We love the refined and practical Audi Q7, but does the on-trend, petrol-electric hybrid Lexus RX make more sense as a used buy? Read on as we try to sort out the battle of the luxury SUVs...
The Contenders
Audi Q7 3.0 TDI 218 SE
List price when new £47,755Price today £30,000
Available from 2015-present
A top-tier luxury SUV, but can an entry-level version compete with the RX?
Lexus RX 450h Luxury
List price when new £49,995Price today £30,000
Available from 2016-present
As a petrol-electric hybrid with sharp styling, the RX is bold, brash and futuristic.
*Price today is based on a 2016 model with average mileage and full service history, correct at time of writing
Picture yourself buying a new phone and, for the sake of this analogy, let’s say you’re an Apple person. Do you go with the latest version of what you know and love, or take a chance with that Android you keep flirting with? It’s a tricky dilemma, sure, but imagine that on the scale of a much larger purchase like a luxury SUV.
The Audi Q7 is the new iPhone. It isn’t ground breaking, but it’s the formula you’re used to, not to mention it’s been polished, refined and enhanced to near perfection. Enter the eye-catching Android, the Lexus RX. It has sci-fi appeal inside and out, plus a setup powering it that you haven’t perhaps experienced before.
To save almost £20,000 off their new car prices, you can opt for the six-year-old versions we have here. But which is best, the brilliant Q7 or forward-thinking RX? Let’s find out.
Driving
Performance, ride, handling, refinement
The hybrid Lexus combines a V6 petrol engine with electric motors to give a combined 308bhp. That makes the 215bhp on offer from the V6 diesel Audi seem rather tame, but the Q7 is actually the faster car – and by a fair margin. A small amount of pressure on its right pedal will waft you up to speed swiftly with barely any increase in engine revs. If you really put your foot down, it’ll get you to 60mph almost a second quicker than the RX.
In contrast, anything other than gentle acceleration in the Lexus causes the revs of its petrol engine to soar suddenly and stay high until you’re up to speed. The drone is never unbearable, but it means the RX is considerably less refined than the whisper-quiet Q7. The Audi also isolates you much better from road and wind noise at motorway speeds.
Anyone who’s driven a Porsche Cayenne down a winding country lane won’t find anything to get excited about here. You can feel every ounce of the two-tonne kerb weights of both the Q7 and the RX. Neither of them appreciates being asked to change direction quickly, although the Audi sways about less and has more direct, confidence-inspiring steering.
The Q7 also came with optional (£2000 from new) air suspension, on which it delivers a properly cushioned ride, particularly at motorway speeds, where the Audi lopes along in a relaxed fashion making 100-mile journeys positively fly by. Catch a pothole around town and there’s an occasional thud from the suspension, but the Q7 is otherwise more settled and composed than the Lexus at low speeds, too.
Wider experience of the Q7 line-up suggests the air suspension is worth paying for, although the standard suspension still provides a perfectly comfortable ride.
Keyword: Used test: Audi Q7 vs Lexus RX