in North Carolina and the X3s in Austria. Question is - would you buy an Audi not built in Inglostad Germany? Some BMW fanatics said they won't buy BMW's built outside of Bavaria. One guy even went as far as saying - would you buy a Rolex built in Austria or Germany or Denmark (a Rolex that's not Swiss made). Hmmmm .... !

After testing it, the Q7 is a great vehicle (and IMO better than the Lexus gx470), but I'd still prefer a wagon over an SUV Just my 2 cents.

JimR

Our two Valmet Boxsters have been great. Conventional wisdom on the Porsche forums is that they are at least as good as, if not better than, Zuffenhausen ones.

FWIW. Obviously it might not be the same with Audi.

Tenacious auDi

I think the Q7 is too minivan/ short school bus looking. Other than the 3rd row of seats I can't see why anyone wouldn't buy the Cayenne or save some cash and get the Touareg over the Q7.

The car doesn't have the style of Audi either. Nice family minivan replacement but for $55K I think there are better options, including the Lexus which I love or the Acura MDX (which my wife drives) and costs FAR less.

I would say great call on the Avant, beautiful car.... although a 2007 AR would still be my first choice, if AOA pulled their heads out of their exhaust pipes.

JimR

I pinged several people at SOT, and they are adamant about this. "We sell too few in the American market."

You should have seen the reaction when I said "well, if BMW brings over a 550xi Sports Wagon . . ."

They pretty much don't care if they lose much of their existing allroad/S6 base.

uber_ar

7) This is a tricky issue. The Q7s are NOT built in Germany

I would have no problem... we are talking about manufacturing not hand made "old world" craftsmanship. TT's I thnk are built in Hungary.

ayap

It's really been frustrating that Audi did not bringing the new AR to the U.S. I think their marketing strategy is to establish the Q7s first for 2 or 3 years. In fact, it will still be a few months before they roll out the V6 version of the Q7.

Besides, the 280HP 2007 AR will probably come out with a $65,000 - $70,000 price tag, because a fairly equipt A6 Avant is already $53,000 - $60,000. The Avant I got was around $52,000 and the dealer gave it to me for $47,500 (it was a great deal).

I heard the issue that Audi is facing with the new allroad is who will be able to afford a $65K-$70K wagon? Maybe some allroad fan will buy.

According to my salesman, we (allroaders) are lunatic/fanatics who are crazy about our allroad. Yeah yeah, I told him we are crazy about our AR! There was actually a 2005 Black allroad that looked brand new. Some couple bought it an hour before I saw it. If they had not bought it, I SWEAR I would have bought it myself. But they did, so I got the A6 Avant.

girlroad

Same people buying the Rclass MB wagon that is all the hype as a crossover, I think it's been done

ayap

<center><img src="http://www.mbusa.com/media/images/main/models/R500_main.jpg"></center><p>
I did go to the MB dealer to look at the Rclass. First one that my wife saw was a black one (tinted black) - and she said ... that looks like a hearse.
I did take a look at the side view and I swear I saw what my wife was talkin about. It did seem like you could put a coffin at the back.

Just imagine a black RL with black tint and compare it to a hearse.

girlroad

I don't like the look either but people are buying them

Tenacious auDi

and I think the Avant is the best choice out thee today. I just don't like the Q7 enough to think it is a good option instead of bringing the new AR here.

At the $65K plus price point I am not sure who would buy the new AR, but Audi prices in general has jumped up too high. Maybe to make room for VW since the lodaed Passat is now about $40K.

Sadly a $65K car will probably seem reasonable in a few years, as will pumping in $5 per gallon gas.... Maybe Audi should make the Q7 bigger and we could use them for public transportation??