Audi Q7 hybrid is a robot monster – huge, terrifyingly fast and filled with sci-fi tech

IN Japan, there’s a longstanding craze for “mecha” – giant electronic robo-suits donned and controlled by people.

Audi is German (obviously), but it must have had its eyes to the east when it made the Q7 TFSIe.

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The SunThis behemoth of a car is an oversized delight[/caption]

After all, it’s packing an immense electric motor, is crammed with automated driving tech, and is roughly the size of Godzilla. Or at least his son.

Prepare for a mouthful: I’ve been driving the Audi Q7 Black Edition 55 TFSI e quattro tiptronic.

And the name is about as long as the car, filling just shy of 17 FEET of road.

If you thought eco-vehicles all looked like the Nissan Leaf, Audi is happy to reeducate you. This is one of the biggest, boldest and best hybrids on the road.

The SunIt’s an Audi, so you know it’ll do the numbers[/caption]

Of course, it’s quite clearly a German car.

That’s evidenced by the fact that it’s stuffed with a gloriously powerful 3-litre V6 engine.

Despite the car weighing about two-and-a-half ton with a driver on board, it’s rapid.

In fact, it manages zero to 62mph in a blistering 5.8 seconds.

You feel the weight in a straight dash, but once it gets going, it pulls and doesn’t really stop.

I mean, it probably does at some point, but UK laws don’t allow for this 2.5-ton metal monster to scream down the M6 at its top speed of 149mph. Probably for the best, too.

Other road-faring credentials include always-on all-wheel drive, a maximum horsepower of 381PS, and an 8-speed tiptronic gearbox.

It’s an Audi, so it goes fast. No surprise there.

The SunThere’s plenty of boot space to store…basically anything? Another small car?[/caption]

What is exciting is that Audi reckons you can get 108.6mpg using the hybrid system.

I didn’t get anywhere close to this (does anyone ever?), but it fared very well when it had electric charge.

You can plug it in and power it up with cables (often for free, at supermarkets), or enjoy some of the passive recharging you get while driving, like while braking.

It also has a nippy top speed of 83.9mph in electric – it won’t excite Elon Musk, but it’s not bad at all given the car’s physical heft.

With all this power, you want to feel safe. And you really do, given that you’re basically driving around in a road-legal tank.

A 360-degree camera system was great at helping me navigate and park in the Peak District, where roads seem designed to both excite you and batter your expensive motor.

This is backed up by impact warnings from Audi pre-sense, among a host of other driver assist functions.

The lane assist is particularly impressive, and will even physically nudge the wheel if you stray across the line.

And there’s an adaptive cruise control that maintains your speed, but will slow you down to avoid driving through (or more likely over) the car in front.

The SunThe interior is spacious…and muddy. Customary SUV trip to the Peak District, check![/caption]

The SunIf you’re already buying an Audi Q7, you might as well go in on the panoramic sunroof while you’re at it[/caption]

The interior of the car is a treat.

My model was fitted with an enormous panoramic glass sunroof.

It’s about the same size as my living room window, but it’s even better because it opens with a button press.

You can hide the glass roof entirely of course, but if you’ve paid £1,850 for the extra, why would you?

The front seats are heated, as was the steering wheel (equipped with shift paddles, for when you’re bored of driving in automatic).

You get three-zone A/C, which includes the back of the car.

It’s easy to control thanks to a huge touchscreen that even provides haptic feedback (a little vibration) when you press it.

This buzz means after a while, you don’t have to keep taking your eyes off the road, which is always useful when driving, I reckon.

Audi has its own infotainment system, but I spent most of my time using Apple CarPlay.

Your iPhone connects in seconds, serving up music, maps, texts and a host of other apps you’re already familiar with.

The SunThere’s so much space everywhere you sit. Stretch out, you’ve earned it[/caption]

Of particular note was the call quality, which is exceptional.

Everyone I rang through the car’s system was shocked. It was like I was phoning from an anechoic chamber 3,000 miles from the nearest settlement.

If you get bored of total silence, you can enjoy thumping tunes from the custom Bang & Olufsen sound system.

I cranked the bass right up (and volume too) and felt like I was in a high-end nightclub at 2am, but without the sweat…and people. So there’s something for everyone.

Audi’s Q7 also has a push-to-start button and interior lighting that really adds to the mecha vibe.

It’s not all peachy, mind. My biggest complaint is that the petrol gauge goes down in blocks, of which there are eight. So much for granularity.

But if you’re driving an £80,000 Audi, you’re probably not sweating a fiver’s worth of petrol.

On all other fronts, I was amazed.

The SunThe central console has loads of tech, but it’s served up in an easy-to-chew way[/caption]

The SunThe car of your dreams, made real[/caption]

This is an absolutely enormous car loaded with tech that still manages to feel like a sports car.

The Q7 isn’t for everyone: it’s really designed for families, people with loads of gear, or supervillains.

But if the Audi Q7 TFSIe is for you, then you will adore it.

It’s everything you want from a German SUV: luxurious, brimming with tech, and terrifyingly fast.

And it’s about as close to a Japanese mecha as you can get.

The Audi Q7 Black Edition 55 TFSI e quattro tiptronic tested retails for £79,450. The Audi Q7 starts from £58,570, or £658.83 per month.

Audi Q7 – buy here

All prices in this article were correct at the time of writing, but may have since changed. Always do your own research before making any purchase.

In other news, Audi’s A6 e-tron promises a whopping 436-mile range.

The new Porsche Panamera has “night vision” and even does Shiatsu massages.

Jaguar’s hybrid F-Pace may be the perfect car.

Amazon Auto now puts Alexa in your car.

And Nissan has created an “eco lullaby” that soothes babies in electric cars with the “sounds of combustion engine”.

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