The Audi Q7 is a superb tow car, and only narrowly falls short of beating the Land Rover Discovery. The judges argued long and hard over which was the better car.
For company car drivers, the Q7 is a much more tax-efficient choice. It sits a full seven benefit-in-kind tax bands lower than the Discovery at 2016-17 rates.
The Audi’s cabin also shows older 4x4s like the Land Rover a thing or two. It feels more plush inside, more modern, and the infotainment system is both easy to use and much easier on the eye than the Discovery’s system.
It doesn’t quite do enough to win the heavyweight class, though. In the lane-change test it was fine on the first two runs, but started to get out of shape on the third and fastest attempt. The Al-Ko ATC stability system also detected some slight movement when slowing down from high speeds.
Acceleration is really punchy, though, needing just 8.8 seconds to go from 30-60mph. The brakes were just as impressive, needing only 10.1 metres to bring car and caravan to a halt from 30mph. And the hill start? Simplicity itself for a car with so much power and torque.
With or without a caravan in tow, ride comfort is superb with the optional air suspension fitted to our test car. And although the Audi has a repair kit rather than a proper spare wheel, most of the other practical features we look for in a tow car were present and correct.