Compare the2023 Audi Q7VS 2023 Maserati Levante

For enhanced safety, the front and second-row seat shoulder belts of the Audi Q7 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Maserati Levante doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Q7’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Levante doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q7 and Levante have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q7 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Levante’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Q7 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Levante doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Q7 offers an optional backup collision prevention system that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Levante doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Q7 Prestige helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Levante doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Q7’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Levante.

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

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q7 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 235 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Levante has not been tested, yet.

The Q7’s corrosion warranty is 8 years and unlimited miles longer than the Levante’s (12/unlimited vs. 4/50,000).

There are almost 3 times as many Audi dealers as there are Maserati dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Q7’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Q7’s reliability 26 points higher than the Levante.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Audi vehicles are better in initial quality than Maserati vehicles. With 16 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Audi higher than Maserati.

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

Regenerative brakes improve the Q7 55 TFSI’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Levante doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The Q7 has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Levante (22.5 vs. 21.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the Q7’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Levante:

The Q7 stops much shorter than the Levante:

For better traction, the Q7’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Levante (285/45R20 vs. 265/45R20).

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the Q7 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The Levante doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Q7 is 1.9 inches wider in the front and .2 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Levante.

The Q7 Prestige handles at .85 G’s, while the Levante GT pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Q7 has standard seating for 7 passengers; the Levante can only carry 5.

The Q7 has 3.7 inches more front shoulder room, 4.2 inches more rear legroom and 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Levante.

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

The Q7’s cargo area is larger than the Levante’s in every dimension:

Maximum trailer towing in the Maserati Levante is limited to 5952 pounds. The Q7 offers up to a 7700 lbs. towing capacity.

While the Levante Modena S can only tow 3306, any Q7 can tow a minimum of 4400 pounds.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Levante, the Q7 Prestige offers an optional passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Q7 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Levante doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Q7’s standard LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Levante’s standard xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. HID headlights can be slow to reach full brightness or power cycle, causing issues when flashing them to signal other vehicles; LED headlights light instantly. LED lights also last about three to four times as long. Laser headlights, optional on the Q7 Prestige, produce their light by firing blue lasers through phosphorus, a process that uses one-half the power of the Levante’s optional LED headlights. Laser headlights can have double the range of LEDs with a much smaller surface area.

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the Q7 has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The Levante doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

A manual rear sunshade and rear side window sunshades are optional in the Q7 (except Premium) to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Levante doesn’t offer a rear sunshade.

The Q7 Prestige offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Levante.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi Q7 offers an optional wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Levante doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The Q7 55 TFSI Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Levante doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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

The Audi Q7/SQ7 outsold the Maserati Levante by almost five to one during 2022.