Need a new Tow Vehicle as Audi will be buying back my Q7 TDI --what do you have?

[SCP1]

I had the opportunity to spend a few days with a MDX, and was really surprised on how small it felt. After being in this the only way I would get an suv would be full size. Granted we were riding 6 with 2 car seats in the MDX.

 

[JetPowered]

First towing test of the Q7 today. Just a quick trip to take the boat back to storage. Yes, the air suspension pushed the rear back to normal ride height then locks in "trailer mode" which I still have to fully determine what that is. I believe it's limiting constant adjustments of the air suspension, something I have found to be a little disconcerting in the Touareg. Also the backup cam had a trailer mode. Works perfectly! Hitched up correctly in one try! I'll report back after Easter when we tow to a lake about 2 hours north of us. That's my V10 in the background. It's a towing beast!

 

[4x15mph]

We went with the MDX again given our great experience with Acuras and Honda. Our current MDX is a 2004 with 140,000 miles that I thought I would keep another 10 years. Not sure why I bought the 2017 yesterday but it just happened. I will not tow anything large but it is set up for 500o pounds which will be enough for my future 212x, 21 FSH, or boston whaler.

I liked seeing this picture of the MDX towing and my first choice would have been the NSX but it doesn't have a great tow rating

 

[Julian]

We went with the MDX again given our great experience with Acuras and Honda. Our current MDX is a 2004 with 140,000 miles that I thought I would keep another 10 years. Not sure why I bought the 2017 yesterday but it just happened. I will not tow anything large but it is set up for 500o pounds which will be enough for my future 212x, 21 FSH, or boston whaler.

I liked seeing this picture of the MDX towing and my first choice would have been the NSX but it doesn't have a great tow rating

View attachment 53795

Look forward to hearing your towing report.

 

[rsg1963]

How about a Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel, if it becomes available again? Or even the V-8, if you're not keen on another oil-burner? Mercedes GLS could be another option. I believe they have similar tow ratings.

I had an 07 Suburban with the 5.3 before my SuperDuty. It was a great rig for towing a boat, but it couldn't handle my travel trailer. If you go the GM full size SUV route I'd suggest the Denali or Escalade with the 6.2, rather than the 5.3. The engine is worth the small premium, and is more likely to have the extra options you're looking for.

We have the Grand Cherokee Eco Diesel and it tows the AR240 without any issue. Very powerful engine. Side benefit (best 4x4 in it's class, period, AND we are getting about 29Mpg highway when not towing). Roughly 700+ per tankful not towing. When towing it drops significantly to about 14-15 mpg) but that still beats many other options even when empty! Also, comes with auto-leveling and 5" of lift when needed (we launch from shore and that can mean going through some semi-rough uneven dirt areas)

 

[swatski]

We have the Grand Cherokee Eco Diesel and it tows the AR240 without any issue. Very powerful engine. Side benefit (best 4x4 in it's class, period, AND we are getting about 29Mpg highway when not towing). Roughly 700+ per tankful not towing. When towing it drops significantly to about 14-15 mpg) but that still beats many other options even when empty! Also, comes with auto-leveling and 5" of lift when needed (we launch from shore and that can mean going through some semi-rough uneven dirt areas)

This is a fantastic car, one of the guys in my marina has it and it is truly impressive inside and out. If only they had made a diesel version with the 3rd row (like Durango)!

--

 

[Julian]

Ok, because of @Julian 's reply, ... although I don't live in Canada right now, when I do, I can confidently say that I will not be using an Audi Q7 to tow my boat when I am in Canada. My brother has a Q5 in Canada and he does not tow a boat. He just drives to and from work. His brakes failed after a year of ownership while the vehicle was under warranty, and Audi said that it was because he drove the vehicle in a corrosive environment, and they didn't cover his repairs. That's a fact, even considering that I don't like my brother. I'm not talking brake pads or rotors, but the caliper assembly. So, all I can say is that I won't trust an Audi to tow my boat through the Rocky Mountains when I search for a lake to drop my AR240 into. I'd have to place lots of faith in Shoreland'r's brakes, which is another story altogether, if I towed with an Audi. Them's the facts as I understand them.
I know that this is an opportunity for the truck guys to want to chime in, and justifiably so, but I'm an SUV guy out of necessity. @Julian, please update your post regarding what you're thinking of buying to replace your Q7. I'm really interested.

That is crazy....I just did both front and rear brakes on my Q7 with my neighbor (he's a mechanic), and he was just stunned at how huge and robust the Audi's brakes were....the rotors are 14" and the calipers are pretty hefty too. I'm not sure how on earth you break a caliper!

That said, your other post on replacement vehicles is also so true:

@swatski, RANT ON: no time to read the previous posts, but all I can say is that my 2012 Durango R/T (soon to be sold) has had no problems with towing my 2015 AR240. Maybe your towing concerns stem from the vehicle that you are towing with... you know the one that fries it's brakes in the 35K mile range, compared to my Durango R/T that is at 78K miles on the original brakes, after two round trips towing from Houston to Ft. Lauderdale for the Bimini crossings... I know, bad grammar, but I only mention this because maybe it's a tow vehicle capability issue. I'm not a Dodge fan, nor am I promoting any other kind of tow vehicle, BUT I am currently searching for my next SUV. I hate that the Durango R/T is so long-in-the-tooth (ugly now relative to 2011), the Ford Expedition is ugly, the Chevy Tahoe is ugly, the GMC Yukon is ugly, the Cadillac is really expensive (and still kind of ugly), the Porsche is too small, the Grand Cherokee is also too small. The Infinity is big and capable but looks like a manatee. I'm frustrated, and I think that I'm going to buy another Durango R/T based purely on capability, and price relative to ugliness.
RANT OFF
Moose out.

I agree with everything you say! As a result, I'm currently looking at (in no particular order):

• 2017 Audi Q7 Prestige with Trailer Assist, really feature packed, and has all the bells and whistles I want (although I'm not certain they offer the trailer assist in the US yet)
• 2016 or older Cadillac Escalade (don't want to pay for a current year model)
• Toyota Land Cruiser or Sequoia (haven't looked at these yet)
• Maybe a 2017 GMC Yukon Denali XL, but I had to laugh when I was at the dealer--they have wireless phone charging on the arm rest....but it doesn't work with my phone (Samsung Note 5)...they made the charging pad too small so the phone doesn't lay flat! What a bone headed move!

 

[swatski]

That is crazy....I just did both front and rear brakes on my Q7 with my neighbor (he's a mechanic), and he was just stunned at how huge and robust the Audi's brakes were....the rotors are 14" and the calipers are pretty hefty too. I'm not sure how on earth you break a caliper!

Exactly what I was thinking... Those Q7s stop like nothing else I ever drove.

--

 

[Julian]

Exactly what I was thinking... Those Q7s stop like nothing else I ever drove.

--

Yeah...braking is not something I worry about with the Q7!

 

[Betik]

The arrogance of the sales person at the dealership is what worries me with the any Audi.

 

[Bruce]

The arrogance of the sales person at the dealership is what worries me with the any Audi.

You really need a Q7 to make it to Bimini. I worry that your chance of success will be low without one!

 

[Betik]

LOL

 

[Julian]

@JetPowered does your Audi have the trailer assist? (as shown below) If so, how do you like it?

 

[Dieselpwr]

Yeah...braking is not something I worry about with the Q7!

6 piston calipers and giant rotors will do that. Not cheap to replace though at the dealer. Aftermarket is a lot more reasonable. Zimmerman rotors with Hawk pads.

 

[Julian]

6 piston calipers and giant rotors will do that. Not cheap to replace though at the dealer. Aftermarket is a lot more reasonable. Zimmerman rotors with Hawk pads.

Yeah...that was a different thread! Dealer wanted $928 to change rear only....cost me $200 or so! Insane!

 

[2kwik4u]

Not towing related really, but I had an Audi A4 for 5 years. Sold it last year with transmission problems (hard to justify a $3,500 transmission in a $3k car). The #1 thing I miss about that car was the exceptional braking. 13" rotors on that thing, and it only weighed 3,200lbs or so. Tons and Tons of braking available, and almost zero fade when pushing the car hard.

Also, whomever above was referencing the Durango R/T......A coworker of mine bought a 2017 when they bought his TDI Passat back. It is a helluva nice truck both inside and out. Plenty capable, and pretty sharp looking. We've done a couple "stoplight comparisons" with my 2006 Trailblazer SS, and I get him by about 2 cars to 40mph, and then it's a dead heat to 100. His truck handles so much better, has more space, and significantly more tech than mine though. If the SS was totalled, I would be shopping the newest Durango's as a replacement. IMO, they are a lot like the Yamaha boats, you get a lot for your money, and there aren't a ton of them around.

 

[Julian]

Went out yesterday and looked at the new Q7 again (just to get a question answered), and then spent an hour or so over at Toyota.

AUDI Q7 First---the more I see it, the more I like! However, the trailering assist I linked to above--that looks freakin cool -- isn't available in the US, according to the dealer, due to legal constraints in the US. They are afraid of lawsuits with self driving tech. BUMMER! (same for parking assist). But the rest of the car is amazing! It has all the tech: Night vision, Heads up display (HUD), Adaptive cruise, auto braking, lane assist, 17 (or some crazy number) speaker stereo, (haven't played with the phone connections, but it has Andoid Auto and Apple car play. What is almost a deal breaker for me is that it has NO TOUCH SCREEN! I can't believe that every time I look at an Audi they have done something small that is MORONIC. On my 2011 the moronic item was small--you couldn't close the trunk using the button on the keyfob--dumb but not a deal breaker. Not having a touch screen interface to your phone and maps etc is about the most stupid thing they could have done. They have made up that fuck up by including a touch pad, but it isn't the same. I'll have to play with this some more, but I'm having trouble getting past that! They DO have 3 great screens in the car. One that rises out of the dash, then the dash itself is a screen, then they have the heads up display. Voice commands are good and work well too. The car has 4 cameras that give you a 360 degree view all around the car which is pretty cool. There would be no excuse for anyone not parking exactly between the lines in a parking place ever again-it is that good.

TOYOTA - This was a disappointing visit. I looked at both the Landcruiser and the Sequoia and the first thing that jumps out at you is how dated both of them look and feel. The touch screen on both is pretty small...but it is TOUCH...unlike the audi idiots! The Landcruisers 3rd row of seats don't even fold into the floor, they fold to the side! Totally freakin old school! I test drove the Sequoia and it drove well and has a good set of features, but no HUD, no night vision, not sure it has Andriod play/Apple car play, but it does have more 4 wheel drive features (manual over rides than the Audi--but not sure I'd ever use them). Getting past the tiny screen and overall dated feel of the car is the issue here for Toyota.

 

[bronze_10]

Are u buying a car or a freaking fighter plane? geeezzz.. we are still dazzeled by the back up camera!

 

[Julian]

Are u buying a car or a freaking fighter plane? geeezzz.. we are still dazzeled by the back up camera!

I want the fighter plane car!!!! No question about it!!!!

 

[Pinhacker71]

I loved the Audi Q7 except for lack of storage in the front. I hate the wasted space where the center console is. Not sure why it doesn't open. My Durango has a ton of storage in there. I know it's a small thing but a deal breaker for us. Gonna wait for 2018 expedition or buy another Durango.