Long-term report: How a brief affair with another SUV reminded me why I love the Audi Q7

I’ve been driving quite a few larger, family-sized cars recently as part of my job – and it’s given me a fresh perspective on my Audi Q7.

Let’s face it, this Q7 is getting a little long in the tooth. First introduced nearly 10 years ago, it may have had a few facelifts, but in car terms, it’s getting a little geriatric.

However, after trying some of the new seven seat challengers in recent weeks, while it might be a little older, the Q7 is still very much my first choice.

Let’s start with one of the new pretenders. I’ve just had a week behind the wheel of the new Toyota Land Cruiser – a gigantic off-roader with seven seats, just like the Audi. While the Japanese offering is designed more as a workhorse, favouring off-road prowess to on-road comfort, I was still shocked at how unrefined it felt and how little space was in it.

The driver and front passenger areas in the Toyota are tiny and the floor pan is so high that it feels like you sit with your knees around your ears. I had it parked next to the Q7 on my drive for a few days and while you have to admit it looks impressive, I was disappointed whenever I took it for a drive.

It felt agricultural, noisy and as though very little thought had gone into the user interfaces. The series of button presses to turn every pointless, bonging warning off was like starting a Boeing 747. And you had to do it every single time you started the car.

On the road, the Land Cruiser was rattly, jarring and uncomfortable – and all this for a not so inconsiderable £75k price tag.

After a week with the Toyota, I hopped back in the Audi and felt instantly at home. The experience reminded me of all the things I loved about the Q7. It’s fantastically comfortable and the interior is a lovely place to spend time.

The multimedia system – now fully fixed after a trip back to Audi HQ – works very well. The controls are intuitive, the massaging seats are a wonderful optional extra and I now truly appreciate the soft, floaty ride quality. It soaks up bumps with ease and is worlds apart from the tractor-like Toyota.

Over the last few weeks, the Q7 has been called into action for a number of family trips and for those of you who have a larger clan, you’ll appreciate the layout of this seven seater. The rearmost row of two seats can be raised and lowered at the touch of a button and there are few complaints from my teenage daughter when she’s asked to sit at the back. For those of you with teenagers, you’ll know complaint-free travel is highly unusual.

With the seats down, the boot is humungous and often required for garden centre or double buggy carrying duties. With two little ones under three years old, we’re often carting around what most normal people would take for a weekend away for a simple trip to the park. Thankfully, the Audi has plenty of space for our excess.

What I’ve realised after nine glorious months with the Audi is that it really is hard to fault. As a family car, it’s close to perfection. I love the luxurious touches, like the soft close doors that click shut for you, the integrated rear blinds to keep the sun off the kids’ faces and the powered functions like those aforementioned seats.

It’s clear that after 10 years, there is actually little reason to change this Audi Q7. Generally, most new cars I’ve tried lately have actually been a little bit worse than the ones they replaced. There are too many bongs and intrusions these days that get in the way of simply enjoying your car. The Audi, on the other hand, is a perfect blend of old and new – and that’s what makes it a winner in my book.