EYEMDKIM

I am thinking of buying Q7 sometime this year. However, I'm not sure if I will be happy with 3.6 or 4.2. If I can save some money and fuel, I want to get 3.6. But, if I am not happy with the performance of 3.6, I would prefer 4.2. What do you suggest? Most likely, I will be driving my car on highways and local..not too much off-road stuff. Maybe, going up to Big Bear for Skiing..that's about it. Would appreciate your expert recommendations. At this time, I'm not interested in TDI becuase it's more difficult to find diesel in California. Thanks!

Houstonmobilian

Test drive both cars ate the dealership and go from there. That's the only way you will know which one suits you. And of course add the considerations like price and gas. I am sure you are the only who knows which one suits you the most.

Railflyer

Neither, buy a TDI and don't look back! Diesel is around more than you think. I've never had problems getting diesel in So Cal or anywhere else out there.

98a6quattro

diesel is the way to go. the fuel economy on the 3.6 sucks so i can only imagine the 4.2

krick

Depends on what kind of performance you're looking for, but we went with the 3.6 in our previous Q7 and never regretted it. The HP/torque difference between the 3.6 and 4.2 is partially offset by the weight difference (the 4.2 is I think a few hundred lbs heavier). Acceleration and torque were fine - nothing stellar, but at the same time the 3.6 never felt sluggish to us.

krick

We found fuel economy to be decent on our 3.6 relative to other large 7 passenger SUV's. Not great, but not terrible either. It's all relative.

EYEMDKIM

My only concern with TDI is possible "diesel" noises as the car gets older. According to the specs, 3.0 TDI has the slowest 0-60MPH and feels sluggish at high speeds...at least that is what Edmunds reviewers said.

I was thinking a lot about 3.6 S-Line at this time. 3.0 TDI sounded tempting, but I'm not sure yet.

98a6quattro

im spoiled by my 45mpg TDI VW

Arrie

Now,

If you do not need to worry about how much the premium of the car is you would not be very smart if you would not get a 3.0 TDI. I think there is a 4.2 TDI also but not in N.A yet...

3.0 TDI is one of the best diesel engines money can buy. The problem here in U.S. is that diesel engines in cars are new again and almost everyone wants one. This is why they have extra premium of about $5000 at he moment. This is why I bought an '09 Q7 3.6 gasoline version.

Diesel technology has been driven in Europe for decades now strictly because diesel fuel has been a lot cheaper than gasoline and there is absolutely no other reason. Here in U.S. gasoline has been cheaper than diesel and still is about the same price as diesel on the 93 and up octane gasoline. There has not been need for diesel engines as in most of the rest of so calles western world.

Now, as gas price has leveled out to be about the same as diesel the fuel mileage starts to play a role in this and typically a diesel engine gives a better fuel mileage. And usually diesel engine is more reliable than a comparable gasoline engine. And they last a long time.

Audi Turbo Diesel engines are very good and reliable angines with a lot of power and performance. 3.0 TDI is listed having less power than the 3.6 liter gasoline engine but I think it beats 3.6 liter version from the line. Reason is that power is not what makes the car to move. It is the force, i.e. the torque the engine can put out and torque of the TDI is just in another heaven compared to 3.6 gas engine.

Your pondering between 3.6 and 4.2 makes sence only if your previous car is some sort of a sports car with a lot of force to transfer to the wheels. I can tell from my own experience that the '04 Tahoe that I drove for 5 years that is listed of having 310 PH feels like a snail compared to my 3.6 Q7 that is listed having 280 PH, and the vehicles weight almost the same. This Q7 is a pure rocket compared to Tahoe and this also gives me true 20 MPG at 75 MPH speed when Tahoe did about 17.5 MPG.


Arrie

Jusforfun

You will not have a problem with old TDI. The technology being used now is way superior to anything you could have experienced before.
We drive TDIs over here all the time. I have only ever seen two FSI Q7s on the roads here. There are dozens of TDI around me all TDI all clean running and we have had them since before you guys got the FSI. You just dont see smoke or dirty exhaust pipes any more. Audi lead the way with very high pressure direct multiple injection.
You only have to wait a max of two seconds for pre-heat in sub zero conditions. You can actually start without waiting but its not quicker.
I tell you a TDI Q7 will start promptly first time and run on all cylinders every time without fail. People who say otherwise just dont know what they are talking about!
As far as sluggish and slow 0-60 you are not going to notice 1 second because you dont generally drive 0-60 and when you do 8.6 seconds is fine.
The awesome torque will compensate and provide comfort in power for general driving. The pick up once rolling is great. This is a lively quiet smokeless torquey unit that will provide you with a lifetime of pleasure, lets you feel smug about the environment, returns good mpg and still gets you a better resale price. Whats not to like?