I believe the mountains do not call everyone. Some visit them out of compulsion. I have my reasons to go to the highlands of Uttarakhand; my wife has her extended family there. Unfortunately, she’s not fond of long drives, and particularly dislikes the twisty mountain roads. Yes. Such people, even with their origins in the hills, do exist. We also had our daughter along for the ride. She neither minds the twists nor the smooth highways as long as she has some source of entertainment and her ‘papa’ and ‘mommy’ by her side.
Monday being a Holi-day, we had our long weekend planned with the extended family in Mussoorie, and I had the task of driving my people up the mountains without any complaints.
Almost a year back, the V3Cars Team drove the Audi Q7 from Mumbai to Delhi via the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. The car left us impressed with its comfortable seats, superbly insulated cabin and the powerful 3.0L turbo petrol engine. There are very few cars that my wife approves of when it comes to comfort, and I knew the Q7 would get her approval.
“Are you sure we have the right car for this drive?” asked the wife, and added, “It’s going to take us more than 6 hours to reach, and it’s a long weekend for everyone else too. We need something comfortable when we are stuck in traffic.” The Q7 is plenty capable in this aspect.
We usually pack more than what is required. While it was just the three of us, we had two large bags, a laptop bag and a tote bag with some essentials for the weekend. The Q7 is a three-row car, and with the third row completely folded, the space was more than adequate. We always tell our daughter to help us with our chores. She played her part by pressing the button to lower the Q7 to help us stuff the boot!
And off we went, leaving early in the morning so that we could beat the rush. We started from Gurgaon and passed through Delhi, Ghaziabad, Meerut and Muzaffarnagar to reach Dehradun via Haridwar so that we could avoid the twisty roads. The Q7 is a mile muncher of the highest order — the front seats are particularly well-cushioned and accommodating.
Our daughter found her sweet spot in the rear bench with the Q7’s entertainment system playing her favourite content on YouTube. I liked her using it more than the iPad – this way the screen is farther and she could sit more comfortably with a lower risk of neck pain.
The Q7 is a large 5m car and it feels like it’s taking up more than just a lane on the highways. But, its 3.0L 340PS engine makes sure you can move from one cluster of slow-moving cars to the next pretty quickly. Before I even had a chance to have some fun with the acceleration, we were in the twisties leading up to Mussoorie.
Hill stations these days are heavily commercialised, but we reached before the narrow uphill roads got congested. Nevertheless, our average speed for the entire trip was around 40kmph only, such was the traffic.
While I didn’t get my chance to floor the pedal and enjoy quick acceleration, I got more than enough time to truly connect with the Q7. The Mumbai-Delhi drive was mostly on wide, flat highways where we have little opportunity to get a good sense of the Q7’s handling. Climbing up the hills, steering out one curve into the other suddenly made the car feel far more compact than it is. I never expected a car as large as the Q7 to feel so nimble.
With the car’s responsive handling, my natural tendency led me to push it a little further. Thankfully, neither the wife nor the daughter felt enough discomfort to even notice that we were keeping a good pace. Until then, I did not know if the Q7 would pass my wife’s comfort test, but I was heavily impressed with the fact that I could enjoy my mountain drive while the occupants experienced barely any inconvenience.
And so, we reached Mussoorie. Without any complaints from anyone this time around.
“Are we here already?”, asked my wife. This was probably the first time ever that she felt that the drive ended earlier than expected. I immediately knew that the Q7 had passed the test with flying colours. As I parked the car, I felt relieved as my choice got my family to Mussoorie in utmost comfort. I’m also thankful to the wonderful team at Audi India for arranging the Q7 on such a short notice.
Also Read: Audi Launches Pre-Owned Car Facility In Guwahati
Audi Q3 Drive Review – Interior, Exterior, Mileage, Features
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