With the Audi Q7 range receiving its midlife facelift, while the mighty 'trip-turbo' engine from the pre-facelift SQ7 finding its way into the SQ8, it's time for one of our favourite performance SUVs to get its own round of revisions. Here's the rundown on the 2020MY Audi SQ7, then.
Absolute power
If you're hoping that the SQ7 has had a shot in the arm as a result of its facelift, prepare to be disappointed. Well, as disappointed as you can be with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 diesel that's augmented by an Electrically Powered Compressor (EPC) to eliminate lag. Honestly, as the revised SQ7 doles out 435hp from 3,750-5,000rpm and backs that up with the socking great figure of 900Nm from 1,250-3,250rpm, it is not short of pace - indeed, weirdly, Audi claims it is a tenth of a second quicker for 0-100km/h than its immediate predecessor, now posting a 4.8-second sprint on its way to a 250km/h limited top speed. On top of such prodigious pace, what has always marked the SQ7 out as brilliant is its ability to return semi-palatable economy for a megalomaniacal seven-seat SUV - reckon on up to 7.4 litres/100km (38.2mpg) with CO2 emissions as low as 194g/km.
So what HAS changed?
Well, not the chassis set-up, as the updated SQ7 still has an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic gearbox driving all four wheels through Audi's fabled quattro system. Sport air suspension and Progressive Steering are both standard-fit, although there's still the option to take maximum advantage of the SQ7's 48-volt electrical architecture and fit all-wheel steering, active anti-roll bars and a sport differential to the dynamic package.
Instead, it's a visual overhaul. Up front, a more prominent design of Singleframe grille houses twin slats in its centre and the entire thing sits above a lower airdam that's much more aggressive than the older car's. The front light clusters also sport a new design of daytime running light LED signatures and round the back - while we're on illumination - the rear clusters are notably different; they're more rounded in shape now, as opposed to the forebear's angular units, and they're connected by a chrome trim strip that wasn't there previously. Also, the quad exhausts are now round in shape, rather than trapezoidal.
Silver screens
Inside, there's a much easier 'tell' for the update SQ7, and it's the three-screen MMI Navigation Plus layout seen in the latest high-end Audis. Gone is the old pop-up unit sitting atop the dash and a rotary MMI controller on the transmission tunnel, replaced instead by a couple of touch-sensitive digital displays in the centre stack and a smoother gearlever area. This change has necessitated a different design for the passenger fascia, although the full-width air vents are preserved. Other than that, it's high-class business as usual for the SQ7 2020MY, with top-end fixtures and fittings, loads of tech and the ability to seat seven people within.