Compare the2018 GMC AcadiaVS 2018 Audi Q7

For enhanced safety, the GMC Acadia’s middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Audi Q7 doesn’t offer comfort guides on its middle seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Acadia are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Q7 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Q7 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Acadia and the Q7 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the GMC Acadia is safer than the Q7:

GMC’s powertrain warranty covers the Acadia 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Audi covers the Q7. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Q7 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

GMC pays for scheduled maintenance on the Acadia for 2 years and 24,000 miles. GMC will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance (up to 2 oil changes). Audi only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Q7.

There are almost 6 times as many GMC dealers as there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 150-amp alternator. The Q7’s standard 120-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Acadia has a standard 660-amp battery. The Q7’s standard 380-amp battery and largest () 420 amp battery aren’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2017 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that GMC vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC 16th in initial quality. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is ranked 26th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2016 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that GMC vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks GMC fifth in reliability, above the industry average. With 14 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is ranked 11th.

The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 58 more horsepower (310 vs. 252) than the Q7 2.0T’s standard 2.0 turbo 4 cyl.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the GMC Acadia uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Q7 requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Q7 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Audi Q7 only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Q7 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Acadia SLE/SLT/Denali has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Q7; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some models of the Q7 don’t even offer run-flats.

For better maneuverability, the Acadia’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Q7’s (38.7 feet vs. 40.7 feet).

The GMC Acadia may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 700 to 750 pounds less than the Audi Q7.

The Acadia is 6 inches shorter than the Q7, making the Acadia easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Q7 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Q7 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the Acadia Denali AWD is quieter than the Q7 Prestige (41 vs. 43 dB).

The Acadia has 1.9 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more rear headroom, .9 inches more rear legroom, .2 inches more rear shoulder room, 1.3 inches more third row headroom, 1.9 inches more third row legroom and 4.9 inches more third row shoulder room than the Q7.

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the Q7.

The Acadia offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Q7 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Acadia has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Q7 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Acadia SLT/Denali has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Q7 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The Acadia is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Q7 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Insurance will cost less for the Acadia owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Acadia will cost $1716 less than the Q7 over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Acadia is less expensive to operate than the Q7 because typical repairs cost much less on the Acadia than the Q7, including $445 less for an alternator, $377 less for a starter, $274 less for fuel injection, $270 less for a fuel pump, $1562 less for front struts, $291 less for a timing belt/chain and $60 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the GMC Acadia will be $15433 to $18348 less than for the Audi Q7.

The GMC Acadia outsold the Audi Q7 by over three to one during the 2016 model year.