SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active list down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and search through the drop-down menu that appears.

Editor's note: SA Roadtests accepts multi-day vehicle loans from manufacturers in order to provide editorial reviews. All vehicle reviews are conducted on our turf and on our terms.

For out-of-province vehicle launch features however, travel costs are covered by the manufacturer concerned. This is common in the motor industry, as it's more economical to ship journalists to cars than to ship cars to journalists.

Judgments and opinions expressed on this site are our own. We do not accept paid editorial content or ads of any kind.


Not for plebs: 2021 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI quattro S-Line

Just for sexiness

Posted: June 4. 2021

The numbers
Price: R1 435 000
As tested: R1 751 590
Engine: 2967 cc, 90-degree V6, chain driven DOHC, 24 valve turbodiesel
Power: 183 kW at 4200 rpm
Torque: 600 Nm at 2000 rpm
0 to 100 km/h: 6.9 seconds
Top speed: 225 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9.0 l/100 km                                                                 Tank: 75 litres (85 litres optional)
Luggage: 740-865-2050 litres
Ground clearance: 178 to 240 mm
Turning circle: 12.5 metres
Towing capacity, braked/unbraked: 3500/750 kg
Warranty: One year / unlimited km
Maintenance: 5 years / 100 000 km


Even soccer moms and Grade RRR to R (kindergarten) school-runners deserve a little pampering, so we might choose one of these as an alternative to products from Brands B, L and M.

This one weighs in at R1 435 000, pretty much naked, and the fleet manager added almost R317 000-worth of extras to make life more comfortable and practical.

Of special interest was the third row of seats, to make seven in all, at   R20 800. These, like the accompanying second row of individually adjustable (back and forward, recline, fold-and-tumble) chairs, part of a R33 200 Comfort package, have ISOFix anchors with top tethers, making five altogether. Make that six if you count the ISOFix-fitted front passenger seat, although that one doesn’t have a top hitch.

The only drawback to third-row seating is that its mechanism occupies space normally reserved for a spare wheel, leaving you with a pump kit and sealant. It’s not the best solution for a country like ours but that’s why we have cellphones, hey?

Sporting six safety chairs for wee folk with, should you be interested, back row side airbags as a R6300 safety option, you’ll surely be appointed the designated school run driver. Then, because it’s an Audi, you can plug in a data SIM enabling in-car WiFi to discuss urgent plan changes with other moms via WhatsApp. It’s supposed to be for the car to book its own services and such, but we have ‘people’ to look after such boringnesses, don’t we?

When the rearmost seats aren’t needed, one folds them electrically using either of two sets of remote buttons. The second row also folds completely flat, manually, creating a vast load area to accommodate whatever business occupies your daytimes between school, ballet and sports runs. The fleet manager then added a fold-away trailer hitch in case one might be needed. A van, tow vehicle and bus all in one; yummy!

Part of the S-Line’s equipment (there are three models; a plain 45 TDI quattro, this one and a four-litre with oodles more power) is adaptive air suspension. You literally ride on air; the car automatically raises and lowers itself with changing road surfaces and keeps itself level.

We tried it on a gravel road that has severely unsettled some well-regarded SUVs and double cabs in the past. The Q7 was blissful at all normal speeds; we could hear gentle sounds of tyres on the road surface but there wasn’t a hint of twitching, shaking or unpleasantness.

Then followed a suburban street where the asphalt was severely lumpy and pitted with potholes. That was slightly less sublime but hardly uncomfortable. The downside is that the car feels somewhat floaty on smooth surfaces at highway speeds.

The Comfort package mentioned earlier includes all-wheel steering for sporty handling and to make it easier to turn and park, adaptive cruise control with speed limiter, efficiency assist, swerve assist and turn assist. An electric parking brake is standard.

An S-Line Sports package at R30 500 provided sporty seats covered in Valcona leather with “S-Line” embossed into the front chair backrests and black hood lining. But that’s just for sexiness; you could do without if you like.

There was lots of other optional kit; electrically adjustable front seats, a super-duper sound system, panoramic roof, sports wheels, charging pad for the phone, ambient lighting and even a long-range fuel tank in case one might need to make any thousand-kay trips. Those, and any others, can be dealt with quickly and safely because its powerful three-litre diesel gets the car’s hustle on delightfully and makes overtaking a breeze.

It’s a lovely car but, being German, some of its options are unreasonably expensive; like a leather top-skin for the dash at ‘only’ R26 000. Yikes. Keeps plebs at bay, though.


Test unit from Audi SA press fleet


We drove the previous version in 2016

We also drove the SQ7 4.0 diesel in 2021

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.