Anyone here own a Q7?

[S&W 10]

I'm considering the purchase of a 2009 Q7 4.2 and would like to get the opinions of actual owners. It's just a notion I came up with a few days ago, but I am thinking about selling my 2003 Silverado crew cab 4X4 3/4 ton Diesel as I simply no longer haul anything my newer 2 WD 1/2 ton won't move. Oklahoma isn't exactly up to speed on it's snow removal and it has never been a problem for the big old heavy truck, but am worried about the Q7's ability to get around in the fairly foul winters we've had here the past few years.

Also, are there any common mechanical or electrical issues with this model?

Any information and opinions you may be willing to provide will be greatly appreciated.

[rmicroys]

We're potentially looking at getting a Q7 next year, but I actually like the styling of the Touareg better. For the most part the same underpinnings. I would also consider the diesel, just for economy.

[SebringSilver]

I drove a Q7 for a month as a courtesy car. It's definitely a people mover and not anything you'd ever deem to be fun to drive. But if you're worried about its capabilities in winter conditions, you shouldn't. It does a phenomenal job of isolating you from the outside world, like you're in your very own leather-lined, power everything, all-wheel-drive coccoon.

[S&W 10]

When I scrolled to the average mileage in the Q7's display I was a bit surprised to see that it was getting 4 mpg less than what my 6.6 liter Duramax averages.

Since this will have to be parked in the driveway (no room left in the garage) I was thinking that a gasoline powered vehicle may be more forgiving in the cold. For the past four or five years I've been having to plug in the block heater in my Diesel when the temp drop much below the freeze point and around here the wind is always blowing which makes some good size drifts; it's really not that big of an inconvenience, but it is a bit of a pain to dig frozen stiff power cord out of the snow and ice at 5:00 am when it's 10 degrees F or less and the wind is blowing 30-50 knots.
Boy, the climate is sure changing here...harsher winters, hail & tornadoes in November and now we are having 4.0 and greater earthquakes on a regular basis!

[rmicroys]

Up here we're having great weather, September weather in Novemeber in Ottawa almost. No complaints about climate change up here. Winters for us for the past few years have been weak, and really not all that much to talk about. The last good wallop we got was back in 2008. Since then it's been pretty easy to get by in our eastern Ontario winters. I suppose if one wanted a Q7, but have it a bit sporty to drive, I suppose one needs to step up to the Porsche cousin, the Cayenne.

[M3R8]

I have a friend with a Q7, and while I don't know anything about the car, or how much he likes it or not, temps around here are much lower than Oklahoma during winters.

With temps dropping below -4 Fahrenheit during the coldest winter days. His Q7 is a Diesel, and Diesels in general are very common around here. No problems at all.

[S&W 10]

If I recall correctly, last year was the worst winter on the books in Oklahoma; we had 20 days straight below 0, with the coldest being -22 F. I was born and raised in Iowa, so cold and snow isn't new to me, but it seems like the older & lazier I get, the less I want to deal with this type of conditions and being stranded in the out in the middle of BFE sure isn't a very appealing thought.

Hmmmm, I wonder how a Q7 would look with a 3-4" lift and a set of 32" Swamper SSR's...Oops, my "inner redneck" is starting to show.

[rmicroys]

We can get -22F (-30C) temps fairly regularly in an Ottawa winter. At that point, even gasoline engines have issues if they are not plugged in. If one is really going to park a car outside in a nasty wintery locale, then I suggest plugging it in with an inline water heater, or the coolest (pardon the pun) thing to get would actually be a Webasto. There's no kill like overkill I say.

[S&W 10]

We used to have in-line circulating type heaters on the cooling systems, heat mats on the sumps and ether injectors on all our cars, trucks and tractors when we lived up in Iowa, but was sure hoping those days were over...guess I didn't move far enough South and now it's too late to move again, especially since opening our business here eight years ago.
Maybe after retiring I'll move to Florida, pull a white belt up to my arm-pits, get some Velcro shoes and spend the days in relative comfort watching TV and arguing with CNN while my comb-over flaps in the breeze of a ceiling fan, but for now, it it what it is.

I forgot to look/ask, so offhand does anyone know if adjustable ride-height was included or offered on a 2009 Q7 Prestige 4.2?

[yupp danners]

My wife has a remapped 3.0 Q5 which is superb. There is not much difference in carrying capacity and it goes like shat (a = i) off a shovel.
Q7 = a lot of bulk on the outside and not much more incremental space inside vs Q5