New BMW X5 vs Audi Q7 comparison

The first monsoon showers have lashed the western ghats and moisture-laden clouds clinging to the hills make for a dramatic view from the windscreen of the new BMW X5. In the mirrors are the bright, unmistakeable daylight-running lights of an Audi Q7, its battleship-like proportions almost filling the side glasses – a reflection of the immense road presence the Q7 still commands. It’s no wonder then that for the better part of a decade, Ingolstadt’s full-fat SUV has been the chariot of choice for the country’s Who’s Who. We’d tested the new X5 just a few days ago, were very impressed by it and obviously had to find out how it stacked up against the country’s best-selling luxury SUV. So, on an overcast mid-summer afternoon, we got both the cars together and spent the day comparing and contrasting them. We drove through infuriating Mumbai traffic, entertaining hilly roads and, since both these SUVs feature full-time 4WD, we kicked up some dirt too.

Bold and brutish

Size wise, the new X5’s extra 29mm length and 5mm width still remain significantly shy of the Audi’s measurements. However, the X5’s redesigned nose with the widened kidney grille tricks you into believing it’s wider than it actually is. More importantly, the revised styling makes it look more expensive, upping its street-cred. Snaking through the city, our sparkling-brown X5 with the swanky 20-inch wheels turned a fair number of heads. It’s clearly the fresher of the two.

At over five metres in length and almost two metres across, the Q7 doesn’t need to rely on visual tricks to flaunt its XL proportions. On our roads, it’s the Shaq of cars and just as intimidating on tarmac; parked shoulder to shoulder with the Bimmer, it looks a size larger. But take size out of the equation and you realise that the Q7 has begun showing its age, especially next to the chiselled X5. The big Audi last went under the knife about four years ago and the changes were minor. With the new Q7 almost ready, this one is almost at the end of its life cycle.