• The Q7’s cabin is still its greatest asset
• Impeccable build quality and great comfort
• Touchscreen climate controls feel unnecessary

How is the quality and layout?

Refreshingly simple. You get traditional physical buttons on the steering wheel (rather than idiotic haptic sensors), a proper gear selector (rather than some piddly toggle switch) and a logical infotainment system. It’s far easier to get to grips with than Mercedes’ or even BMW’s IMAX interiors (even though the latter has its excellent iDrive dial to fall back on).

That is, with the exception of those climate controls. We don’t understand what Audi was thinking when it introduced that extra touchscreen panel under the infotainment system, but a set of fancy knurled dials would be much more preferable to us. It’s awkward to use, the screen is grainy and you need to divert your attention a long way from the road to get your desired settings.

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One thing we can’t fault, though, is the quality. Our test car had covered almost 10,000 miles by the time it reached us. We drove on some utterly terrible roads in the Lake District and we didn’t hear a peep out of any of the plastics in the cabin. If you want something that’s built to last, get the Q7.

Infotainment and tech

We’ve had our whinge about the climate controls, so we get back onto the positives. When the Q7 was first facelifted, Audi gave it a new 10.1-inch infotainment system – and it has the same screen today. It also looks a little grainy, but we very much like the way it works.

Both touchscreens provide haptic feedback. It works like the keyboard on your phone, vibrating when you push a icon to confirm your input. Plus, most of the icons are all quite big which means you can almost spot them out of your peripherals and simply rely on the haptic response to confirm your aim. It isn’t perfect (the heated seat controls and massage settings require you total attention to get them to work correctly), but it’s a good enough solution.

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The head-up display for the driver is also clear to read, but the sat-nav instructions it display aren’t anywhere near as detailed as those found in BMWs latest cars. However, the benefit having your maps on the digital gauge cluster means this isn’t really a drawback. Oh yeah, and you get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which worked seamlessly for the time we had the car.

Comfort

• Fantastically comfortable front seats
• Surprisingly accommodating rear seats
• Excellent cabin refinement at speed

Let’s not beat about the bush. This is an exceptionally comfortable car. The front seats are electrically adjustable and heated as standard, but our all-singing, all-dancing test car was also blessed with ventilated and massaging seats. The latter function really helps to take the strain out of a long journey. And we know, because we drove it from Glasgow to Parkers HQ, via Cumbria, in one go.

The rear seats are some of the more accommodating ones in its class, too. Not only were ours heated, but they also had backrest adjusters that allow you to either sit up and focus or recline and snooze. The only complaint we received was relating to the firmness of the middle seat. It has much less padding than the outer two seats, making it less comfortable on a long drive.

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Refinement is great, too. Even though our car had a panoramic sunroof and massive 22-inch alloy wheels (both of which are notorious for creating more noise), the cabin was utterly silent. It’s a very easy car to cover long distances in – much more so than the equivalent X5.