Stevial

Can anyone chime in on the performance of the Q7 3.0 TDI. Is it similar to the 3.6, because i think that 3.6 is way underpowered, especially when merging in on the highway, slow as hell.

I am considering the 3.0 TDI for my next vehicle, but if has a slow a feel as the 3.6 then i will have to pass.

drool6

You need to go test drive a TDI against the other two engine options. The TDI is a sweet engine, and once you drive one, you'll probably buy it. The only downside is, depending on where you live, is the availability of Diesel fuel.

bluestraveller

I drove the 3.6, and eventually bought the TDI. I don't have measured data but by the seat of my pants the TDI feels quite a bit faster than the 3.6. This is likely due to the fantastic low end torque and due to the fact the TDI silently builds speed...


Stevial - cobalt blue is a lovely color, I'm envious -)

mikemdd

Given that the 3.0 TDI gives 406 lb-ft of torque at 1750 rpm, vs. 266 lb-ft of torque at 2750 rpm for the 3.6.....I think you will feel the difference...I know I did!

Mike

SteelWarHorse3.0TDi

As the others above said, the torque on the 3.0 TDI is the key. The 240 bhp engine puts out 550 Nm of Torque in the mid-range, and that's about 40% more than the 3.6. I've heard it said that people buy hp, but drive torque, and I can see some truth in that.

I've driven the 3.0 TDI Q7 since January 2007, and the engine is perfect... it pulls away with force over the entire rev range and never have problems merging into fast moving traffic and overtaking is breeze.

Enjoy.

Mdkellys

What kind of real world mileage are you guys seeing with the TDIs? Have you ever had a serious problem finding the right diesel fuel?

drool6

I drive about 80% city and 20% highway. I'm getting right now about 19mpg. Not too bad seeing that my engine is still new and getting broken into. However, seeing that this is a 5300lb vehicle, I doubt i'd get anywhere near that if I had a gasser... plus I have a heavy foot :P

As for the diesel fuel, I have no trouble getting it, though not all stations have it. About 90% of those diesel stations have the right fuel (ULSD) and the right size fuel nozzle.

SteelWarHorse3.0TDi

Mixed city/highway driving, IF I stick to the speed limits I get about 10.2 L/100km. However, pushing the car say on the autobahn, driving in "S", doing a mix of city driving and autobahn at 180-230 km/h pushes this up to over 14 L/100km - still pretty good.

I still am amazed at how my "Cheaterphant" can thunder along at 200+km/h, and pusing her to 250 km/h is a surprisingly relaxed affair - at least for me, if not for the other drivers lieft wobbling in my wake...

bluestraveller

Our's has just about 1500 miles on the odo and the trip computer shows 18.something mpg

I've been resetting the trip odo in the dash with each fillup to get a true measure of mpg. So far its almost all city driving with a bit of stop and go in the morning. I've gotten as low as 17 on one of the fillups and as high as 22 on one. We did take it out on a short highway trip last weekend and put in about 220 miles after which the tank was still 2/3 full.

Filling up diesel is clearly not a no-brainer like filling gas but it has not been a big hassle. I have 7 gas stations on the way to work and 5 of them carry diesel, not too bad.

CRB

Here is what Edmunds.com wrote:

The Q7 TDI achieves 30 mph in 2.7 seconds and 45 mph in 5 seconds — 0.2 second and 0.1 second better, respectively, than the 4.2 V8 Q7. But the gasoline-fired V8's horsepower advantage eventually prevails above 45 mph, as our TDI Q7 achieved 60 mph in 8.3 seconds (8.0 seconds with 1 foot of rollout like on a drag strip), about 0.3 ticks later than the V8. At the quarter-mile, the TDI's 16.3-second arrival at 81.5 mph trails the V8 by 0.4 second and 6.5 mph.

So, it is close to the 4.2L V8 up to about fifty miles per hour.

Edmunds take of fuel consumption:

On the fuel economy front, our 2009 Audi Q7 still shines. But, as expected, it didn't display the ruthless efficiency we saw on the Mileage Marathon. EPA certification tests are not complete, but Audi suggests that 18 or 19 mpg city and 25 mpg highway ratings are likely.

That sounds about right. We recorded a 22.7 mpg average in just over 1,500 miles of our usual mixed "normal" driving — 0.6 mpg better than the five-seat 2009 Mercedes-Benz ML320 Bluetec. What's more, the big Audi posted an eyebrow-raising 24.1 mpg over our 110-mile test loop through Orange County, a route with zero freeway miles. The Benz ML diesel recently managed only 20.3 mpg over the same course.

Here is the link for the article:

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=136386