As a diesel-powered plug-in-hybrid SUV, the Audi Q7 e-tron occupies a niche within a niche within a niche. It could be seen as evidence that Audi’s product planners are determined to find the least-populated space in the great automotive Venn diagram. There have been diesel hybrids before in Europe (notably Volvo’s V60 PHEV) but never one this large offering quite this much all-electric range.

It’s the e-tron TDI’s misfortune to be entering the world as the dowdier sister of the new SQ7 and its triple-boosted V-8 diesel, struggling to earn much attention as a consequence. Its prospects for U.S. sales face the same challenge as other diesels tainted by VW’s emissions scandal, and after some strong early indications that this vehicle would definitely cross the Atlantic, Audi now seems to have gone cool on the concept. It probably will offer us a four-cylinder gasoline e-tron instead.

Which, on the basis of our first drive, would be a shame. The e-tron TDI can’t match the dynamic excitement or Bentley-baiting torque output of the SQ7, but it’s fast, well-mannered, and—so long as it’s plugged in often enough—capable of turning in exceptional fuel-economy numbers. Then there’s the prospect of being able to go more than 800 miles between fuel stops to replenish its 19.8-gallon tank, provided you drive gently enough.

34 Electric Miles—But No On-the-Go Charging

Electrification has brought a 17.3-kWh battery pack, installed under the cargo bay. This precludes a third row of seats but yields sufficient charge capacity for up to 34 miles of electric-only range. As with Audi’s other larger hybrids, the e-tron sandwiches an electric motor between the internal-combustion side of the powertrain—the company’s familiar turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel—and its eight-speed automatic gearbox. An electronically controlled clutch can disconnect this V-6 engine from the rest of the powertrain, but the electric motor always supplies drive via the transmission.

What the e-tron can’t do is recharge its battery pack on the move with its engine. Once the cells are discharged, the e-tron becomes nothing more than a hybrid with an enormous battery pack—including the associated hardware, Audi tells us the pack weighs 445 pounds—with only regenerative braking to trickle some charge back into the cells. The battery-charge level can be maintained by switching the car to a “hold” mode, saving the juice to run in EV mode in emissions-restricted city centers.

Driving in this latter setting delivers the full scorecard of EV clichés: a hint of the familiar subway-car soundtrack, strong initial performance that quickly tails off, and a readout that loses more than a mile of stated range for each mile traveled at anything quicker than a cautious pace. If you accelerate too rapidly, go beyond 84 mph, or reach the pressure point at the bottom of the go pedal’s travel, the V-6 fires to life regardless of which mode is selected.

The engine has been modified from the standard Euro-spec Q7 TDI with new cylinder liners and piston rings designed to better protect the engine when it’s ignited while the vehicle is already traveling at highway speed. There are also dynamic engine mounts to help minimize vibrations and unwanted harmonics; Audi claims the V-6 can operate happily at just 850 rpm. Under gentle use, the engine cuts in and out almost imperceptibly, with only vigorous accelerator applications producing some correspondingly gruff noises. Fully extended, the e-tron feels respectably rapid, although nothing like the monstrous SQ7.

Heavy Like a Locomotive

Dynamically, the mass of the electric powertrain and battery pack diminishes both lateral and longitudinal acceleration. The e-tron feels less fleet of foot than the SQ7 and less keen to turn in, and it reaches its modest cornering limits far sooner. (Lacking a 48-volt electrical architecture, it does without the SQ7’s active anti-roll bar functions, too.) Being fatter actually seems to help it ride better over certain rough surfaces—the example we drove had the optional air suspension—but it loses its composure when asked to deal with bigger bumps. It feels big and heavy because it is big and heavy.

As with every plug-in hybrid, the Q7 e-tron will make mileage sense only to those possessing both the wherewithal and inclination to plug it in. Drive it between plug-equipped destinations that are close enough together and a tank of diesel may well last for the entire life of the car—or until it turns gelatinous—but the claimed 156.9 MPGe that the car scores on the official European mileage test (which is highly biased in favor of plug-in vehicles) will be a cruel fiction for most.

Like most of its plug-in ilk, the Q7 e-tron seems like an expensively engineered solution to a problem that relatively few people have; it’s absolutely great at performing one specific task but compromised for all others. That said, we’d still prefer this edition of the Q7 e-tron over the four-cylinder gasoline version, initially intended primarily for the Chinese market.

Specifications VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchback

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: $70,000

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve diesel 3.0-liter V-6, 255 hp, 443 lb-ft; permanent-magnet synchronous AC motor, 126 hp, 258 lb-ft; combined power rating, 369 hp, 516 lb-ft; 17.3-kWh lithium-ion battery pack

TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:

Wheelbase: 117.9 in

Length: 198.9 in

Width: 77.5 in Height: 68.5 in

Passenger volume: 106 cu ft

Cargo volume: 23 cu ft

Curb weight (C/D est): 5050 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):

Zero to 60 mph: 5.9 sec

Zero to 100 mph: 14.9 sec

Standing ¼-mile: 14.6 sec

Top speed: 143 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):

EPA city/highway: 24/28 mpg

EPA combined electric + gas: 54 MPGe

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