Buying a Q7 when you will not use the 3rd row seat?
 

I have been looking at buying a Q5 or a Q7. I am finding myself being more interested in the Q7 when I will probably never use the third row seats in the back. Am I just being nuts and should I just buy a Q5?

Had same issue, but the Q5 is just too narrow, and holds a lot less stuff IMO, but they are cute.

I looked into removing the 3rd row, and putting a storage area there instead, but will wait until warranty expires and my wife is not looking as it requires removing lots of rear interior trim pieces.

Do you need the interior volume of the Q7, Jeff? It's significantly larger than the Q5.

I needed the third row for the occasional children’s school bus that the Q7 was going to turn into, but even when not using the third row I actually like the overall look of it over the Q5 and even the Q8.

Now if they only came out with a SQ7 stateside... yum.

Let's be serious, an Audi Q7 is beyond any need. I might use the additional space maybe 5% of the time. It would be most likely when I had 4 adults in the car and I would have a reason to put my 2 Australian Shepherds in the back. I think it is mostly that a Q7 looks better proportioned and rides better.

My SQ5 w/air suspension rides better than my Q7 w/ standard suspension. Both cars are on the same platform.

So apples to oranges? My Q7 with air suspension rides better than the SQ5 with air.

the third row is almost useless so there’s no need to feel guilty for wanting a Q7 if you won’t use it.

If you have kids up to pre-teen that 3rd row can be quite useful.

Sure apples to oranges but not every Q7 will ride better than every Q5. And Q5s don’t come with RFTs which does take away from the ride quality of the Q7. I’m aware that the Q7 21s aren’t RFT.

Can we get 3.0 on Q5? Otherwise how well does it drive with 2.0 engine? Q7 is adequately powered, but far from being snappy. I just drove A4, it felt so much better, responsive, I really missed the agility and nimble nature of sedans and smaller SUV's (even large X5 drove so much better than Q7, it's a fact, Q7 is BIG)
I love the 3rd row, I haul 6 others plus myself to 3-4 hour drives with 2 kids all the way in the back, it's fun to have everyone in one place without having to worry about taking 2 cars, but if you absolutely have no need for this, just get something in Q5 size with a bigger engine.

Well we have a Q5, and ended up getting a Q7 because the Q5 wasn't adequate for our needs in a bunch of important ways.

I do, a 6 and 7yr old. My 7yr old son hardly fits back there and hates it. It’s like putting your kids in a storage container. It is better than not having a third row in the off chance I somehow end up with all my kids’ friends but I definitely wouldn’t recommend buying this thing for its third row.

the XC90 is larger and has optional second row captains so if you’re shopping for a 3 row crossover specifically, I think that’d be the first thing to check out.

Too bad there is still no option of swapping the useless Q7 third row for a spare tire in the US. If you will never need the third row, get a Cayenne.

And pay $30K more for a bunch of options... but seriously Porsche makes an awesome car. I have driven the 911 and Macan. They are no joke!

The second row does slide forward and you can adjust the pitch of the seatbacks to give the 3rd row more leg room. I've had adults up to 5'9" back there for short trips (up to 30 min) without issues.

Earlier this summer I went in looking to get a Q5/SQ5 during a summer flash sale, but ended up not getting one because we figured a Q7 would fit our needs better with a newborn. I didn't buy the Q7 even though it was also part of their flash sale and now I regret it. Hopefully will buy one soon though. We probably won't ever use the 3rd row, but here are our reasons for wanting the Q7 over the Q5:

1) Larger cargo area - When laid flat, our stroller takes up about 75% of the trunk in the Q5. In the Q7 it takes up about 50%. If we want to travel and bring the stroller, then there is more storage available for the stroller and our luggage.

2) Larger cabin area for more comfort in the backseat (2nd row) - In the Q5, our carseat barely allows the front passenger to move the seat too far back. In the Q7 there was more clearance, and also it's wider so it's more comfortable for my wife who will be sitting in the back majority of the time alongside our newborn, at least for the first year or so.

The 3” that it slides doesn’t really help all that much. Your 5’ 9” passenger was just being polite. The third row is worse than the back seat in the TT.

And pay twice as much for Porsche service.

For 30 minutes, if they complain I'd make them take the bus! It's seriously more then adequate for adults for short trips.

It’s barely adequate but yes I have said the same thing in a previous post.

you must have a really big 7 year old. my 11 year old loves to sit in the third row on 3 hour road trips.

If I still lived in a city and did mostly city driving it would be the Q5 . Now I live in the mountains and do more local driving and the longer road trips usually are for camping with the dog. I almost bought an SQ5 but the cargo just felt really small. (Although I was shocked this weekend when my buddy was able to fit 3 golf bags in the cargo area of his Q5). Our long trips where we bring our dog and camping gear, etc the Q7 gets stuffed. A roof top cargo box could also be a solution for the Q5 (or Q7) if you're concerned with space .

I drive a Q7 with just two of us every weekend to go skiing. Thule Alpine Motion XT cargo box and it's great! Back for tons of gear and whatever else you want to take.

Thank you all for you thoughts. I am going this weekend to drive both and attempt to make a decision. I will let you know which way I go. I do not think there is a bad decision to be made here. Definitely first world problems.

Third row in my '11 Q7 was used maybe 5 times.

Third row in my '14 Q7 never used in 4 years; never used to date in my '18.

I had an sq5 before my q7 and dont miss it at all.

We knew going in that we would probably never use the third row but bought it anyway. In over 2-1/2 years we have used the third row twice. Once to pickup my 8 yr old nephew, and once to take my my oldest son 6'1" and his girlfriend home. Lucky for him it was only a 10 min drive because he was not happy... Actually it was kind of funny seeing him stuffed back there.LOL

However, I have gotten more use out of the cargo space with all the seats folded more than I thought I would. Besides the normal lawn and garden type of stuff I've moved more furniture than I would care to, and it came in real handy last year when we moved.. My youngest son (19) in his words was amazed at how much stuff the Q7 could swallow.

Which gen SQ5? The old gen shares nothing with the current gen except for probably the ZF transmission.

I love my 2017 Q7. Have used the 3rd row 2-3 times. Like JT4 I've use the extra space. My wife's Lexus 350 is soooo much smaller.
I will say however, I hate the run flats and wish the Q7 had at least a donut.

If you wont use the third row, then buy something smaller like an X5 or GLE. The Q7 is hefty to drive around if you dont need a 3rd row

Yah, but can you stretch out your 6'2" body and sleep in an X5 while camping and have your cooler at your feet? I think not..., Q7 great for this, big sunroof, see the stars, works great, just don't sit up too fast, lol.

Why I bought Q7 over X5 or Q5.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.aud...592bbaf5d1.gif

Lol the X5 weighs more. If you plan on using the third row look at something else, the Q7 definitely doesn’t have a “full time third row”.

I bought Q7 without 3rd row. Just ordered like that. More leg room 2nd raw, more space in cargo (my dog is very happy) and never carry weight of 3rd row in the car. When this option is possible, Q5 is never considered.

I didn't realize that you can order a Q7 without the 3rd row in US - did yours also come with a compact spare?

The Q5 is a glorified A4. It's small, noisy and rides rough. I just had a new Q5 Premium Plus loaner from the dealer for 2 days and was not impressed though the 4 cyl does have good power. It also does not have the build quality of the Q7. The BMW X5 is a much better choice if you don't need the 3rd row. Loaded up it's a great vehicle. The Q7 is huge. I believe it's 199 Inches long vs. the X5 at 194. Around here 19 out of 20 Q7's are soccer mom vehicles. Our kids school is littered with them. My wife uses the 3rd row all of the time, so it works for her. If the X7 were available when we got he Q7 would have chosen that for sure. Much nicer seats and interior and the V8 option drives amazing for it's size.

I don’t have spare. Just repair kit and compressor.

Yes it is huge, and it's a tad over 199 inches, you can easily call it 200" vs others in it's "class" if you consider XC90, X5, MDX, etc.. Even VW Atlas is a bit shorter, despite having more comfortable 3rd row. I don't know why Audi focused on leaving so much room for cargo when you have 3rd row up. It's really nice but if you can't use 3rd row for long road trips for adults, you won't be carrying large luggages back there anyway, it could have been done much better by placing the sound system on the sides instead of on the floor.
I think the reason for 3rd row to have such small space on Q7 is because 1st row is set really back, this could most likely be the reason why we have such a quiet vehicle, compared to something like X5 or even XC90. Q7 is whisper quiet...
There are definitely situations Q7 could be a perfect vehicle, but I feel like they could have done it better, between the length and weird mirror location, I hope they could make Q7 a bit more manageable size and then just release a Q9 or something to be the actual 3-row SUV to be in same class as X7 and GLS.

All, thank you for your input. I took my wife to the dealer this morning and we decided on the Q7. Actually, I really enjoyed driving the Q7 Prestige this time a lot more that the previous time I drove the car. I should pick up the car tomorrow evening. I really look forward to getting the car, figuring our all of the tech, and driving it.

Dogs fit nicely in that 3rd row area. I was happy to eat up that area for them.