Compare the2023 Chevrolet TraverseVS 2023 Audi Q7

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the Chevrolet Traverse’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 Traverse 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 Traverse 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 Traverse 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Chevrolet Traverse is safer than the Audi Q7:

	Traverse	Q7
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	15.6%	25%
Leg Forces (l/r)	53/40 lbs.	61/46 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	35.2%	44%

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 Chevrolet Traverse is safer than the Q7:

	Traverse	Q7
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Restraints	GOOD	GOOD
Head Neck Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Head injury index	61	225
Peak Head Forces	0 G’s	0 G’s
Chest Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Max Chest Compression	18 cm	30 cm
Hip & Thigh Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Femur Force R/L	.5/0 kN	5.5/.1 kN
Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L	0%/0%	4%/0%
Lower Leg Evaluation	GOOD	GOOD
Tibia forces R/L	1.4/0 kN	4.2/.3 kN

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Chevrolet Traverse is safer than the Audi Q7:

	Traverse	Q7
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	69	187
Hip Force	204 lbs.	350 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	134	337
Spine Acceleration	39 G’s	62 G’s
Hip Force	716 lbs.	888 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	251	290
Spine Acceleration	34 G’s	40 G’s
Hip Force	554 lbs.	557 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

Chevrolet’s powertrain warranty covers the Traverse 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.

There are almost 10 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Traverse’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet third in initial quality, above the industry average. With 92 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is ranked 31st, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet above average in long-term dependability. With 21 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Audi is rated below average.

Engine

The Traverse’s 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 49 more horsepower (310 vs. 261) than the Q7 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Traverse gets better mileage than the Q7:

			MPG
Traverse
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	18 city/27 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	17 city/25 hwy
Q7
	AWD	3.0 turbo V6 Hybrid	18 city/22 hwy

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

The Traverse 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.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Chevrolet Traverse, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Q7.

Brakes and Stopping

The Traverse stops shorter than the Q7:

	Traverse	Q7
60 to 0 MPH	116 feet	121 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	136 feet	141 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Chevrolet Traverse’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 Traverse 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 Traverse 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 tire options on the Q7 don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Traverse’s wheelbase is 3 inches longer than on the Q7 (120.9 inches vs. 117.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Traverse is 1.2 inches wider in the front and .4 inches wider in the rear than on the Q7.

For better maneuverability, the Traverse’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the Q7’s (39 feet vs. 41 feet).

Chassis

The Chevrolet Traverse may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 450 pounds less than the Audi Q7.

The front grille of the Traverse 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 Traverse 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.

Passenger Space

The Traverse has standard seating for 8 passengers; the Q7 can only carry 7.

The Traverse has 2.9 inches more front headroom, 2.4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.2 inches more rear headroom, 3.7 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.3 inches more third row headroom, 4.3 inches more third row legroom and 8.1 inches more third row shoulder room than the Q7.

Cargo Capacity

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

	Traverse	Q7
Behind Third Seat	23 cubic feet	14.8 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	57.8 cubic feet	37.5 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	98.2 cubic feet	69.6 cubic feet

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Traverse easier. The Traverse’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 30.6 inches, while the Q7’s liftover is 32.5 inches.

Towing

The Traverse can be flat towed on all four wheels (dinghy towed), allowing recreational vehicle owners to bring it with them on the road. When they reach their destination, the Traverse can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Q7 can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Ergonomics

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Traverse’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Q7 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Audi Connect CARE can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Traverse 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.

Consumer Reports rated the Traverse’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Q7’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

The Traverse (except LS) offers an optional 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.

Model Availability

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

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Traverse owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Traverse will cost $2795 to $5655 less than the Q7 over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Traverse is less expensive to operate than the Q7 because typical repairs cost much less on the Traverse than the Q7, including $483 less for a muffler, $657 less for a starter, $336 less for fuel injection, $580 less for front struts, $201 less for a timing belt/chain and $22 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Chevrolet Traverse will be $22090 to $24013 less than for the Audi Q7.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Chevrolet Traverse and the Audi Q7, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Chevrolet Traverse outsold the Audi Q7/SQ7 by over four to one during the 2021 model year.