Blink and you’ll miss it, this is the 2024 Audi SQ7. Which looks quite a bit like the 2023 Audi SQ7, and also the regular Q7 – but that’s no bad thing.
As facelift as facelifts come, the new 2024 SQ7 didn’t need a huge overhaul, but it has been refined, improved, tweaked and turned up a little in a few key areas.

As part of the new two-model Q7 range, the Q7 50 TDI S line kicks it off at $158k. Audi NZ also offers up this model, the$202k SQ7 TFSI, which shares many of the updates with its sibling, but replaces the turbo diesel with a turbo petrol V8.
Here’s a quick key for the trainspotters: the 2024 SQ7 is identified by its revised grille with vertical inlays, and a single-frame bumper design. The HD matrix headlights with Audi’s laser light show also feature, along with OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode, of course…) taillights.

Flatter, 2D badges are also new, as is the minimisation of rear badges: while the very slightly revised SQ7 badge on the rear is subtle, the small laser-etched name on the B-pillar is another way to ID the 2024 model. If you can spot those changes on a new Q7 on the motorway at 100km/h, gold star on the forehead for you. There’s a new front spoiler and rear diffuser, but it’s all on the mild side, both over the previous model, and the Q7.
Along with new 21-inch wheels (also on the Q7), there are new colours, seats with contrasting stitching and, in Audi-speak, “an even higher level of customisation” (aka, more options).
Now twice updated since its second-generation launch in 2015, and first update in 2019, Audi’s largest SUV offers the aspirational seven-seat for the ultimate soccer-mom (sic). As popular as the Santa Fe, Everest and Highlander are, those drivers often dream of owning an SQ7.

Part of that could be the power on tap: a turbo 4.0-litre V8 with 373kW, shared with Bentley, Lamborghini and Porsche, running through a smooth eight-speed Tiptronic auto and Audi’s famous quattro all-wheel drive. Beware the mom-on-a-mission in the SQ7: it’ll jump to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds, while howling out the glorious sound of a sonorous V8 (even if some of it’s fake, through the audio system) with nary a hint of gaudy wheelspin: just pure acceleration that’ll also give the car-loving kids a wake-up and stop fighting call.

On the flip side is economy, and while that might not be a major concern for a premium SUV costing a little over $200k in standard trim, it is wildly dependent upon the flex of the right foot. Audi claims 13.2l/100km combined, which isn’t too bad considering its hefty size and performance. In our week with the SQ7, we saw as high as 16l and as low as 10.5l/100km when frequently using its four-cylinder mode while cruising around 80km/h (thanks to the many NZTA construction zones). Our average for the week was around 13.5l/100km.
Our car also came fitted with a pair of option packs: a Performance package for $13,000 that adds Active roll stabilisation, quattro sport differential, brake calipers painted in gloss red with S logo and a 48v mild hybrid system.
Our SQ7 also had a $15k comfort package, which includes trailer assist and an electric pop-out tow bar, air ionizer, panoramic glass sunroof, black mirrors, adaptive windscreen wipers, night vision assistant, upper leather on the dash, rear sun blinds, seat ventilation with massage, Sports seats plus in front, Valcona leather with S, plus 22-inch Audi Sport gloss with turned finish wheels and 285mm wide tyres that added another $3000.
And about those lights: the matrix DRLs can offer one of four selectable light signatures, via the interior touchscreen. The higher positioned lights offer better nighttime clarity and mask the areas where it detects other vehicles – plus laser lights supplement the main beam, almost doubling the range.
The rear digital OLEDs are wafer-think elements that also feature four light shows and displays, along with a proximity indication feature: when stationary, if a closing car behind gets to within two-metres and risk of a collision, it illuminates all the lights as a warning. There’s also dynamic, sequential turn signals, and various coming/leaving home light sequences.
Possibly the neatest new feature of the SQ7 is its remote park assist feature: while automatic parking has been a feature for well over a decade now, via the my Audi app, a user can park the car while standing outside, for more space to enter/exit. At 5072mm long, that could be a handy feature, or just a flex.
Back inside, the SQ7 personifies premium: our Valcona leather pack features rhombus/diamond patterns on the first two rows, embossed S logos on the electric, heated, cooled, massaging and air-adjustable seats, plus there’s the practicality of Isofix mounting points on all six passenger seats. Those third-row seats electrically raise/lower, while the boot also offers switches to raise and lower the rear air suspension for easier loading: hands-free tailgate opening is par for the luxury course.
The sliding second row has heaps of room and comfort, with cabin lighting, a centre armrest that drops down, and dual-zone climate control, with a kids lock, operated by the driver. Our 6yo Oscar did wonder why he was not cooling down in his seat after a trampoline session, until he realised he’d activated the “H1” temperature setting… er, Oscar, that’s “hi”, for maximum heat!

But it’s the front row that’s just divine: there’s a main gauge display that’s info and bar graph heavy but configurable in several ways, including a sporty S screen, while the centre stack offers two very useful, separate touchscreens: up top for infotainment, while the lower one is dedicated to all the climate and comfort settings, all using helpful haptic buttons. It does a great job, and helpfully there’s also a volume control dial for times when the multi-tasking parental brain melts down and it just needs some instant silence.
A head-up display tops it all off, and makes the SQ7 so totally functional, practical, useable in almost every way… though it could use a little more space to drop the basics like phone, wallet and keys. There is a flip-up armrest that reveals a wireless phone charger and a shallow bin; the twin cupholder is about it, but even that flips up the wrong way.
Other blights are minor: the driver monitoring alert systems can be a touch too eager to remind you to hold the wheel, particularly when driving in a straight line that requires no steering input. Thankfully, however – and this is where the Euros are better than the Chinese systems – the warnings stay configured in their settings, and are merely alerts that flash up momentarily on the dash, rather than chimes, bings and bongs; much easier to dismiss and ignore.

It might be a mild upgrade, but when starting from such a high base, any improvement is a good one, and the SQ7 keeps the family seven-seat dream alive for another generation: Audi SQ7 is as much a bargain Bentley as an Audi SUV range-topper.
BREAK IT DOWN
2024 Audi SQ7 TFSI
ENGINE: 4.0-litre turbo petrol V8
GEARBOX: 8-speed Tiptronic
POWER: 373kW/770Nm
0-100KM/H: 4.1 secs
ECONOMY: 13.2l/100km
PRICE: $203,490