2027 Audi Q9 First-Drive Review: Audi’s Biggest SUV Beats BMW and Mercedes on Family-Friendliness
The Drive ·
Audi is finally ready to compete for American families with the all-new Q9 three-row SUV, and its rivals should take notice. The post 2027 Audi Q9 First-Drive Review: Audi’s Biggest SUV Beats BMW and Mercedes on Family-Friendliness appeared first on The Drive .
Bottom line: Audi's 2027 Q9 and SQ9 offer a compelling entry into the luxury SUV market with robust features and competitive pricing, challenging established rivals.
Better late than never, right? That’s what Audi’s hoping for as it finally enters the full-size three-row SUV market, after far too long. The house of quattro isn’t just looking to stop the bleeding from its showrooms; it’s aiming to steal sales from the competition, and then some.
The 2027 Audi Q9 and SQ9 are about to hit dealers and mark the automaker’s largest vehicle ever, with turbocharged engine options, the latest tech, and three rows of legitimate space. Still, on-brand, it’s late to the party, with no hybrid model in sight. At least the cupholders will fit Stanley cups, right?
If you have at least $89,095, including a $1,395 destination charge, or, in the case of the SQ9, $119,395, read on to understand what Audi’s brought to the game. If you don’t, I’m sure someone will let you take out a loan.
Audi’s been losing customers because families feel they’ve outgrown its current three-row SUV, the Q7. The Q7’s third row isn’t exactly adult-rated, and using it leaves you with little cargo space. The Q9 fixes these issues and super-sizes the new Q7 . Yes, the two share the same underpinnings.
The Q9 isn’t flashy, but there’s no question it’s an Audi. The design is an XXL version of last year’s pint-sized Q3, or an XL version of the upcoming Q7. Yes, back to the one-sausage-in-different-lengths methodology, again. Split lighting up front, including Audi’s new (available) digital matrix LED headlight tech and communication lighting system, a neat safety feature, bookends a pin-striped Q9 grille and an egg crate SQ9 grille. It has real door handles, and that’s a win for families. The rear doors are absolutely massive, and the rear wheels are so wide on the SQ9 at 315/30R23 as tested that it has plastic fender guards to keep rocks from chipping the paint. Frankly, every wheel option is huge, with base models rolling on 21s, and you can option 22s or 23s. The D-pillar is upright for an Audi, and the clamshell tailgate is sadly dead. The available OLED curved taillights are slick, can communicate with symbols while parked (like a hazard sign), and will surely cost whatever a kidney goes for these days if or when they break.
Inside, the Q9 already feels familiar. It’s taken most of the Q3 and even the A6 E-Tron , but added three adult-sized rows of seating. The triple-screen setup—two screens under one single curved piece of glass (one for the digital gauge cluster and one for the touchscreen infotainment system), plus a third screen for the front passenger. The world’s most incredibly over-engineered yet delightfully functional one-piece stalk pairs the gear selector with the turn signal and wiper controls. Shiny piano black plastic has been mostly jettisoned, leaving it only around the dashboard vents, which you won’t touch since you control them via the touchscreen.
Notably, the open-pore wood trim on the center console is lovely, but the SQ9’s matte carbon-weave trim almost felt, dare I say, fake and weird. The MagSafe-compatible smartphone chargers on the center console are cooled and work well. An available Bang & Olufsen 4D surround sound system with 24 channels, 22 speakers, and I can’t make this up, two actuators in the front seats so you physically feel the music. It’s weird. Also, making the eyebrow-raising list is a 16-cubic-foot glass roof panel that can be optioned with electrochromatic-like Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal (PDLC) technology to block out the sun. But for those who really like to party, you can option embedded lighting with 84 LEDs inside the glass. Do you like to party?
Packaging-wise, the Q9 is a mixed bag with more good than bad. It certainly equals or beats the competition. Only Q9 and SQ9s with sport bucket seats and power-operated second-row captain’s chairs were available for testing, so the final verdict is still on hold. The front seats are supportive, and there’s plenty of room in every direction, with excellent visibility, though I did hate the camera dangling down and sitting behind the rearview mirror as part of the dashcam setup. It’s in the way. Access to the second row is easy thanks to doors that open a full 90 degrees. Buyers with narrow garages, take note. The second row has plenty of space, cup holders that fit Stanley Cups, and the best part: the seats slide and tilt. This lets a car seat stay in place while you access the third row. The third row is adult-friendly, and I could sit comfortably in the back with a 6-foot-5 friend in the second row. Every seat in the second and third rows has LATCH, and you can option automatic opening and closing doors. They were a bit finicky to use, much more so than the ones on the Cadillac Escalade, and didn’t always respond immediately when activated.
Cargo room is notable. With all three rows up, there’s 19.3 cubic feet of space for stuff. For those keeping score, that’s 1.9 cubic feet more than the Mercedes-Benz GLS, and 6.5 cubic feet more than the BMW X7. With the third row folded, there’s between 43.8 and 60 cubic feet of space. That discrepancy is worth noting because models with the available second-row captain’s chairs don’t feature a fold-flat second row. Those captain’s chairs only slide and tilt forward. Only the second-row bench seat can fold flat. Be mindful of how much cargo space you need and how many seats you need when ordering your Q9. Behind the first row, when you fold both the second and third rows, there’s 87.7 cubic feet of space.
The Q9 runs on a 2.9-liter turbocharged V6 rated at 429 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque. The SQ9, which only America gets because, for once, we get the good stuff others don’t, swaps in a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 591 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. Regardless of engine, it gets an eight-speed automatic transmission, and the latest iteration of quattro all-wheel drive is standard; in SQ9 models, it’s rear-wheel biased. Every Q9 and SQ9 can tow up to 7,700 pounds.
Starting the SQ9 and firing the turbocharged V8 to life brought a refined growl, with the smallest barks from the trademark quad tailpipe setup. It’s no Hellcat and won’t tick off the neighbors, but everyone will know this thing has a V8. The Q9’s turbocharged six lacks the startup bark.
Right away, I noticed the progressive steering system was nicely weighted, not overboosted, and felt natural. Audi claimed the progressively quicker ratio means less wheel movement, and while it was hard to validate, the steering drew no ire from me.
Both the turbocharged V6 and turbocharged V8 show turbo lag. The reason? Both the Q9 and SQ9 lack any form of electrification, even 48-volt mild-hybrid systems like today’s Q8. Without hybridization, there’s no torque fill as the turbos spool, and they take a second to kick in. Both the X7 and GLS feature 48-volt systems and don’t experience turbo lag. One might argue it adds character, but it also makes the powertrain feel a bit old-school in 2026.
Both models I tested featured standard adaptive air suspension, which allowed some body roll but never let broken pavement or highway joints upset the ride, even with the SQ9 on 23-inch wheels. Notably, the hydraulic roll control in a Mercedes-Benz GLS performs feats of heroism the Audi can’t match. That engineering feat is neat to experience, but it’s borderline disconcerting, and the Q9 and SQ9 still feel natural around corners while staying controlled. Audi didn’t have the sport adaptive air suspension available on the SQ9 for testing, but it can lower the SQ9’s ride height and reduce ground clearance by up to 0.8 inches, depending on speed and drive mode.
Both models feature six-piston fixed front brake calipers that grab either 15.7-inch or 16.5-inch rotors. The rear setup is a single-piston floating caliper design with 13.8- or 15.-inch rotors. The brakes are progressive and strong, never grabby, and are always steel, with no carbon ceramics on the option list.
As expected, the ZF-sourced eight-speed delivers clean, smooth, rapid shifts and blends into the background.
Audi’s new Level 2 hands-free driving system launches in the U.S. with the Q9. It arrives late to the party, works only on about 130,000 miles of divided highways, but can be used at up to 85 mph. It can make automatic lane changes, but the driver must initiate them by activating the turn signal. In brief testing, and I mean very few miles—though that was my choice—the system cut in and out and kept handing control back to me, but it executed flawless lane changes when requested.
The Q9 starts at $89,095 including a $1,395 destination charge. It’s well equipped out of the gate with 14-way power front sport seats, adaptive air suspension, a huge glass roof, a head-up display, a Bang & Olufsen 4D surround sound system, and more dashboard screens than you asked for. The Premium Plus trim adds $5,600 for those trick Digital Matrix LED headlights (worth it), four-zone automatic climate control, and heated second- and third-row seats. Top-spec Prestige models add all-wheel steering, ambient lighting, that intense 4D surround-sound system, and I can’t imagine what it costs to replace curved OLED taillights.
The SQ9 starts at $119,395, and you’re mainly paying for that engine and extra power. It rolls on larger 22-inch wheels, comes standard with three rows of heated seats, and nets the all-wheel-steering system with larger brakes.
In the world of large German luxury SUVs, the Audi twins are splitting the difference. Less expensive than the Mercedes but more expensive than the X7, no one will argue the Q9 is the value buy. The Mercedes just received a refresh that gave it a more upright design and filled its dashboard with screens. The X7 is preparing for a refresh with Neue Klasse tech and futuristic vibes.
The 2027 Audi Q9 arrives extremely late to the large luxury SUV party, but the team did its homework. It’s well packaged and laid out, comfortable, comes well equipped, and offers every feature you might ask for, all while splitting the price spectrum of its competitors.
The 2027 Audi Q9 and SQ9 are a home run, giving customers a new choice and a great option for those who don’t want stars in their headlights or super-sized kidney grilles.
Audi provided The Drive with travel, accommodations, and access to the vehicle for the purpose of writing this review.
Better late than never, Audi’s arrived in the large three-row luxury SUV segment, and it’s ready to fight for your money.
The post 2027 Audi Q9 First-Drive Review: Audi’s Biggest SUV Beats BMW and Mercedes on Family-Friendliness appeared first on The Drive .