The 2027 Audi Q7 Beats the X5 on Power and Seats

Audi priced the 2027 Q7 at $70,900 with 429 horsepower and a standard third row, a mix the new BMW X5 still does not sell. The SQ7 starts at $98,700 with a 591-hp twin-turbo V8.

The new Q9, nearly 10 inches longer, is the SUV Audi built for the BMW X7 and Mercedes GLS, which leaves this Q7 in the X5’s price band with two extra seats.

A $70,900 Three-Row With 429 Horsepower

U.S. specs from Audi of America put a starting MSRP of $70,900 on the Q7 quattro, $3,300 (4.9 percent) above the outgoing Q7 55 TFSI at $67,600. The sticker is not a like-for-like bump. Audi deleted the 261-hp four-cylinder, so every 2027 Q7 now uses a 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 with 429 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque, routed through an eight-speed Tiptronic and quattro all-wheel drive.

That is 94 hp more than the old 335-hp 3.0-liter V6 and 168 hp more than the four-cylinder that used to open the range. Audi quotes 4.8 seconds to 60 mph, 0.7 seconds quicker than the 5.5-second 55 TFSI, with a 130-mph top track speed and a 5,137-lb curb weight. EPA figures are still TBA.

BMW’s redesigned 2027 X5 40 opens at $69,800 with 394 hp and a 5.1-second 0-60 run. The Q7 costs $1,100 more, makes 35 hp more, is 0.3 seconds quicker on paper, and seats six or seven. The X5 40 is a five-seater; all-wheel drive is extra on BMW’s cheapest 40, while quattro is standard on the Audi.

THE PRICE AND POWER SCOREBOARD

Volvo’s XC90 still starts near $62,445 with seven seats and a 295-to-455-hp spread, so it remains the cheaper three-row. What it does not do is match a 429-hp Q7 on a sprint, or a 7,700-lb tow rating with the optional Audi tow package.

Where the SQ7 Lands Against BMW’s V8s

The SQ7 is the cleaner raid. Audi of America priced it at $98,700, $4,900 (5.2 percent) above the outgoing $93,800 SQ7, and fitted a revised 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 591 horsepower and 590 lb-ft, up 91 hp from 500. The quoted 0-60 time drops from 4.0 seconds to 3.7 seconds.

SQ7 AT A GLANCE

• Engine: 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 with 591 hp and 590 lb-ft, eight-speed Tiptronic, rear-biased quattro and an electronically controlled locking rear differential.
• Sprint and tow: 3.7 seconds to 60 mph, 7,700 lb with the optional tow package, same rating as the Q7.
• Sticker: $98,700, $750 under the 2027 BMW X6 M60i at $99,450, with 68 hp more and a third row the X6 does not offer.
• Who it sits nearer: Audi of America places the SQ7 closer to an X5 M or AMG GLE 63 than to an X5 M60i or GLE 580, and BMW’s next V8 X5 is not due until later in 2027.

The SQ7’s 591 horsepower and 3.7-second sprint were the figures that landed in June. The July sticker is what moves it. A family SUV at that output, for less than a two-row V8 X6, is the part of the brief BMW and Mercedes now have to answer with hardware, not lighting.

78.1 Cubic Feet and Captain’s Chairs

U.S. Q7 and SQ7 buyers get six or seven seats. Seven is the standard layout, a 2-3-2 with a second-row bench that Audi says will take three child seats side by side. Captain’s chairs drop the count to six. Europe launches the same body as a five-seater, with six and seven as options, which is the split that still shows how much of this truck was drawn for North America.

All seats are at least partly power-adjustable. The second-row bench slides, folds 65/35, and has a manual 30-percent center section that makes a 35/30/35 pass-through. Comfort entry tilts the middle row without dumping a child seat, from the MMI, the C-pillar, or the cargo hold. A one-touch button in the load bay can drop the third row or every rear seat at once.

HOW THE HOLD GREW

• Behind the third row: 15.1 cubic feet, up 1.5 from 13.6 on the outgoing U.S. Q7.
• Behind the second row: 37.7 to 43.9 cubic feet, depending on how far the middle row sits.
• Seats folded: 78.1 cubic feet, 10.0 more than the old 68.1-cubic-foot maximum.
• Outside: 199.1 inches long on a 117.9-inch wheelbase, 79.2 inches wide, 71.2 inches tall against 68.4 before, so the extra cubes come mostly from a more upright roof.

Third-row legroom is still 29.1 inches, which is a child’s row. Adults who live back there are the reason Audi also built a Q9. What the Q7 did fix is the grocery gap behind that row and the option, new for this nameplate, of second-row chairs.

Killing the Four-Cylinder Raised the Floor

The last U.S. Q7 asked shoppers to choose a 261-hp four-cylinder or a 335-hp V6. The cheap engine is gone, and with it the old on-ramp math. A 429-hp base Q7 is now the entry point, which is why a $3,300 sticker rise still feels like a different vehicle. The SQ7’s $4,900 rise buys 91 hp and three-tenths off the sprint, a smaller percentage move for a much louder result.

Both U.S. engines are gasoline. Europe’s launch Q7 is a 3.0-liter V6 diesel with MHEV plus, at 180 kW (245 PS) or 220 kW (299 PS), plus up to 18 kW (24 PS) from a powertrain generator and an electric compressor. German prices start at 87,900 euros. There is no U.S. hybrid on the books at launch, and fuel economy has not been posted, so the American bet is power, towing, and a quiet cabin, not a plug.

The Q7 uses a new limited-slip center differential with preload. Adaptive air suspension is optional over steel springs. Towing stays 7,700 pounds with the optional package, so the extra horsepower did not buy a higher rating.

THE 2026 CALENDAR

1. June 9, 2026: Audi reveals the third-generation Q7 and SQ7 in Ingolstadt, with U.S. gasoline outputs and Europe’s diesel pair.
2. July 2026: Audi of America posts U.S. pricing, $70,900 for the Q7 and $98,700 for the SQ7.
3. July 28, 2026: The first-ever Q9 and SQ9 debut as the full-size flagship, from $87,700, on a 209-inch body.
4. September 2026: German Q7 deliveries were scheduled to start, after orders opened in June.
5. Fourth quarter of 2026: U.S. Q7 and SQ7 dealer arrivals, the same window BMW gave the new X5 40 xDrive in October.

That last overlap is the shopper’s problem. A family that wants three rows and 400-plus hp can now walk a Q7 against an X5 that still seats five, in the same season, for similar money.

Q9 Takes the X7 Off the Q7’s Back

For a decade the Q7 was Audi’s only three-row SUV, stretched between a Genesis GV80 and a true full-size X7. The 2027 Q9 ends that squeeze. It is 209 inches long on a 123.5-inch wheelbase, 9.9 inches longer than the Q7, with 19.3 cubic feet behind the third row, 43.8 behind the second, and 87.7 with the rears folded. Audi quotes 4.9 seconds to 60 mph for the 429-hp Q9 and 3.8 for the 591-hp SQ9, on the same two engines.

Third-row legroom is 29.1 inches on both the Q7 and the Q9, so the bigger truck’s gain is in the middle row (41.6 inches versus 39.3) and in cargo, not in a suddenly adult third row. The GLS still quotes more than 34 inches back there. The split still matters for the Q7. Once the X7 fight sits on a $87,700 Q9, Ingolstadt can price this Q7 next to an X5 and keep the third row as the extra, which is the whole commercial trick.

A Conservative Face Splits Opinion

The sheet metal is familiar on purpose. Length barely moves. The Singleframe is still the Singleframe. Digital Matrix headlights, OLED tails, and an optional lit grille do the talking at night, while the daylight shape stays in the lane with Volvo, Genesis, and non-AMG Mercedes shoppers who never wanted an SQ8 coupe. Keeping a 4.0-liter V8 in the SQ7 is what the performance crowd actually asked for. The nose is what they are arguing about.

The rear already draws cheap-crossover comparisons, and the Europe-diesel versus U.S.-petrol split has people talking past each other about what this truck even is. The quiet body is the volume tool. The V8 is the SQ7’s. Those are two different fights sharing one set of doors.

For more than 20 years, the Audi Q7 has represented the perfect premium SUV. With its new generation, we carry this mission forward. It combines a sporty, powerful design with a highly versatile interior, first-class materials, and a wide range of technologies.

Gernot Döllner, Audi CEO, June 9, 2026 media release, Ingolstadt

Döllner’s brief is the family one: seats, a big roof, quattro. The 429-hp base engine is how that brief survives a 2027 comparison with BMW without a four-cylinder apology.

Digital Matrix Lights Reach U.S. Dealers

Adaptive-beam Digital Matrix LED headlights reach U.S. customers for the first time on this Q7, using micro-LED modules that can throw high-resolution patterns on the road. Rear digital OLED lamps add communication lighting and an active signature. Audi offers up to eight digital light signatures front and rear. At night, a stylized turn signal can be projected onto the pavement in sync with the lamps, aimed at cyclists and adjacent traffic. Open a front door and a white rhombus unfolds on the ground.

WHAT THE CABIN ADDS

• Screens: MMI panoramic display, a passenger screen, an AI voice assistant on subscription, and the Audi Application Store.
• Charging: Two Qi2.2 pads at 25 watts each in the new console, with USB-C at up to 60 watts in the second row and 100 watts in the third.
• Sound: 10 speakers standard, optional Bang & Olufsen at 16 or 22 speakers; the 22-speaker 4D pack is rated at 1,360 watts with seat exciters in the fronts.
• Roof and doors: Illuminated panoramic glass with switchable transparency on the top trim, optional power-opening doors, and a foot-gesture liftgate with a light that shows where to kick.

Assists include adaptive driving assistant plus, trained parking, and reverse assist. Four-zone climate is part of the three-row brief. Whether seat motors pulsing with a 1,360-watt mix register at 70 mph is a road-test question. The hardware is on the options sheet.

The 2027 Q7 and SQ7 are built in Bratislava like both prior generations, the same Slovak line that has made this SUV since 2005. U.S. dealer arrivals are scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026.