Audi Q7 comprehensively facelifted, arriving 2020

The second-generation Audi Q7 SUV will receive its first major facelift this winter. The new look for Audi’s largest crossover was revealed overnight in Germany, with Australian deliveries of the updated Q7 to kick off in “the first half of 2020”, the company says.

An unusually comprehensive mid-life upgrade, the 2020 Q7 sports an entirely new interior and substantial changes to the exterior aesthetics, especially at the front end. The freshened appearance draws the Q7, which debuted four years ago, closer to the company’s newer SUVs, which include the Q8, Q2, and the forthcoming Q3.

Rolling on the Volkswagen Group Modular Longitudinal Matrix (MLB) platform, the Q7 is a three-row SUV that shares many of its components with the new Volkswagen Touareg, and with the higher-end Bentley Bentayga and even the Lamborghini Urus. This is Audi’s longest vehicle and it grows by around a centimetre to 5.06 metres long.

The updated Q7 ditches the outgoing version’s minimalist interior and now adopts Audi’s latest cabin design language. This sees the central infotainment screen count increase to two, though the screens now drop from eye level into the centre of the dash – a move we’ve questioned on other Audi vehicles that have done the same.

The new infotainment still incorporates a large driver’s display called Virtual Cockpit that can serve up full mapping, entertainment and driving data in the place of traditional analogue gauges.

Under the bonnet, all Q7s will feature a 48-volt electrical system which will enable a number of mild hybrid electric vehicle (MHEV) functions, including the ability to ‘sail’ with the engine turned off while driving downhill and a start-stop function that kills combustion from 22km/h when approaching a traffic light. Audi says these technologies cut fuel consumption by up to 0.7L/100km.

Another dedicated plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) Q7 will be coming to Australia later in 2020. However, where the outgoing Q7 e-tron model paired a V6 diesel with an electric motor, the new PHEV variant will likely use a petrol-electric configuration.

Standalone petrol power will also be returning to the Australian Q7 range with the update, with a petrol V6 engine likely to be offered by winter next year. The facelift will launch with two diesel engines, most likely V6s.

A number of other dynamic features, including all-wheel steering and electromechanical active roll stabilisation, will be added to the menu. Air suspension will now be standard on any Q7 with seven seats.

Further information on the Australian-spec 2020 Audi Q7 will likely become available in the coming months.