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Audi adds seven more horses to Audi Q7 3.0 TDI
The Audi Q7 3.0 TDI has been blessed with seven more horses. Grunt goes from 233 HP to 240 HP, while the oil burner's torque numbers stays the same at 398 ft-lb. However, in a neat sleight-of-hand, fuel economy has also improved, going from 22.4 to an even 24.0 US MPG. More power, more fun, more frugality -- that's a neat trifecta from the house of the four rings. The Q7 3.0 TDI will be available in the US in late 2008. For Europeans, it's on sale now for €51,200. Click Read to get the full press release.
[Source: Autoblog Green]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Louis Duran 1:24PM (10/08/2007)
Great. Now if they could just put this engine and their 2.0 liter engine in the Audi sedan and VW vehicles maybe they'd have some more sales. I know several people that are putting off new car buys waiting for the clean diesels to arrive. It seems like they are trickling out rather than flooding.
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zamafir 2:39PM (10/08/2007)
Um... trickling? Could you give us the name of a dealer where you can purchase the 2.0TDI in the US. You can't. They haven't come over yet. They aren't supposed to be here yet. VW has said time and time again the cars won't be here until 2008. Nothing has changed. No one is being slighted.
Furthermore, Audi has stated time and time again that this engine IS the engine bound for the US and WILL make it into the Q7 and other sedans as the market penetration of diesel continues.
Oh how reading press releases and interviews makes commenting fun!
Louis Duran 3:54PM (10/08/2007)
Zamafir, I think you just made my point for me...
"Um... trickling? Could you give us the name of a dealer where you can purchase the 2.0TDI in the US. You can't."
The fact that it won't be until 2008 when the TDI Jetta is available is a trickle. Also, Audi doesn't have any firm plans to bring diesel options to any of their sedan offerings as far as I know. I wasn't really commenting on what Audi/VW have promised but rather the slowness with which all manufacturers have responded. Look at the myriad hybrid options available in the US market and the relatively paltry diesel options. This seems backward of what it should be. Hybrids are an expensive, inelegant solution to a problem diesels can solve easily. The diesel option has been around for nearly a century, Low sulfur diesel has been on sale in the US since Fall 2006. I was sort of expecting a larger number of diesel options to be available in 2008. I guess I can't blame the car manufacturers too much... Tier 2 bin 5 regulations are probably the biggest reason for the low number of diesels that will be available next year. Maybe 2009 will have more options.
I am just holding out for a diesel wagon with all-wheel drive for around $30K. I hope my A6 will last that long. Subaru, VW, Honda? Anyone?
zamafir 5:05PM (10/08/2007)
All valid points, sorry if I was snarky, it's just the waiting game for the new diesels has been a given for some time... and is a direct result of how many diesels VW has sold in the past. Were California hot castrating diesel sales directly as they have been since 2003, VW would be selling a lot more, perhaps now. The problem is, they had no incentive due to the cap on total diesel passenger car sales imposed by California. Furthmore, the US still remains VW’s least profitable market, and not their largest. Though it’s the burden they bare, this impatience, for being the only car maker to stick with the tdi passenger offerings in the US until 2006. And while diesels do get better fuel economy, they’re hardly an elegant solution, go read any report regarding the health affects of diesel particulate emissions – they’re the exact reason Mercedes and BMW confirmed they’ll be offering diesel hybrids in North America.
And while Audi hasn’t directly stated “the A4 will get a 3.0LTDI tomorrow”, interviews with their chief of diesel development and chief of north American operations, make it quite clear that it’s a forgone conclusion. How could they not with a 50 state compliant v6 which fits in the a4, a5, a6, a8, q7, while BMW and Mercedes are going the diesel route in the US?
If you can be patient, good things should be coming sans 2008. No longer can Audi rely on their old mantra of “well we’re to small a car maker to try bringing diesels over to the US” if BMW and Mercedes succeed in 2008/2009 with their new offerings.
Louis Duran 8:03PM (10/08/2007)
That is a very good point Zamafir. Audi need to be responsive to BMW & MB so they may be forced to follow. If they have a 50-state qualified diesel, I can't see why they wouldn't add it to the sedan range.
I prefer Audi to VW or Subaru because of the completely different customer service experience.
That said, I hope Audi have a diesel AWD wagon on the market by 2009/10. Just hope they can keep the entry price close $30K or so. I can't really understand more than a $1000 premium for diesel vs. a Turbo 4 FSI ...
SPG 3:27PM (10/08/2007)
The only way many people could justify an SUV purchase would be if it's a Hybrid (can you imagine fixing a Hybrid engine and drivetrain off warrenty?) or if it's a diesel.
The Q7 seems short on looks but high on smarts.
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chewy 6:23PM (10/08/2007)
Actually, torque is up to 406 lb-ft which is quite amazing for a 3.0 V6. 7% increased fuel economy is also a testament to how much diesels are improving these days.
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chewy 6:24PM (10/08/2007)
great finish, too bad the race coverage was not up to par with the race itself
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Audi-Mad 5:48PM (10/10/2007)
Dont forget about the new bluetec diesel engines which audi has been preparing for since debuting the Q7 V12TDI in Detroit. The new 2litreTDI uses urea injection and a diesel particle filter to reduce emissions but at the same time the engine will create 200 horsepower. It would help audi sell alot more cars in the U.S due to the fact that it is more frugal, more powerful and emits less Co2 than the majority of similar capacity petrol engines on the market.
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