2016 AUDI SQ7 4.0L TDI quattro 8AT 7 Seats AWD (435 HP)

Vehicle Overview

The battle of the most powerful diesel engine on the market was gained in 2016 by the Audi SQ7. It had the sprint to beat any hot-hatch on the market and room to carry seven people.

The SQ7 didn’t go for the three-liter barrier like the BMW or the Mercedes-Benz. The Audi engineers thought that a V8 is better than an inline-six or a V6 and, yes, no replacement for displacement either. So they put an engine that had more power than a Porsche Carrera and twice its torque inside a 2.2 tone vehicle.

The outside look of the SQ7 was distinctive compared with other versions of the Q7. The silver rim and horizontal lines on the grille, silver rear-view mirror cases, and the side-sills are all made to improve the aesthetic of the vehicle. It is true, that some of these features are also available as an S-Line trim level. But the four square exhausts in the back will tell a difference.

Inside, it is just like a well-equipped Q7 with sports leather seats for all seven places in the car. But the real masterpiece is under the hood, where all the magic happens.

The 4.0-liter V8 turbodiesel engine was fed by a complex system of two turbochargers and one electric power compressor (EPC). This effectively cuts the turbo-lag. It gives a punch in a quarter of a second. The two turbochargers are introduced in sequential order. There is a smaller turbo for low and mid-range engine speeds and a larger one for higher revs. And this is how the magic happens and the 2.2-ton SUV can sprint from 0 to 100 kph (0-62 mph) in 4.8 seconds.