A Friend Drives a 2022 Audi Q7 and Needs a New SUV. This is What I Told Her to Buy.

A Friend Drives a 2022 Audi Q7 and Needs a New SUV. This is What I Told Her to Buy. originally appeared on Autoblog.

I've become an expert, it seems

One of the many upsides of my automotive journalism background is that nearly everyone I know who’s in search of a new car invariably asks me for advice. I'm no automotive engineer, but I've driven my fair share of vehicles over the past 15 years. I enjoy discussing all things car-related, and it’s an opportunity to provide insights based on what I’ve driven. I don’t make recommendations lightly, nor do I give unsolicited advice.

I'm always interested in what car shoppers prioritize. For some, the choice is practical; for others, it's based on emotion. For most people, it's some combination of the two. I’ve never received any angry feedback from someone who took my automotive advice and regretted it. Maybe I haven’t heard back from those people for a reason. A recent encounter with a fellow parent at my child’s sporting event resulted in a lengthy discussion about what she should buy next.I dove in headfirst.

Current ride: 2022 Audi Q7 55 TFSI Premium Plus

Audi Q7 Competition PlusAudi

Our families carpool together sometimes, so I've seen Penny's Q7 in the metal on more than one occasion. I remarked on how good her Q7 looks. She beamed, "I know! I love it!" This is clearly a woman who cares about the aesthetics of her vehicle. She is considering buying it after the lease is over, but she also wants to weigh her options for a new vehicle.

I always ask questions about what the person has driven before in order to get an idea of their tastes. Penny (not her real name) loves cars. Well before she had kids, she drove a first-gen Acura Integra. Instant respect. She also used to drive an Infiniti QX80. While she loved the space and the comfort, she hated the exterior dimensions and the floaty handling. She currently leases a silver 2022 Audi Q7 55 TFSI Premium Plus, and she’s coming off her three-year lease plan in a few months.

Her Q7 (not pictured here) is a stunning SUV, especially with the OEM black wheels and black trim bits. She loves the way it looks, the way it drives, the rich materials, and the premium badge cred, but she’s not keen on the rather tight third-row space and the fussy electronics that have plagued the vehicle more than once. She has tried to ignore the tech-related issues, instead choosing to focus on the Q7's premium materials and high style.

I asked Penny what her criteria are for a new vehicle. Penny has three kids, two in high school and one young adult. She drives her family, including her mother, often, and needs real space for actual adult-sized people. She wants more space for people and cargo, a good tech interface, physical controls, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, saddle brown leather upholstery, sporty acceleration and handling, manageable size, reliability, and respectable fuel efficiency. But she doesn't want something that drives like a bus, which is exactly what she hated about the QX80. She likes the premium look and feel of higher-trimmed vehicles, but she also balks at the cost, mentioning that the purchase price of her Q7 was about $80,000.

Audi Q7Audi

My advice to Penny was not to buy the Q7 at the end of the lease term. The current Q7 has been on the market since 2014 and has undergone two facelifts. The screens look dated and aren't very responsive or intuitive. They look old today. Two or three years from now, they will seem downright Jurassic. For an SUV with mostly touchscreen controls, operations are cumbersome. Moreover, the current Q7 is too small for her family. That alone is reason not to buy it out.

I also told her that replacing her current ride with the next Q7 might not be a great idea, either. She wants better physical controls, and the next Q7 will be much like the current Q5, in that it will be even more of a digital experience than her current Q7. The screens, no doubt, will have improvements for graphics and responsiveness, but they won't have more switchgear. It also looks like the 2027 Q7 will have a pushbutton gear selector, eliminating one of the best shift knobs in the industry. The next Q7's third row will be larger, but we don't know how much larger since Audi will also introduce the larger Q9 around the same time as the debut of the next Q7. It will also be the first year of the vehicle's third-generation redesign, and the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study ranks the Audi brand dead last, another reason to steer clear.

My recommendation: 2025 Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max Platinum

2024 Toyota Grand HighlanderToyota

I told Patty that she might not like the brand of the vehicle I would recommend for her. When I told her that the Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max Platinum would be a great fit, she responded, "Really? A Toyota?" I said, "Aside from brand cache, it really checks all of the boxes on your list." I also told her that there's a Lexus version, but the TX 350 costs more, is slower, and doesn't have saddle brown leather. I also told her that the Grand Highlander's design is less polarizing than the Lexus TX 350. I showed her photos of both, and she said she thought the TX was ugly compared to the Grand Highlander. Toyota also has 20-inch black wheels and black emblem overlays that can be added.

2024 Toyota Grand HighlanderToyota

One of Penny's priorities is more space. The Grand Highlander delivers with 33.5 inches of third-row legroom, over three inches more than the Q7's. There's also quite a bit more cargo space. With the seats folded flat, the Grand Highlander provides 97.5 cubic feet of cargo volume. Behind row two, there are 57.9 cubic feet, and there are still 20.6 cubic feet behind the third row. For the Q7, the third row legroom is a mere 29.2 inches. The Q7's cargo space is also substantially less, with 69.7, 35.7, and 14.2 cubic feet, respectively.

2024 Toyota Grand HighlanderToyota

The Grand Highlander also provides an excellent 12.3-inch touchscreen running Toyota's latest software, which is crisp, clear, and intuitive. Physical controls abound with some of the best knobs and buttons for climate and audio. The Grand Highlander Hybrid Max Platinum also has an available Portobello leather and ultrasuede trim for no extra cost, checking off Penny's desire for "saddle brown" leather.

2024 Toyota Grand HighlanderToyota

The Hybrid Max Platinum trim also has standard heated and ventilated front seats and heated second-row seats. Penny asked if it could hold eight occupants, and I discovered that Toyota will sub out the Platinum's second-row Captain's Chairs for a bench seat, bumping capacity from seven to eight adult-sized individuals.

In terms of driving and fuel economy, the Grand Highlander Hybrid Max does very well. The 362-hp Hybrid Max powertrain is potent, giving the Grand Highlander a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds. Throttle response is good, and the Grand Highlander does a good job managing its size, driving smaller than it actually is. EPA estimates are 26 mpg city, 27 highway, and 27 combined. That's pretty good for a vehicle this size and markedly better than the Q7's 18 mpg city, 23 highway, and 20 combined.

Is Toyota a step down from Audi?

Audi Q7 Competition PlusAudi

Based on Penny's previous automotive brand choices, I was fairly certain she leaned towards premium brands (Acura vs. Honda, Infiniti vs. Nissan) and then the current Audi. She likes a swanky ride that gets eyes. I told her that, as handsome as the Grand Highlander is, it won't get second looks the way a Q7 will. The black wheels and black trim options should help, and she does love the dark blue paint color paired with the brown leather.

The Grand Highlander looks more modern than the Q7, and that's no surprise given the fact that the Toyota is only a couple of years into its first generation, whereas the Q7 is fifteen years into its second generation. A lot has changed in that span of time, and a new Q7 is well overdue. The major hurdle continues to be the brand cache. Will the Grand Highlander feel as special as her Audi Q7 has? That's something only she can answer if she actually takes my advice (which I don't expect her to).

Final thoughts

Choosing a new vehicle is hard. You have to know what your priorities are, as well as your deal breakers. The Toyota Grand Highlander Hybrid Max Platinum fulfills the vast majority of Penny's requirements, with the exception of the premium label. The Grand Highlander was one of the few vehicles I was truly impressed with last year. It just did so much so well, and it looks, drives, and functions better than many three-row SUVs, regardless of brand. Penny's going to update me as she narrows things down. I won't be insulted if she chooses something else, but she will have missed out on one of the best family SUVs on the planet today.

A Friend Drives a 2022 Audi Q7 and Needs a New SUV. This is What I Told Her to Buy. first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 26, 2025

This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 26, 2025, where it first appeared.