Compare the2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee LVS 2023 Audi Q7

For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Audi Q7 doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 Grand Cherokee L 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 Jeep Grand Cherokee L has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Q7 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Grand Cherokee L has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Q7 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Grand Cherokee L Summit’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Q7 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

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

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 Jeep Grand Cherokee L is safer than the Q7:

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Grand Cherokee L its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 36 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Q7 last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Jeep’s powertrain warranty covers the Grand Cherokee L 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.

Jeep pays for scheduled maintenance on the Grand Cherokee L for 3 years and unlimited miles. Jeep will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance (up to 3 visits). Audi only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Q7.

There are almost 8 times as many Jeep dealers as there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Grand Cherokee L’s warranty.

The battery on the Grand Cherokee L is under the seat, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Grand Cherokee L’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The Q7’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Jeep vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Jeep above average in initial quality. With 30 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is rated below 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 Jeep vehicles are more reliable than Audi With 31 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Jeep higher than Audi.

The Grand Cherokee L’s standard 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 32 more horsepower (293 vs. 261) than the Q7 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The Grand Cherokee L’s optional 5.7 V8 produces 22 more horsepower (357 vs. 335) and 21 lbs.-ft. more torque (390 vs. 369) than the Q7 55 TFSI’s standard 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid.

On the EPA test cycle the Grand Cherokee L gets better mileage than the Q7:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Grand Cherokee L V8’s fuel efficiency. The Q7 doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Jeep Grand Cherokee L uses regular unleaded gasoline (mid-grade octane recommended with the 5.7 V8 engine for maximum performance). The Q7 55 TFSI requires premium, which can cost on average about 31.4 cents more per gallon.

The Grand Cherokee L 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.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Jeep Grand Cherokee L higher (5 to 7 out of 10) than the Audi Q7 (3 to 5). This means the Grand Cherokee L produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Q7 every 15,000 miles.

For better traction, the Grand Cherokee L has larger standard tires than the Q7 (265/60R18 vs. 255/55R19).

The Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Cherokee L offers an optional full size spare tire so a flat doesn’t interrupt your trip. A full size spare 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.

The Grand Cherokee L offers an optional automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Grand Cherokee L’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Q7 doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Grand Cherokee L’s wheelbase is 3.8 inches longer than on the Q7 (121.7 inches vs. 117.9 inches).

For better maneuverability, the Grand Cherokee L’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Q7’s (38.4 feet vs. 41 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Grand Cherokee L Laredo/Limited has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Q7 (8.5 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the Grand Cherokee L to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s minimum ground clearance is 1.2 inches higher than on the Q7 w/Air Suspension (10.9 vs. 9.7 inches).

The Jeep Grand Cherokee L may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 250 pounds less than the Audi Q7.

The front grille of the Grand Cherokee L 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 Grand Cherokee L 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.

The Grand Cherokee L has 1.1 inches more rear headroom, .6 inches more rear legroom, 1.4 inches more third row headroom, 1.1 inches more third row legroom and 2.5 inches more third row shoulder room than the Q7.

The Grand Cherokee L’s cargo area provides more volume than the Q7.

Pressing a button automatically lowers the Grand Cherokee L Overland/Summit’s second and third row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Q7 doesn’t offer automatic folding second row seats.

The Grand Cherokee L 4WD with optional equipment 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 Grand Cherokee L can be unhitched and driven around locally. The Q7 can’t be towed flat on the ground.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Grand Cherokee L uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Q7 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Grand Cherokee L’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The Q7 does not have an oil pressure gauge.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Grand Cherokee L 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 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Grand Cherokee L’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Q7’s headlights are rated “Poor.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Grand Cherokee L has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Q7 doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Optional air conditioned front and second row seats keep the Grand Cherokee L’s passengers comfortable and take the sting out of hot leather in summer. The Q7 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats for the second row.

The Grand Cherokee L 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.

The Grand Cherokee L is available in both rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Q7 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee outsold the Audi Q7/SQ7 by almost 12 to one during 2022.