For those of you have recently bought the Q7 with the choice of supercharger or turbo diesel what made you decide on one vs the other?

Our Q5 is just a year and a half old but we are already thinking of the Q7. I had a deposit on the first Q7 with the 4.2L but glad I didnt follow through on it until now.

The TDI technology looks wonderful but I cant see enough advantage over the gasoline engine. There has been some talk about cabon deposit with the FSI engines. Anybody have problems with that?

 

i have a TDI.
- awesome mileage (19/28mpg on my 09. 11+ get the 8speed = 30mpg)
- awesome resale value
- tons of torque
- it broke my heart to hand it over to my wife (it was mine first)

 

For me, the deciding factor was the acceleration and improved economy of the 3.0 over the 3.6. Yes, the TDI gets better mileage than the 3.0, but the cost per mile is not that great a difference, and the breakeven point of paying for the diesel option does not make sense this side of 100,000 miles.

Diesel fuel pricing, with all of the variants, fluctuate far greater than gas does. 20 years ago, diesel in the US was 30% cheaper than gas. today, that is no longer the case, thus the belief that it is cheaper to run diesel is long gone.


Can't speak to the carbon desposit issue- vehicle too new...

 

Got the 2011 TDI and loving it. Great mileage on long trips and not bad on local driving. Performance is better than what I had expected. My 2 previous cars have been V8's with 360 and 420 HP and I certainly don't miss it with the TDI. With the TDI, I get better than good performance and great mpg. If you put in in Sport mode performance is even better and you can hardly notice the turbo lag.

Here's some photos of my last trip from NJ to VA showing trip computer avg.
Reset trip A to 0. First leg was 250 miles then did about 50miles of local driving. Then next day another 120+ miles.

 

I bought both and I can tell you that the diesel is very impressive. There is something about going 80mph on the highway and not evening hitting 2k rpm. I recently added a K&N filter to mine and my wifes and immediately noticed a difference in sound and response. Mine (TFSI) is smoother in acceleration and a tad bit quieter than hers (TDI) but she is killing me when it comes to the mileage. I bought it for her for Christmas and I have only had to fill it up once. Me on the other hand...I like to accelerate and have fun, so my mileage is whatever it is, but the TDI is way more efficient.

I think which one you decide to go with all depends on what you like to drive and how you drive it. If you are like me and like fast cars (previous M5 Owner) then the TFSI is definitely for you. This thing is very quick and does not stop accelerating, plus you barely notice the shifts from the smooth as silk 8 speed transmission.

If you are like my wife and like to take your time and just enjoy the cruise then I would definitely get the TDI. Think about it...you will probably only fill up 15 times over the next year. Her previous 09 X5 got about the same mpg as my M5 did.

Whatever you decide at lease make sure you go with the prestige package. All of the extras make it all worth it.

 

i smiled from NJ to SC and back while driving my TDI. i liked it so much that i didn't let my wife do any of the driving.

 

I don't know where you guys are getting 30 mpg. I had one for almost a month and the only time I got 30 mpg was coasting it down-hill before then driving on a flat road the rest of the drive.

My complaints about TDI: (Don't flame me... this is just my opinion.

- Throttle response is slow compared to the TFSI.
- Passing acceleration is poor comparatively.
- Diesel is more per gallon where I live so the finances don't workout considering the 4k extra for the motor.
- The torque is great, but the horsepower is just not there when you need it. Try passing someone up hill at 60-70 mph.
- Somewhat limited on which stations you can refuel.
- Made me want the V10 version.

Why I like it:

- Torque baby!
- It feels like a TRUCK
- The sound is just sooo sweet.
- You get to feel a little better about the environment/ green house gas/ oil dependency... but just a little.

 

I find the passing response in my TDI to be as good as my V8 G500 and the Cayenne Transsyberia I sold to get the Audi.

26-27 mpg on diesel beats 15 mpg in the G500 and 16-17 mpg on the Cayenne, both of which require premium unleaded at very close to the same price as diesel.

 

As someone on the forum previously mentioned, driving less then 8-10K a year would not be worth it to me as you would have to hit 100K just to break even given the 4K price differential. Additionally, diesel costs 30-75 cents more a gallon then premium here in NYC. combine those two factors alone and the gas model made more sense to me at this time. that is not to say that i didnt give the TDI a long hard look..dealer had a TDI prestige in the showroom that was discounted 3K off MSRP, add in the gov rebate and it made us think twice but in the end, we wanted an S-Line configured the way we wanted it..

 

I love all the justifications threads...."You would have to drive xxx miles because diesel is xxxx more" and the motor costs more so you will never pay for itself?

People....we are talking about a $50-$75K SUV....FUEL cost are irrelevant to the cost of this vehicle. The additional cost of a TDI over SLINE gas can NEVER financially be justified one over the other. You either want massive torque and great fuel economy OR you want quick throttle response and fuel economy doesn't matter....that is pretty much it.

One week diesel is $.10 more than mid grade and LESS than premium and now 3 weeks later, it's $.20 more than premium....go figure..

The difference in range of a gallon of diesel is moot compared to gas. The TDI goes sooooo much farther on a tank of fuel than the gas version, it's crazy. filling up 1/2 as many times as a gas car is a real time savings in a year. what's that worth?

I did not buy mine because I expect to save money with one fuel over the other.

I did buy it because I refuse to get 15mpg in a $70K SUV...I have my 2003 Yukon beater for that.

I have no problem with acceleration....I keep the RPM's where they need to be and a flick of the down shift paddle and I am in the torque band.

The thing pulls like a beast.

I also like getting a minimum of 500 miles to a tank... that's filling up every 2-3 weeks instead of once a week.

I drove the TDI this week through some traffic circles by my house just to test throttle response etc. It handles great in manual sport mode. The shift paddles, when used really make this thing responsive.

Now, going 80mph on the freeway and just mashing the throttle down is not the way to make this vehicle jump and I understand some people complaining about that.

How about a down shift to 6th, get the rpm up to 2000 and go?

just my $.02

Never had a diesel vehicle until now....VERY happy with this SUV..

Would I buy another?

Hell Yes...