Watching Your Favorite Brand Become Too Conservative

It is tough to watch your favorite team have an excellent season, defeat its greatest nemesis on its way to the big game and then deliver nothing when it counts most. Broncos fans everywhere still haven't recovered from last year's Super Bowl. As much as you try to stay objective you will always have a brand or two that you will be partial to, and as with sports it is hard to see one of your favorite brands deliver a disappointing product.

After years of development Audi has released its second generation Q7 to the world brimming with technology and stuff to shame any Chevy marketing guy. Unfortunately all that technology is wrapped in a design that for the majority of the buying public is far too conservative, especially for an SUV. As with many Audis, a subsequent look reveals design aesthetics hidden at first and it's almost guaranteed that the Q7 will end up looking quite alright once you see it on the road. Park it next to the first gen and the differences will become obvious. Still, first impressions are extremely powerful and the second gen Q7 is too reminiscent of its predecessor and that of an A6 Avant that's been going to the gym too much. The conservative design makes you think what could have been given all the rumors of a super aggressive initial design scrapped by new Audi leadership. Given all the technology, the Q7 deserves a little more pizzazz on the outside. At first glance it's a supreme pizza engineering effort that someone stole all the toppings leaving just a cheese design. And in a competitive segment a cheese pizza might not cut it.

How often does your favorite brand release a product that at first glance just doesn't excite you like it should?
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Vette71 - 12/15/2014 2:26:19 PM

+1 Boost

Putting it next to the previous generation Q7 isn't the test it has to pass. Put it next to the competition and that is when it fails to close the deal. What technology does it have that already isn't on some competitor? OK maybe hybrid diesel available in future. Things like touch control that works like a cell phone, easily mastered by a teenager, don't count when only an aging baby boomer can afford it.

chewy - 12/15/2014 3:04:46 PM

+1 Boost

Lightness, great aerodynamics, four wheel steering, all the displays you want, at worst it's right up there at the top. We'll see how it stacks up looks wise. To a certain degree some of its closest competition isn't that aggressive either. The XC90 is far from an overtly expressive design and the new X5 while not a bad design is a little toned down from the last X5.

chewy - 12/15/2014 3:14:40 PM

+1 Boost

Engine wise the X5 and the GL more or less have the same engine while the XC90 on paper stacks up but there is no way it's going to keep up. A V8 Q7 should happen eventually.

cidflekken - 12/15/2014 3:51:03 PM

+3 Boost

"Lightness"? Its most direct competition is already at the weight the Q7 is JUST now achieving. It achieved this "lightness" because it was such an overt porker to begin with.

As far as the design, it'll disappear in the sea of traffic, I have no doubt. The author of the article can talk about "hidden design aesthetics" all he wants, but if they're hidden, who's going to notice. The X5 has an aggressive and noticeable stance. The GL looks like its price class. The MDX actually looks dynamic next to the new Q7.

chewy - 12/15/2014 5:10:31 PM

+2 Boost

The X5 is 4,900-5,300 pounds. The GL is 5,700+ (the V6 likely a bit lighter) but the ML350 is 5,000. Comparing to the A8 the Q7 should come in around 4,500.

rockreid - 12/16/2014 7:59:56 AM

+2 Boost

for my money, the LR Range Rover Sport is more dissapointing than the upcoming conservative Q7. The LR Sport literally does look exactly like (to me) a $35k Explorer- except for twice as much money. The BMW lineup looks ghastly, clearly designed for the Chinese market as a priority, leaving Benz as the leader in design right now in this segment. Who would have guessed that 5 years ago?

BTW, I think the Q7 interior looks great however.

chewy - 12/16/2014 10:29:54 AM

+1 Boost

I like the RR Sport but when I first saw it I wondered why that Evoque was so huge. Audi has a way with interiors. The only downside I would say on this Q7 is the cupholder gap and the unnecessary red line but that's probably optional. The steering wheel looks pretty cool too.

GermanNut - 12/17/2014 9:46:21 PM

0 Boost

Too conservative? You can whatever opinion you want, but Audi was never going to launch a car with no previous resemblance to the rest of the Audi family.

You don't get to be the #2 premium luxury brand in the world by screwing up and designing cars that are unpopular. Audi clearly knows what sells and what doesn't. It already had a great formula but one that could have used a bit of tweaking here and there in terms of weight, technology and looks and that's exactly what Audi did.

You don't take a successful design formula that has brought you from a distant third to nipping at BMW's heels for first place in sales globally and drastically change it. Yes, the design is different and to me (and likely the Audi team that designed it) more aggressive than the first generation.

The risk of launching something with no familiarity is too great. BMW and Mercedes-Benz follow the same formula. The risk is simply too great to take a formula that has done very well with buyers and alter it to the point of there being no resemblance.